having problems with jigs?

[toby]

I have only been crappie fishing for 4 or5 years. But I can really catch them on minnows and not much luck at all with jiggs. I no all the old timers say all they use is jiggs. I put a jigg on one line and a minnow on the other and catch 3-1 w/a minnow. plaese help. thanks.;

[shadow]

I got the same problem. Hopefully this year I will learn to catch better on jigs. I have some friends that have promised to get me on some fish with jigs:D
We are having a get together in November in Louisiana and we have some guys that are great at catching on jigs. If you can make it come and join us.
Dwyane

[CK14]

are you moving the jig at all? if you arn't thats probably why your not catching much on them. try tipping the jig with a crappie nibble or maggots. put the jig under a bobber at the right depth or cast the jig out and swim it back in. count it down untill you find the depth there at and start catching fish. can't use minnows up here so jigs are the only way to go.

[jlaughlin72]

I dont know how deep the water is where you fish, i have fished from 5 feet to 15 feet with jigs, normally i use a small float, just big enough to float the jig, that way even with the slightest hit, it bobs in the water. I usually fish about a foot and a half to two feet deep when I fish them, Some times i noticed that you can not get right on them, you need to cast out to reach where they are, then just give it a little bump every few seconds and make it move back towards you about 3 to 6 inches at a time. If you are fishing deep waters over brush, then you may be able to get right above them and tightline jig them, just let your line down to the depth you want, then start a little jigging action on the retrieve or a very slow retrieve with out jigging,
Another way is to longline troll them, someone else may tell you about this method, cause i have only done it once and with no luck.
I used to think minnows would outfish jigs til my buddy smoked me 5 to 1, then i switched.

[magnum500]

I have not used minnows in years. Since learning how to fish jigs minnows seem to be a waste money. I fish jigs vertical, casting and trolling.

Vertical; let your jig down to the depth of the fish and slowly raise and lower the rod tip about two feet. Pay attention because the fish may hit as the jig goes down. You may not feel the hit but you may see that line stops dropping.

Casting; Cast out and use the countdown to get to your depth and then reel very slow or cast out and let the jig go to the bottom and then lift the rod tip to get the jig off the bottom and then let it drop back to the bottom and reel up your slack. Again be ready because you may not feel the strike but you may feel the weight of the fish on your line.


Trolling; Most trolling that I do is in windy conditions. When the wind makes it hard to stay on the fish I use the wind to find the fish. Put several line out at different depths and let the wind carry you across the waterand watch your rods for signs of a strike.

These are just my methods. I am sure you get advice from others that is different than mine. You just have to keep at it until you get the feel of the strike on a jig. Since I have learned to jig fish I have found to be more productive and more fun than fishing with minnows.

[blairbasser]

It appears that finding the fish is not a problem but getting them to hit a jig vrs a minnow is.

I don't use live bait for numerous reasons, but I beleive a good bait fisher will outfish lures most days once the fish are found.

Crappie are not always aggressivly feeding and some days you have to try different tactics to get them to bite. This might be as simple as downsizing the lure, changing color, action of the lure, or getting it closer to the fish.

Try fishing the jig with less movement if the fish appear finicky. Also I have been using tubes more lately vrs curl tail grubs and my catch rate has improved greatly.

Keep experimenting and note what you were using and start fine tunning from there. Sometimes it's subtle changes that make the difference.

Hope to be of help

BB

[TapOut64]

My last four trips out I have gotten skunked with jigs but have had some luck each time with minnows. It seems to me that I only have luck with jigs when the crappie are agressive. When the bite is slow I only have luck with minnows.

[btts]

Your not the only one having trouble with jigs,I have tried roadrunners,beetle spins,sliders,curly tails,slow retreives,fast retreives.Never tried a jig under a bobber. I catch alot more on minnows than on any thing else.

[crappiefarmer]

My last four trips out I have gotten skunked with jigs but have had some luck each time with minnows. It seems to me that I only have luck with jigs when the crappie are agressive. When the bite is slow I only have luck with minnows.

Tapout64,

I fish waters very close to yours in N.E., N.C.. I have only used jigs all summer long and have caught nice amount of crappie. I have tightlined mine and it seemed that the key is to slowly move the jig. Slow as you can stand to move it. All you feel is a lite tap and thats it. When you feel this, set the hook. The best thing to do is set a couple rods out with minnows while you work your jig until you find the key action that crappie want. The minnows will be your insurance until you become a good jig fisherman. I carried my dad out last Dec. one day and he fished with minnows and I fished with jigs. I caught crappie 3to1, jigs over minnows. He knew he would ware me out with the minnows and that jigs worked O.K. but now he is a believer and last trip he caught more crappie than I did. No minnows in the boat. The only time I use minnows now is in the winter. Sometimes they want the minnows, sometimes the jigs or jigs tipped with minnows. Thats when you give em the buffet and let them tell you what they want. Jig color is another factor. get you a decent selection of tubes. I have fished a spot with no bites and just change color and they start biting. I make drastic changes in color until I get bit then I'll fine tune color until I zero in on the best color I've got. It's usually something with a chartreuse tail. Don't spend a lot of time on one color. especially if you know where the fish are. If you know where they are at then 5 minutes on a color is plenty. They'll tell you pretty quick if you've got the right one. Hope this helps. CF

[skiptomylu]

I have a simple How To page on my site and it's not a all inclusive thing at all, but maybe it will help a little.

I can tell you if a fish is going to hit a jig he will do it soon after it gets in front of his eyes. Don't over work it, just small slow movement for the most part. Many of my hits are just after I get to the depth that is right and wile it's not moving at all. If I move the jig it's a slow swimming type action, like I will move my rod tip over maybe a few feet and let the jig swing back under the tip of my rod.

Color can make a difference some time, and the size can be a big difference. Most of the time if they are picky I will go small, but some time they will hit the heck out of a 1/4oz. jig.

Don't give up and it will be more satisfying than ever when you start catching them on the jig.