Crappie super dummy

[gradall5200]

Hello guys, Ive only made a few posts here in the last couple of years Im mostly just a reader cause I dont have anything interesting to share. I'll break it down for ya. I dont have a lot of time to fish maybe once a week or once every 2 weeks (kids work etc). Second I dont have a boat. I dont have that many great places to fish. One small pond (bout five acres) that definately has crappie cause I caught maybe 20 there last year on minnows and a slip bobber. and another pond that supposedly has crappie but Ive only fished it once and several other small places. I know jigging is best, but if you had to use a slip bobber and a minnow what would you do? somethig with the minnow like a jig tipped with a minnow? and I know water depths vary but where are they right now. I live an hour south of chicago and we have been having pretty nice weather 75-80 degrees. I just dont know if they are feeding shallow this time of year or if they have gone deep or what??? Water temp, I forgot to check before I left. any input would be awesome.. I just dont know anyone else round me that fishes or wants to fish so you guys are my only hope. thanks in advance.- Joel

[sixfin]

If I'm fishing new water and using the slip bobber with a minnow rig, the first thing I do is find out how deep the water is. Just keep adjusting your bobber slip up until your bobber lays over. After that, I rig it where the minnow is just off of bottom. I then cast out, let the bobber get upright and start slowly reeling it back a little bit and stop. I might then reel it a little faster and then stop to let the minnow drop. This lets you cover a lot of water fast so you can find some brush or where ever the crappie might be holding. You can also do this with a tube jig. It works just as good and sometimes better because the jig tail has more action than an a ole minner. Hope this helps!

[gradall5200]

Awesome sixfin that helps a lot Truly appreciated!!! I will let ya know how it works out tomorrow.- Joel

[whackmaster]

Gradall-
Right now the crappie are getting up in the wood,sticks, structure that is shallow....sorta like spring pattern. I live in N.W. Indiana and I live on a 20 acre pond and have been wearing out the crappie and gills. I would recommend fishing on a day that is windy, I always do better on small bodies of water when there is a good chop on the water. This will keep your bobber moving at just the right speed and keep your jig bouncing around real good and keeps you from spooking the fish in small waters. I've been using mighty mite jigs or cubby jigs...I bend the jig hook out slightly so that it stays hooked better in crappies big mouths.....give them a try ....great jigs.....I use the ones with straight tails..(nail tails ). Hope this helps. P.S. ...sometimes I have to tip them with a bee moth if they are not too aggressive.

[deathb4disco]

Lots of good bank fishing tips here:

Bankfisher.com

There are a bunch of guys in the Chicago area that do this style of fishing.

[slab_slayin_fool]

i do a lot of bank fishing here also i have just got to the point where gas is to costly and i don't like dealing with the boat if im only going for 4 or 5 hours

also try tipping different jigs with crappie nibbles or my new favorite Berkley gulp waxies i use chartreuse but if you find those to costly i just read where a guy is just buying the packages of the soft gulp worms and cutting small pieces off and tipping his lures off with those i may start doing that myself few years ago if i couldn't get minnows i wouldn't go crappie fishing now i use them as a back up if all else fails

hope this helps you

SSF

[Fatman]

Gotta second sixfin excellent advice and to Disco thanks just what I needed another site to look at every day :D:D

Fatman

[BuckCreekMike]

You might see if they'll allow you to put some brush in the pond. If it's a pond without a lot of cover you should be able to bring them to it.

[gradall5200]

thanks a lot fellas finally got a few with a minnow under a bobber up near a couple of docks and a few fallen branches. If im gonna fish with a minnow should I just use a regular hook or should I use it with a jig??? Ive just been using a minnow on a hook till now.- Joel

[grubby]

Joel I use them both ways and they both catch fish. I use a #6 long shank cricket hook and put it right up through the V in the bottom Jaw right out the top of the head they will stay on a hook alive for a long time that way.