Casting 1/8 oz verses 1/16 oz input needed.

[TapOut64]

Lately I have been catching the crappie 20'-25' deep and counting my 1/16 oz jig down that far is rather boring so I experimented (briefly) casting a 1/8 oz jig but with no luck. I was doing fine with 1/16, took a hand full of cast with 1/8, (same jig) and rather than counting down to 21 like I was doing with the 1/16 jig I counted to 10 or 11 but no takers. Put 1/16 back on and got a crappie on my first cast. Does a 1/8 oz jig sink twice as fast as a 1/16? Any input or tips appreciated.

[gone_fishing]

Dont quote me on this but I am pretty sure 1/8 will not sink twice as fast.

[Locator79]

Don't know the exact fall rate, but its twice the weight. We all know the fall rate of a jig is key in certain situations. I don't like to fish anything heavier than a 1/16th, but wind sometimes dictates the heavier jig. There have been many times when I have been vertical jigging a 1/32nd and catching fish, and the wind picks up, and I have to switch to a 1/16 or 1/8 and the bites were not near as many. I always fish as light as I can get away with.

[deathb4disco]

Does a 1/8 oz jig sink twice as fast as a 1/16?

No. It sinks faster but nowhere near twice as fast. Charlie Brewer, in his book on slider fishing, has a section comparing the sink rates of different jig heads. He favored lighter heads in deep water even though they sank a little slower.

[slabbandit]

A lot of people on Lake Nimrod have been using 1/8 oz. whether jigging, casting cork and bobber, or casting curly tails.

[MO QWACK]

The fall rate of coarse is faster not sure bow much but I think the main thing is a lighter head stays in the strike zone longer and doest fall head first as bad as a heaver head thus looking less natural. You might wanna try 2 16 ounce jig and see what happens

[NIMROD]

If you want the casting weight of 1/8 , use bulkier plastic bait like a 2'' umbrella tube. Line weight will effect rate of fall, heavier line the slower the fall.

[lward]

A couple years ago I ordered some 1/8 oz jigs for crappie by mistake. The mistake lead me to talking to the jig manufacturer and let me pass along what he told me. "Don't mess with 1/8 at all for the crappie". 1/8 oz are to be kept in your smallmouth box. To be honest I'm not quite that outspoken on the subject but let me pass this along. I've come to agree with him. Your experience matches mine directly. On several occasions I've been on fish in standing timber and switching to a 1/8 oz jig has produced exactly zero for me. And my reason for switching was basically in line with yours, I wanted an easier quicker vertical presentation in that heavy cover. When I catch my next crappie on a 1/8 oz it will be because I'm smallmouth fishing.

[Eager Beaver]

Try putting some split shots above your 1/16 oz jig. Put your 1/16 jig on and count down. When you get it where you are getting bites, mark your line and then add some slit shot above the jig and then count it down to where the mark on your line appears. That will give you the fall rate for 1/8 jig. EB

[skeetbum]

I have to disagree with y'all. I use everything from 1/64 to 1/4. We all fish different conditions and water clarity. Depth and wind and boat activity dictate what weight i will be using. Early December I used a 1/8 head and a BGBS to boat 13 crappie that were almost 18lbs in 3 1/2 hrs. I've used more 1/8 this past year than ever before and have lots of good fish to show for it. Instead of casting to the fish, try vertical jigging them. Once you establish what depth they are in, you keep the bait in their face for much longer periods of time and it works. I once saw fish on the FF and knew they should be hitting. Starting with the 1/8 from the previous trip, i spent about 30 minutes casting to these fish. No takers. Went down to 1/16 and picked up a couple, then went to a 1/32 and was officially busy. Just to see if it would make a difference I went to 1/64 and it was on, a fish on most every cast. So yes, the lighter jigs will do the job, but leaving the 1/8 in the box is like taking half of your tools to work.