Terrific observations and tips! Thanks and I may try a few this PM on a wooded creek!
Bob
I want to inform those that like to dock fish on a few techniques i employ to get bit when it often seems there are no fish under the dock .
3 or 4 things often come into play .
1 , jig size , a big jig might ketch them sometimes , but more often than not a small jig will get better results . i have seen this over and over and a small jig will out fish a big jig almost 75% of the time on the local docks .
2 , to vertical fish a dock in a line straight down method as most employ will more often than not hurt the numbers of fish you could be ketchn . a pitched jig slowly falling and or rising and or horizontally drug along is most often the best presentation .
3 , scent plays a vital role in duping crappie and non scented baits typically get less bites .
Now mind you this , there are a million variables and days when nothing much matters and they will bite a cigarette but . But there are WAY more days you need to be on your game and willing to try things you would think will not work .
4 ,and YES color can play a huge role in the want to ketch them scenario . If they wont bite change the colors up and dont be shy , sometimes a bait that never works is the one they want .
Case in point ... the other day started out extra slow . i am blind on docks most of the time and have to visualize and or try to figure out what the key to ketchna pile of crappie might be . the fish that day were very much in a if it isnt moving along thru the water presentation they are NOT biting it .
Now mind you i watched 2 fellas right across from me NEVER ketch a single crappie or anything else in the 2 hours i was there and they were using minnows and jigs and dropping the bait straight down and NOT moving a hair .
In the mean time i landed 63 crappie 1 bluegill and lost a bunch of larger fish for whatever reason i am not sure about just yet . But .....
The presentation was just so so and they wanted it slowly passing by them, most liked it slightly rising from almost on the bottom in a horizontal dragging it along method .
A very few took it falling and almost none if it was still . Now i know we have all been educated by livesope and know full well crappie dont want it moving ....or at least thats what everyone keeps saying ....but from watching livescope and playing with them i can tell you matter of fact , often times they want it moving a bit .
I even went so far as to employ the old jerk it up and let it fall thing folks do when they pursue the striped fish with big slab baits . that got bit several times as well .
So just a quick fyi , sometimes and quite often it seems to me a painfully slow movement at the right depth will entice fish that wont bite to get busy .
it for sure isnt always easy to ketch them but if you change up what you are doing when you cant get a bite , you might be pleasantly surprised
tip of the week ....that particular visit to that spot the fish were definitive in the want for a white pearl 1.75 inch bait on a 1/32 jig with or without paint on the head . the reason that was the ticket is the large shoals of the same size as my jig shad that were slowly easing by on the surface heading towards shallow water late in the day.
KABOOM is the word yawl
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whaleshdhntr, Minister1955 thanked you for this post
Terrific observations and tips! Thanks and I may try a few this PM on a wooded creek!
Bob
Ketchn LIKED above post
Best way to fish a dock is a miner on a hook and a Budweiser in yo hand.
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Thanks Outlaw that is some excellent advice! very specific as I spend more time fooling around on docks around my pontoon just for fun and this year they have been giving up hardly any. will try different methods you suggest especially as to scent and presentation. usually do a pendulum drop and get bit that way but then will try to keep it still for a bit too.
Ketchn LIKED above post
docks often produce lots of fish and sometimes large ones . often times the key , especially on the heavily fished ones is to change up the presentation ever so slightly or even in some cases abundantly
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whalesrebranger LIKED above post
Hdhntr, from some of Ketchn's other posts, maybe you need to add some brush to where your fishing.
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