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Thread: The Minnow...is anything better?!

  1. #1
    mpomatto Guest

    Talking The Minnow...is anything better?!


    Hey,

    I'm new to the forum and somewhat new to crappie fishing. I hear alot of people talking about jigs and spinners, but what about minnows? I normally cleanup on minnows. Not always tho. Is there anything truly better than a minnow?

    I live in TN, fish a small lake, stained water. I've considered a jig with some Powerbait Crappie Nibbles, very small Willow style spinners. Does pork frogs work ok with Crappie? They look kinda big for a normal crappie.

    In heavy yet very low tree cover should I use a bobber or bump the bottom?

    As in color...a nastly little green jig or a chartreuse type? Maybe even a bright yellow? The water is warming, the fish appear to be spawning. They are hittin well around 3 feet. Bass and Crappie. Of course crappie is what I'm after the most.

    Sorry for all the questions,

    Mike

  2. #2
    shipahoy41's Avatar
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    Hi Mike,

    This is old ship. God created Crappies and the He created minnows. The minnow is truly a wonderful bait. A lot of individuals will help a minnow out if they are going for larger Crappies. A jig tipped with a monnow, or a double jig rig offers the Crappie the best of both worlds. Attraction and scent. Those are powerful stimuli for the Crappie and all game fish.

    Once you "attract" them, then you "trigger" them to bite bu how you move your offering. By all means fish it slow and then slow down some more. You'll catch more fish that way. There is also a fine thread in the ARCHIVES section about weighting your bobber. I think it is called "Have you tried this?"
    Be sure to read it and other articles on this forum about jig fishing.

    old ship
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    May God be with you. Keep CALM and STAY ANCHORED with your faith.


  3. #3
    mpomatto Guest

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    Thanks ship. I'm gonna try that this afternoon.

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    I grew up catching crappie on minnows off our pier. And we caught quite a few crappie. Had quite a few 100 fish days. There's been days when the wind was so bad the floats wouldn't stay in the water, but you still caught fish with just a minnow sitting there. Now with no access to minnows when I want to fish locally, I use jigs. If I was fishing on a lake that had bait shops, I'd probably get 2 dozen minnows and tip jigs with them.

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    I'll catch 100's of crappies in a year & I'll never need a minnow.As a matter of fact when the slabs get finicky adding a minnow makes the jig too big!
    The whole idea is to downsize & adding anything adds size which goes against what I'm trying to acomplish.
    We ice fish 5 months a year and when the oxygen level gets low & or a high pressure comes through with cold temp's say 10-30 below zero you need to get real small.
    Then right after the ice goes out with the water temp in the low 40's we still need to be small.
    Once the water gets above 60 just about anything works.
    Here's a slab 3 days after ice out.
    Last edited by crappiekeith; 05-04-2007 at 07:54 AM.

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    I'll take a jig any day over a minnow.

    Jigs:

    1) Are cheap to buy and even cheaper to tie,

    2) Don't require a bucket and aerator,

    3) Can be fished at any depth or speed, and

    4) Appeal to most species.

    My dad fished minnows exclusively -- until he discovered the jig.

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    Never liked fishing with minnows - first you either buy them, and they ain't exactly cheap, or catch your own (I'd rather be catching slabs). Next you have to keep them alive until you use them (buckets, airators, ice cubes) then once you hook them, they die pretty quick, and you can't catch a fish then use them to catch another. Some folks swear by them, but they've always seemed to be an inefficient way to go about catching fish to me.

    I go with little tube jigs. Change colors when one isn't working and change from tube heads(inside) to round heads(outside), depending on what the fish want on any given day. Once I figure that out, I pound them.

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    A Jig would be my choice too and even fishing both on the same rig (minnow at the top and Jig below) the jig will catch the bigger fish most of the time.

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  9. #9
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    Talking My way of thinking, Mike ....

    Quote Originally Posted by mpomatto
    Hey,
    I'm new to the forum and somewhat new to crappie fishing. I hear alot of people talking about jigs and spinners, but what about minnows? I normally cleanup on minnows. Not always tho. Is there anything truly better than a minnow?
    I live in TN, fish a small lake, stained water. I've considered a jig with some Powerbait Crappie Nibbles, very small Willow style spinners. Does pork frogs work ok with Crappie? They look kinda big for a normal crappie.
    In heavy yet very low tree cover should I use a bobber or bump the bottom?
    As in color...a nastly little green jig or a chartreuse type? Maybe even a bright yellow? The water is warming, the fish appear to be spawning. They are hittin well around 3 feet. Bass and Crappie. Of course crappie is what I'm after the most.
    Sorry for all the questions,
    Mike
    as a jig slinging kinda Crappie fishing guy, is that you can certainly catch Crappie with a minnow. That being said ... to answer your questions, in order : yes, there is "something" better than a minnow As far as "live somethings" .... Brook Silversides are better, and so are small Gizzard or Threadfin Shad. They're just not as easily "obtained" :p
    Jigs, of all descript, are always a good bet ... with or w/o Nibbles or spinner blades.
    Pork Frogs may be a bit big, for most Crappie fishing applications ... but, Pork Spin Strips will certainly add a little "sump'n sump'n" to jigheads & spoons.
    Not sure I know what "heavy but very low tree cover" is ... but, if you're referring to "low overhanging tree branches", learn to "shoot" your jig, and that problem is solved. "Bumpin bottom" is only productive when the fish are "on" (or very near) the bottom ... bobbers/floats are most productive when used to control depth, and detect subtle bites.
    Color ... you can't go wrong with chartreuse ... with or without any other color present. (I'd really like to see a "nasty little green jig" :D ) Seriously, though ... every color has its day/time/place ... and Crappie can go from "don't care what color it is, I'm eatin it" - to "nope, wrong shade of that color ... ain't touching that thang" --- so, have a selection of colors & color combos, and keep trying something different until you find what they want.
    Best advice ... get it (the bait) in front of them, by whatever method you care to use, and let them tell you if they want it or not !!

    ......... cp

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    Quote Originally Posted by mpomatto
    Hey,

    I'm new to the forum and somewhat new to crappie fishing. I hear alot of people talking about jigs and spinners, but what about minnows? I normally cleanup on minnows. Not always tho. Is there anything truly better than a minnow?

    I live in TN, fish a small lake, stained water. I've considered a jig with some Powerbait Crappie Nibbles, very small Willow style spinners. Does pork frogs work ok with Crappie? They look kinda big for a normal crappie.

    In heavy yet very low tree cover should I use a bobber or bump the bottom?

    As in color...a nastly little green jig or a chartreuse type? Maybe even a bright yellow? The water is warming, the fish appear to be spawning. They are hittin well around 3 feet. Bass and Crappie. Of course crappie is what I'm after the most.

    Sorry for all the questions,

    Mike
    Welcome aboard. I fish with minnows a lot, but I have had day's I couldn't get a crappie to bite a minnow, but I could catch them one after the other with a jig. If the minnows are working for you, stick with them. It's all a matter of confidence.

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