Vertical Jiggin' a dock - I learned it here!

[Sailor Jerry]

The bad part was I really couldn't find a "school" of the fish. I saw probably 15 (could be a school I suppose) feeding at different times, coming to the top of the water, but never had any hits when I was casting w/ the tube/bobber. I did do different depths as well. Started at 3 ft and worked my way down. I got impatient and set it deeeep to try to find the bottom to figure out the depth of water I was in and to see if there was a drop off anywhere.

When I did finally get hits, it was straight down next to the dock or about 2 feet next to it.

[CrappiePappy]

... next time try this around the dock/pier poles (if it's a stationary dock) :
Crappie.com - Crappie Fishing Information and Adventure - Vertical Casting

As for the surfacing fish ... next time - try a very small bobber, and a black fly (or even a very small black feather jig, like a Popeye jig). They could have been Bluegill, but may well have been Crappie ... probably feeding on emerging larvae, gnats, or even small minnows/fry/Silversides.

If you happen to have small minners .... take off the bobber & sinker, and hook the minner in the tail (with a small hook, like a #8) and pitch him out there and let him run freeline. Watch the line

Also - try this (a marina owner used to catch Crappie doing this, and the marina dock was a floater, not a stationary dock) :

Use a spinning reel -
Drop a small marabou jig (1/32oz or smaller) down about 3-4ft below the surface of the water ... put your trigger finger under the line coming off the reel spool ... stay back from the edge of the dock, with only the last few inches of your rod sticking out past the dock's edge ... walk very, very slowly/softly along the perimeter of the dock (slow enough that your line remains almost straight down) ... and as you go, very gently use your trigger finger to barely pump the line. When you feel ANY little "tic" in the rod ... set the hook

... cp

[Hanr3]

Try a smaller hook. I live in Central Illinois and our weather has been the same as yours. I think we set a new low temp record last night. In the summer I use a #4 hook tipped with a minnow under a slip boober. Today I wasnt catching anything, not even a nibble. Switched to a #6 and started to catch fish.


I suspect the fish feeding on teh surface was a school of baitfish, shad around here is the common name. Crappie feed on those baitfish. Crappie look up, so they feed up, there food is above them. Knowing this, drop your biat to the bottom and work it back up to the surface in 1'-2' incriments. When you get hits you found the depth. If your fishing structre (brush piles, cribs, trees, etc) reverse that, start fishing shallow ans work your way down. Teh smaller fish will hit first, drop down another 1' or so to get at the bigger fish.

You have the right technique, you just need to tweek it some.