Crappy jig confusion!

[thudpucker]

I'm new at this Crappy fishihg.
I keep asking folks what they use.
The weather just chilled a bit so the first Crappy are being caught.
I'm sure they eat everyday, all winter and all summer long.:p So what's the jig you guys use to start off with when you get to the water?:o

One guy will tell me you only use a Green jig in the winter.
Another tells me nothing but 'Bass Assison' on a bare lead jig head.
yet another is saying hook the litter rubber faker by his lips. & through his back, & back through the tail.....
and one more tells me White jig head with a Red ring around his eye, and white chenelle is all you'll ever need.

OK, what's going on?
Do the Crappy just bite anything when they are in the mood?
Does color, Rubber thingy's or Eyeballs have anything to do with catching them?
Somebody come on with the wisdom of the ages, and maybe I can bring home a mess for my wife's deep fish fry Pot.

[sixfin]

Thud,
They are all right. I fish up and down Kentucky Lake and what works in one bay won't work in another. After a day of fishing, I will have two handfulls of jigs I've tried throughout the day until I find the one that works. Now, if your fishing day in and day out, you can kind of pattern them to what color and style they want. But when a weather change or water level or water clarity change occurs, it's back to square one. I've even had them change color right in the middle of a good bite because it got cloudy!
The best advice I can give you is start with whatever your more confident in (color and style). If it don't work try something else. Try not to get in a rut of fishing one color one way. Just the other day my buddy and I where fishing and not catching anything. We vertical jig straight up and down. After thinking about it we started just swinging the front of the boat back and forth over the bed and the fish started hitting. They wanted a moving targert that day. We wound up with 37 nice'ens. Everybody fishes a little different and has ways that seem to work for them. You just gotta find yours and the only way to do that is fish, fish, fish. Of course there are some basic rules to stick by.

[thudpucker]

Thanks Sixfin,
Something I forgot to ask. Do you guys tie your jigs on?
Or do you use those little snaps?
Tying is OK with me, as I've been Fly fishing for nearly 40 years, but I wondered.

Also do you soak your Chenelle jigs with a little Anise Oil?

[Yodibuzz]

thud,

i always tie direct
if i feel scent is needed i put a crappie nibble on the hook

[Arkie John]

I do have my favorite colors, but whatever the old womas says at the bait store on my home lake, buddy, that's what I try first. If it doesn't work I just keep showin' them somethin' new until they like it.

In the spring in clear water I like a 1/16 or a 1/8 oz jig with a blue body/white hair tail. It's my "go to" in the spring, compliment of Daddy.

In the fall and winter -- especially if the water has any color to it, I use anything as long as it has some chartruese on it. Maybe black and chartruese or just plain chartruese. I certainly is not fail safe. I abandon my favorites when they don't produce.

Ask the locals about (1) depth (2) color and (3) presentation and you will have somewhere to begin without just going out there blind. <><

aj

[luvjign]

Thud, this article is about as straight to the point, and easy to understand as you'll find to help answer your questions....It's a good read, .... probably the best I've come across.
Crappie Sight and Jig Selection | www.***************

[deathb4disco]

Plain chartreuse is very hard to beat. I always start with that and experiment. Also, I always tie direct to the hook.

[sixfin]

I always tie my jigs. Snap swivels always seem to take some of the action out of the jig. When I tie my jig on, I pull the knot all the way to the back of the eye (toward the hook) so that the jig hangs slightly with the tail up. I am also giving it a little twitch every now and then. If the fish are sluggish, this seems to trigger a strike where a jig just hanging there doesn't turn'em on. Here is a way to learn your jig characteristics. Tie it on some string that you put on your reels and fill a big jar or a small aquarium (fish bowl) with water and put your jig in and twitch it a little. Jerk it to the left and right or fast up and down. While your doing this, try moving your knot to different parts of the eye to see what kind of reaction you get out of the jig and then when your at the lake at least you will know how your jig looks underwater. Some jigs just don't have much flare if your too rough with them. You'll be suprised at how just a little movement really brings your jig to life. And as Yodibuzz said, it's hard to beat a crappie nibble.

[Darryl Morris]

Before I started guiding I had every lure imaginable in every color combination. Now that I guide I only work from one small box with hooks and sinkers for minnows and 3 different jig classes (the KISS method - Keep it Simple Simon) - grays, chartrueses and mixed colored. My rule of thumb is light on light days, gray on gray days and contrasting colors on days of off colored water. A minnow tipper or a little fish oil scent doesn't hurt. Keep it that simple and present the bait in a manner fitting natural, learn to feel the lightest of bites and you'll catch'em when most don't.

[thudpucker]

Oh thanks a bunch guys. I know somebody else it reading all this too.
I just happen to have a bunch of Buckets of Rainwater. (for the Chickens and Rabbits) I'll see how my Jigs are working.
I just came up from the Barn, was tying some jigs. I made one that looks a lot like a Haystack of white feathers all trying to escape that hook.

While I was down there tonite, the Coyotes started up with the evening Gossip.
Criminy that sends chills right down your spine. My feet were trying to convince the rest of me that it was time to go to the house.
It sounded like they were right out the Barn door. I looked at my Goat's ears and you can tell exactly which direction the closest Coyotes are.

I'm planning on going out in the Morning. I have to check the weather first though. Maybe tomorrow evening I'll be eating Crappie?