figure 8 crappie

[river scum]

this evening i was working along the shoreline, catching a few here and there. tossing the norm, 2"twister tail. getting a lot of near misses by high riding craps. so i started doing the musky figure 8 deal by the boat. low and behold whamo 12"er! caught three like that boom boom boom. i have done this from shore by bridges but never from the boat. just running it around the boat about a foot deep. anyone ever catch them like this? i think the very muddy water made this possible. dont think it would ever work in clear water accept at night with a light maybe. all the fish i caught were in the upper 2' of water, accept a 3#channel from 6'. i landed that guy. more times than not they just run off with my jigs. lol

[Spawn]

It can simulate the bait fish being "rounded up" or being chased by other fish. For them it sometimes can simulate a feeding frenzy. Shad often make this same pattern known as a "bait ball" in saltwater terms

[no1son]

That definitely works. Active crappies very often will hold up right under the boat in the shadow. You can also present plastics like tubes with a slower version of this same technique. Sometimes it will also pay you to fish your jig or roadrunner right at the depth where you can just barely still see the offering where you can often watch the actual take and set the hook before you ever feel anything.

You must be very good at fishing a quiet boat, too. Extra noise will spook fish in that close. Playing a hooked fish a little extra long will at times draw the whole school right in to under your toes, and then it can become just dip and lift, unhook and repeat, over and over again. Smack Down!

[Slab Junkie]

I've never caught them that shallow at the boat due to the clear water I fish. However, I use a similar technique with several feet of line out. With a long jig pole you can swim you lure several feet from one side to the other and sometimes that all the coaxing they need to strike. It's kinda like stationary trolling.

[gabowman]

Sounds like in that stained water you need to be trolling pulling some 1/32 jigs with 2" curly tail grubs behind the boat (longlining).Thumbs Up Congrats on figuring 'em out and putting some good ones in the boat.

[Wood_Duck]

Never got a crappie on the 8 but fish muskie enough and you'll figure 8 about any long rod-like object in your hand at some point.

[river scum]

thanks but,cant stand trolling for too long Gabowman. i like the thump in my hand and the tusstle in the brush.

[crappieseeker]

river scum what color curly tails do you use? Do you use a lot of them? I make some 2 inch curly tail grubs