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Thread: Vertical Casting ...

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    CrappiePappy's Avatar
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    Exclamation Vertical Casting ...


    (copied from the article I wrote)

    That’s what I call it, anyway. Others may have another name, or many other names, or may just consider it a variation or part of “vertical jigging”. Decide for yourself.

    What is “Vertical Casting” – simply put, it’s letting out line until the bait hits bottom or is obviously deeper than the Crappie are suspended … then slowly reeling the bait back up. You are, in essence, “casting” straight down (vertical) and reeling straight up. I don’t call it vertical “jigging”, because I don’t impart any extra movement to the bait. I don’t jerk, jiggle, shake, or cause any added movement to the bait as I reel it back up. In fact, I try and keep the rod & reel as still as possible.

    How do you “Vertical Cast” – disengage your reel and allow the bait to drop straight down to the bottom, or deep enough that you are sure the bait has dropped below the depth of the fish. Engage the reel and very slowly start reeling back in. Hold the rod lightly in your hand (don’t grip it tight, as that will wear your hand and arm out, and it may effect your ability to detect a light strike). The rod should be in a comfortable position, in relation to your body, but your arm should not be resting on anything. The rod tip should be pointing straight out from you and the rod should be parallel to the water’s surface (what’s commonly known as the 9 o:clock position). A good, smooth winding reel is essential. Reeling “slowly” means taking 5-7 seconds to make one full turn of the reel handle. The bigger the reel (or reel spool) or the faster the reel’s line pickup speed – the slower you’ll need to turn the handle. You want the bait to take several seconds to rise a foot up thru the water column. This will give fish, in the most neutral of moods, a chance to ease over and sample your offering.

    Where do you “Vertical Cast” – anywhere … but, especially in places or under circumstances where normal, horizontal casting isn’t possible, or when fish are deeper than you can reach them with your normal casting (distance) methods. Some situations that I use a “vertical cast” are: blown down trees with branches that are too numerous or thick to get a bait far enough down in them (with normal casting methods)… deep brush piles … submerged standing trees with multiple branches …bridge/boat dock pylons … when there are overhead or overhanging obstacles that won’t allow me to make a cast or accurate presentation … and when it’s too windy to get a light bait on light line to sink deep enough to get to the fish. I also use it on cover that I’ve already cast to, to probe deeper into the cover, from the vantage point of directly overhead.

    What “bait” do you “Vertical Cast” – normally I use jigs … tube jigs, grub/jighead, hair/feather jigs, and even jig/minnow. Most of the time I use a weedless jighead, but I do, on occasion, use a non-weedless one. The size of the jighead, or actually the weight, ranges from 1/64oz to 3/16oz - but, you can use heavier or lighter ones – depending on how receptive the fish are to them. Most of the time I’m using a 1/16oz … and since I’m using a free spooling “spinning” reel and light line – and I’m “casting” straight down – it seems to be an all around good weight/size. The “plastics” I put on my jigheads are from 1 inch long to 2.5 inches long … generally approximating the smaller sized baitfish of the lake.

    What is happening during “Vertical Casting”, that causes a Crappie to bite? It is my belief that the fish see the bait as a forage fish or aquatic creature, rising slowly towards the surface. Possibly they see it as an injured baitfish, or just one that is feeding on the plankton or algae, and not paying attention to any predator threat. It’s one of the reasons I don’t impart any extra action to the bait. If you’ve noticed minnows around cover, they aren’t usually zigging and zagging … but, seem to just be slowly meandering among the branches and minding their own business. Crappie are not “dash and slash” feeders. They are, for the most part, “ambush” feeders that slip up from behind and under their prey … slowly, so as not to alarm the prey, but deliberately in a “stalking” manner. The slowly rising bait gives them ample opportunity to realize that this “meal” is an “easy target”, and they won’t have to expend much energy to capture it. And don’t worry about coils in the line, causing the bait to come to the surface in a circling motion. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – minnows seldom rise to the surface like a floating stick. They do tend to “circle” around and around and back and forth as they feed and or come up shallower.

    How will you know when a Crappie has taken the bait? A hit, or strike, on a rising jig can come in many forms. You may get a yank, a “tic” (very light tap or yank), a feeling of mushy “weight” (like dragging up a leaf or chunk of moss), a sideways movement in the line, or your line may suddenly go slack (and you know the bait isn’t on the bottom). Any of these, and any other movement of the line or rod tip that you don’t cause to happen – could be a “hit”, and you should set the hook with a lifting of the arm and an upward snapping of the wrist. Holding the rod/reel lightly in your hand will telegraph even the lightest “bump”, so watch the line in conjunction with feeling with the rod, and you’ll soon figure out the difference between bumping a branch and getting a bite.

    I didn’t “invent” this method, and take no credit for doing so. I just use it, with good results, and just gave it a “name” to distinguish it from like methods and variations of established methods – you call it what you like, but give it a try. I hope you have as much success with it as I do …Luck2ya … Crappiepappy

    I figured this was as good a place to post this as any, and it keeps it easy to find ... rather than having to look thru all the articles, or for me to have to post a link every time it's pertinent to a discussion.

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    Thanks, I will remember this and incorporate into my fishing.

    Alan

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    My buddy and I have used this technique for more decades than I care to share with you :o, lol. My name of choice is dipping. He calls it doodle-socking . As long as there is a fish on the end people can call it anything they want

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    Quote Originally Posted by silverside View Post
    My buddy and I have used this technique for more decades than I care to share with you :o, lol. My name of choice is dipping. He calls it doodle-socking . As long as there is a fish on the end people can call it anything they want
    Yep, I agree ... call it what you want, it works !!

    I think I started doing it back about 40 some years ago, myself. Back then it was taught to me to use those little golf ball size Zebco reels and 4lb test line, with a 1/16oz marabou jig. The reels were so small that even at a normal winding speed, the jig came up pretty slow. Some years later it was used around a bridge pillar and worked very well, but I don't remember if I started my buddies doing it or if it was one of them that did it and just refreshed my memory about doing it in the past.

    I just figured it would be easier to give it some kind of name, rather than have to explain the technique every time I mentioned it. That's when I decided to write the article and post it, so I'd have easy access to a link that anyone interested could click on and read the whole deal. I do think it differs a bit from "dippin" or "doodlesocking" ... but, only in the fact that the jig is slowly "reeled" up, rather than being jigged on a static line or lifted up with the rod. Both of those particular techniques are closer to what I call "vertical jigging".

    It must work, since the "name" I gave it and the general instructions of the technique itself was 'stolen' by Dan Eggertsen and posted in some of his online articles ... with no mention of where or who it came from. And I know it was, because his earliest mention of it was around 2008 ... and I'd already posted my article many years prior to that.
    Likes Quailtail LIKED above post

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    Me and my friends used this technique over 40 years ago while fishing off bridges and train trestles.Many fishing holes were unaccesable by boat or bank walking,but we were blessed with several trestles,and spent many days yanking a variety of fish from the pools below them.

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    Pretty much what I’ve been doing the last month but with a minnow drop shot rig. Release and drop to lake bottom then reel slowly back up or cast out about 5-10’, let drop to lake bottom and reel back slowly. Also do it with a jighead and plastic.

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    Thanks for the article, one question on technique is it more natural for way crappie feed to bring it from bottom or descend from top as have always read they need to see it above them to bite.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hdhntr View Post
    Thanks for the article, one question on technique is it more natural for way crappie feed to bring it from bottom or descend from top as have always read they need to see it above them to bite.
    From bottom up IMHO.

    In using this technique, I have mostly gotten two types of hits .... a thump or instant slack line ... and they've all come when the jig was coming "up". I've yet to get a hit when the jig was falling, whether Vertical Casting or normal casting. But, when normal casting, I rarely let the jig pendulum swing back to me, either. And that's not really the same, since it's not really "vertical".

    But, then again ... I haven't really tried it that way (taking the anti-reverse off & backwinding). I do see one potential problem doing it that way, though ... and that is if the weight of the jig isn't enough to constantly pull the line thru the guides, then you're going to end up wrapping line around your reel or creating a "birds nest" at the spool/bail. You "might" pull it off with a heavier jig

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    Quote Originally Posted by CrappiePappy View Post
    From bottom up IMHO.

    In using this technique, I have mostly gotten two types of hits .... a thump or instant slack line ... and they've all come when the jig was coming "up". I've yet to get a hit when the jig was falling, whether Vertical Casting or normal casting. But, when normal casting, I rarely let the jig pendulum swing back to me, either. And that's not really the same, since it's not really "vertical".

    But, then again ... I haven't really tried it that way (taking the anti-reverse off & backwinding). I do see one potential problem doing it that way, though ... and that is if the weight of the jig isn't enough to constantly pull the line thru the guides, then you're going to end up wrapping line around your reel or creating a "birds nest" at the spool/bail. You "might" pull it off with a heavier jig
    As you know, I definitely use this technique, and I got the idea from the your article. However, I do release the bail and then raise the rod a few times to create a good amount of slack. On several occasions I have noticed the line stop falling
    (when I knew it hadn’t reached bottom), and set the hook on a crappie. If it finishes it’s fall, I then implement the “vertical casting” retrieve. Best of both worlds for me!
    Thanks CrappiePappy thanked you for this post

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    Quote Originally Posted by ET Fish View Post
    As you know, I definitely use this technique, and I got the idea from the your article. However, I do release the bail and then raise the rod a few times to create a good amount of slack. On several occasions I have noticed the line stop falling
    (when I knew it hadn’t reached bottom), and set the hook on a crappie. If it finishes it’s fall, I then implement the “vertical casting” retrieve. Best of both worlds for me!
    Hasn't ever happened for me, but if it happens for you on occasion ... then by all means, keep doing it !!

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