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Hi everyone,
I recently went for crappies off of a dock I have permission to fish. I ended up catching 14 small ones, but I could of caught a lot more. My problem is they are just nipping the tail of my tubes and grubs. They are not bluegills, because I can see them, and I tried a few colors. Do any of you know what I could do differently? Thanks for any replies!
problem is - if you can see them, they can see you ... might make them a bit spooky (especially the bigger ones) and cause the little ones (the hungry ones, anyway) to "nip" at the bait. You can try several different things:
downsize ... go to a 1/24oz, 1/32oz, or 1/64oz size jig
put away the "plastics" and go to feather/hair type jigs
use a small plain jighead and put a minnow on it (usually hooked from under the throat and out between the nostrils)
drop your jig (whichever one you choose to use) down past/below them ... then sloooowly reel it back up
stay well back from the edge of the dock ... walk as quiet as a cat ... hold your rod so that the top 6 inches of it are all that sticks out past the edge of the dock ... let out just enough line to put the jig a few feet deep in the water (or just a few inches below the submerged edge, if it's a floating dock) ... and walk slowly along, dragging the jig in the water as you go ... if you have a spinning outfit - you can "jiggle" the line with your "trigger finger" as you hold your rod steady and at the same position as you walk
you can put on a float/marabou jig and cast well down the edge of the dock and slowly reel it back in (again, staying out of sight as much as possible)
you can fish deeper and slower ... there may be bigger fish below the youngsters
you can try the "creek" size crankbaits ... Roadrunners ... Beetlespins ... miniature spinner baits ... in-line spinners (like Rooster Tails or Mepps)
where there's a will, there's a way ... keep trying new things .... luck2ya ..cp
OK Here is the low down on how a crappie eats a minnow. A crappie opens it's mouth and then opens it's gills and sucks water and the minnow into the crappies mouth. I have watched my six captive aquarium crappie eating hundrends of minnows over the last 7 months. Not once did the crappie nibble at a minnow. They strike at them so hard that they often injure their noses by running into the sides of the aquarium. They may miss the minnow at times when they run into the glass. But they never nip at the minnows. They ALWAYS INHALE the minnows. This stike happens in less than a seconds time. I wish I had a high speed camera to record the stikes so that I could play it back in slow motion for all to see.
What I have found is that the crappie can inhale a bait and spit it back out so fast that it's hard to follow the action. I have seen this happen with bass in big aquariums. Have you ever watched some of the fishing shows where they show ads for the banjo minnow an other baits? Bass feed the same way that crappie do. They also stike and inhale the baits. Only thing different is that bass have larger mouths.
Here is what I think it happening. There could be several reasons that are preventing you from hooking the crappie.
1) You hook may not be catching in the crappies mouth. This could be due to the size of the hook. I have some small jigs that I used last week and found that I was getting bites but could not hook the crappie. The hook size was too small. I switched to a different jig head that had a larger hook and immediately started hooking the crappie. The gap size needs to be larger and more open. the hook point should be able to catch inside the crappie's mouth when you set the hook.
2) You may be reeling too fast and the crappie may be missing the bait. You know if this is the case or not. If this is the case then slow the retrive down. Crappie like a bait that is moving real slow.
My guess is that it's more than likey the hooks on the jigs that you are using and not the way the crappie are biting your baits.
3)It could be a bluegill as they feed differently than crappie. Note the size of a bluegills mouth compared to a crappie.
Note: Even with the 1.5" long jigs using larger hooks I have caught small crappie. Heck I have caught hundreds of small crappie at Patoka lake. I once caught a 4" long crappie with these squirmin squirt jigs. I miss a few once in a while also. But that is just part of the game. You are not going to hook every fish that takes the bait. Sometimes the hook just does not catch inside the fish's mouth and the bait comes right out without hooking the fish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie15
I'd suggest you try using crappie nibbles with your tube jigs. They like the taste of them and will pull the bait deeper in their mouth giving you more time to set the hook. You may have had some type of oder on your hands and they would smell it and release the tube. The nibbles will cover the smell. Or try any other bait scent. Fish formula 2, Baitmate, Dr Juice, Kullis' Minnow paste, or any other out there. There's lots to choose from. Scent works wonders on finicky fish. :cool:
Thanks a lot for the advice you guys. I might go later on this evening, and I will probably fish much slower, and maybe use some small hair jigs.
I aggree with this post, but would like to add Yum, and Kodiak Soaking scents & pastes(the best) to the arsenal.Quote:
Originally Posted by chaunc
When the short strike happens, it is often just a taste test for the Crappie. They can sample and decide if they want to keep or reject an item in around 1/10th of a second. They most likely do this when your offering and it's presentation has made them curious, or just upset, but they really doubt if it is food. Crappie defend their locations quite often with their mouths instead of their spikes. I call this hit the "get out of here bite". It really isn't a feeding bite, but can become one if you can convince them that they like what they taste even if it doesn't swim or look quite right to them!
Crappie strikes can often miss too, simply because the attack was miscalculated by the fish. When they dart out from their cover or their particular edge to ambush their prey, they often are rising & turning at the same time to suck in their meal. When they trap their prey along a natural edge, their approach to their prey slows, and is more direct than the ambush. With that strike, they rarely miss what they truly want to eat.
I have studied Crappie's behavior within large tanks, and in observatory areas while they are feeding. If you have some Crappie in an aquarium, they will teach you a lot. :p <,"}/>{ Rippa