Shootin,,,,, have fun.

[FisherMike]

Just going to start shooting myself. Not with a gun though.

Today, I managed to get my line in our overhead fan. After that, I made my garage door opener stop working!!

Well, it made me start thinking about how bad, I'm going to hurt myself.

You all have any good, practicle experience? Be truthfull.

Especially ones that may save your up and coming (students) a few less unpleasent experiences??

This should be fun.

[Outlaw1&2]

Let jig halfway out,pull back on jig with one hand ,while holding line at reel with other hand (Index finger),bow rod with all eyes lined up, aim rod and let go of both at same time. No rocket science involved, just a little practice.

[Guy Skinner]

Mike,
Shooting a jig is a lot easier to 'show' than to 'tell', but here goes. I use a 5 1/2' Wally Marshall Pro Series rod, because it's totally parabolic and will transfer the kenetic energy that you store up in the rod better than a non-parabolic rod will. Leave about 2-3' of line off the tip of the rod. Take the jig by the head between your thumb and first finger, with the hook pointed away from you. Release the bail on your reel and hold the line with the "tip" of your index finger in your other hand (only hold the line with the tip of your finger, because if you hold the line deeper on your finger, you won't get a clean release). Now pull the jig straight back under the rod (don't pull it off to one side or the other). DON'T OVERLOAD THE ROD, in other words, don't pull the jig back so hard that you store up too much energy (you have to experiment to get the right feel). Now look at where you want the jig to go and release it. The release of the jig and the release of the line has to be approx 1/2 second apart. It's all about hand-eye coordination. If you can throw a ball to someone and get it to them, you can shoot a jig...but it takes a LOT of practice, and standing out in your back yard just shooting won't teach you what you have to learn. It's all about learning to put the jig under a dock and 30' back. Here's some things that will make shooting easier:
"Do's"---
1. Get the right rod, cause not just any rod will shoot good
2. Use light line like 6#, cause if you use heavy line, it won't come off the spool quick enough
3. Use an open face reel
4. Practice shooting at a very small object (not a large one)
5. Keep your eye on where you want the jig to go (or it'll go somewhere you don't want it to go)
6. Shoot using only a 1/16 oz or a 1/32 oz jig head (heavier heads don't shoot well)
7. Pull the jig directly under the rod prior to release
"Don'ts"
1. Use a rod longer than 5 1/2'
2. Use a non-parabolic rod
3. Pull the jig off to the side of the rod prior to release
4. Use a closed face spinning reel or bait casting reel
5. Get too close to a dock when shooting (sit about 6-8' away from the dock)
6. Look anywhere but where you want the jig to go
7. Overload the rod

Hope this helps...like I said, it's a lot easier to show than to tell.

[joejv4]

Shooting in the kitchen or garage is not recommended practice Might want to use the driveway or back yard and aim for the closest patch of yellow snow LOL!!!!

Seriously though, outdoors is the best place to practice all casting techniques. Back yard is best so you're buddies won't drive by and see you, giving them ammo to heckle you with.

For actual technique.... I'll refer you to the post above, or the excellent one that crappiepappy re-posted in a recent thread.

[FisherMike]

I didn't mean for this thread to be to serious.

I just thought it would be kind of fun to hear some of the more humorous experiences with shooting docks. I know there has to be some out there.

[joejv4]

You mean like the time I was parcticing with a bait caster (in the back yard where none of my buddies might drive by and see me) and knocked a sparrow off my wife's bird feeder? Got hollered at for that one

[FisherMike]

Ya,, kinda like that.

[doghead82]

Could someone explain a parabolic road vs. non-parabolic. I have looked it up on the net but still don't think I understand it and the rod mfg. don't metion it on there sites.

[OKSTATEjiggy]

Haha, Fishermike, I understand your intentions of the post, but I actually don't have any dock-shooting experience. I just wanted to "laugh" that your post was misunderstood.

[bigfish5]

When The Fishing Is Right There Is No Better Way To Catch A Crappie. I Have Sat At 1 Pier For 5 Or 6 Hours And Caught Crappie Shot After Shot. I Think The Most I Ever Caught Ina Row Was 31 Consecutive Casts. I Caught Just Over 100 Off That Pier In A Couple Of Hours. Just This Past December I Took A Fellow That Had Only Fished Piers Once In His Life. We Caught Over 150 Off Of 1 Pier. Man It Was A Blast. I Think We Could Have Caught A 100 More But It Got Dark On Us So We Came In. I Have Been So Spoiled Catching Them Off Piers , I Wont Hardly Try Anything Else. Thats One Of The Reasons I Joined Here Was To Try To Learn How To Catch Crappie Some Other Way But Off Of Piers.