tandom pulling insight and question

[scoremaster]

two weeks ago me and a buddy went fishing i tandom rigged 2 1/32 jig heads the bottom one was orange and green and the top was blue and white wrap with blue tail didn't catch alot of crappie 10 i believe but they all hit the top jig never the bottom one but caught 2 pickerel on the bottom jig . then today same lake about 5 degrees warmer water and went to same set up but with a little thought tied the white and blue jig at bottom and then a chart. black jig on top and same response caught 10 crappie on top jig and caught 4 pickrel on bottom jig .

but it seems to me the crappie are always on the top jig and the pics on the bottom the jigs are only about 18 inches apart with the top one on a loop.

my question is why the top and not the bottom like they hate the bottom or something was fishing in about 6-8 feet of water temp was 53 to 55

any insight or knowledge fellas .

sorry so long winded but thanks ,
Scott

[jaxsprat]

Well crappie always feed up as they cannot see below them, notice placement of their eyes they cannot look down. Its possible your bottom jig is going below them, also their could be suspended a foot or more of bottom putting your jig almost a 6 to 12 inches below them. Do U know== see on graph what depth they were at?

[scoremaster]

well both days i pulled the same depth or at least tried to and that was just about maybe 12 inches or top jig and the other day i caught them while just droping in beside some sunkin pines no pulling at all just a toss and watching for the tick which always resulted in a top jig hit never the bottom unless it was a pickrel just seems odd to me ,

Scott

[joejv4]

jaxsprat hit the nail on the head. Crappie are ambush predators and ambush from below their prey. Chances are, even when the hit comes right after your rig hits the water, the bottom jig sinks past and gets them looking in the direction of your rig. By the time they're looking, the bottom jig is below them but the top jig is in their sweet-spot and that is what they hit.

[possumcop]

If you are only spreading your jigs 18in apart, they are for for the most part fishing the same water depth. They are biting the first jig they see. Try spreading your jigs 6ft. apart. If you are using 2 1/32 jigs you are not fishing very deep. I would pull about .7 to 1mph. If I am fishing 6-8 ft of water I sould prob. use 2 1/32 also but I would put them alot further apart. These jigs are so light that one doesn't fish any deeper than the other. You may try 1 1/32 on top and 1 1/16 6ft below the other and see don't you start catching more on the bottom.

[skeetbum]

I'll go with what Possumcop said. I've always fished a 1/16 on the bottom and a 1/32 up the line, had hits on both. I play the color game some too.

[Arkie John]

I suppose you're just freelining them out the back with no additional weight and pulling at a snail's pace.

I think using a heavier jig on the bottom will assist in separating them depth-wlse. But pulling them in such shallow water will certainly result in more hang-ups when going a little heavier.

As least you are catching good numbers of fish for this time of year. I usually don't troll until after the spawn, when they move back into deeper water during post-spawn transitioning.