Dart Heads New to me So a question please (pic)

[skiptomylu]

I have never used this kind of jig head and I love trolling in the spring for crappie so I guess what I really want to know is what is the best way to fish these heads? Also I would think they should be good trolling too, but like I said I never have used them yet.

Input please!

Skip

[Barnacle Bill]

Skip, I often use the store bought shad darts with a minnow while slow trolling. Like everything else sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

[fished-out]

I make shad darts in 1/64 and 1/32 oz size, tying them with Krystal Flash, feathers and other assorted do-dads, as well as fishing them plain. I always paint them, as I think it adds to the attraction. I first saw them when I lived in NJ and folks fished them in the Delaware for American Shad. Anyway, I generally fish them below a float (as deep as 20'), tipped with a minnow or nibble, "popping" them about a foot, then letting them rest, popping again, etc. A steady retrieve (such as what you might get trolling) that's too fast can cause them to spiral; I prefer the sudden, darting action you get with the hard popping retrieve that I described. You can do the same thing without the float, but in the heavy wood cover I fish, that popping retrieve I described can cause you to bury the hook in a tree branch! In open water along a ledge or other non-wood structure, I think the "death spiral" that would follow the pop would be deadly.

They seem to do best in early summer (the retrieve I use seems to have too much action for cold water) until October or so.

[skiptomylu]

Interesting, thanks for the info as I have never tied one on yet. Guess I will find out and have them in 1/32 & 1/16. I just like the looks so had to give them a try.

[skeetbum]

Hello Skip, my experience with darts is limited but I had to throw my 2 cents in the pile. Folks troll them, double and triple rig, in the St. Johns River for american shad. Slow and steady was their preferred method.Yellow or white with a red head is all I've ever seen them colored in. Most folks started the day trolling some rods for shad and others for crappie, cuz sometimes the shad weren't there. Hope this helps.

[ad1974]

Last year I bought a kit of baits that were called Crappie Magnets and the heads that were included were silver and gold Shad dart shaped heads.I used some of the bodies on other jigheads and caught some fish,but I haven't tried those Dart heads yet.