Lake vs River Crappie Fishing

Hey all,
Just wondering about crappie fishing down here in Arkansas (Bull Shoals) as opposed to fishing on a river system (Mississippi River). I live in Iowa and fish the river. Typically, anything over 6' deep is "New Territory".
What I'm wondering about is, as I read all the posts, alot of you talk about crappie jigs in 1/64, 1/100 sizes and fishing them in 20',25',30',and deeper...
Well I'm thinking it would probably take 10 - 15 minutes for these jigs to get down to the fish at those depths.
Am I missing something or do I need to be more patient...
I hope this gets alot of comments and input from everyone!
I'm researching and planning to visit/vacation around Yellville area. I haven't "wet a line" yet but that could change at anytime.
I really enjoy this site and hope to meet some of you one of these days...
Tight lines,
Noel

I can only vouch for myself ... but, I have used 1/32oz jigs in up to 20-25ft of water. And, yes, it takes it a few seconds to get that deep :p

I would tend to think that, any lighter weight bait would need a helper ;) .... say, something like another (heavier) jig on the line -- or some split shots. Now, I'm a pretty patient man ... but, if it came to having to use anything lighter than a 1/32oz --- it's gonna have some extra weight on the line, somewhere :p

... cp :cool:

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Originally Posted by IMADREAMER

Hey all,
Just wondering about crappie fishing down here in Arkansas (Bull Shoals) as opposed to fishing on a river system (Mississippi River). I live in Iowa and fish the river. Typically, anything over 6' deep is "New Territory".
What I'm wondering about is, as I read all the posts, alot of you talk about crappie jigs in 1/64, 1/100 sizes and fishing them in 20',25',30',and deeper...
Well I'm thinking it would probably take 10 - 15 minutes for these jigs to get down to the fish at those depths.
Am I missing something or do I need to be more patient...
I hope this gets alot of comments and input from everyone!
I'm researching and planning to visit/vacation around Yellville area. I haven't "wet a line" yet but that could change at anytime.
I really enjoy this site and hope to meet some of you one of these days...
Tight lines,
Noel

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iam in the same boat i have a lot of trouble fishing deep water with light jigs but what has helped me in the past is to add extra split shot about 5 to 6 feet above the jig the only problam with that is u got to know your depths becouse u cant feel the bottom or brushpile u get hung up a lot but it helps me sometimes to catch fish

Don't know what size line that you are using but a small diameter sensitive 4# line helps maybe even 2# but you have to be carefull with handling fish up close to the boat with that stuff, net em. A high vis line helps too if worried about carppie detecting the line tie a floro carbon leader on it. Tie on two jigs also helps. Good luck.

yea if im fishin down in the 20 foot or more im using 1/32 or 1/16 i mostly use 1/64 and 1/100 when shootin docks where i want a slow fall
now if its the size of the bait seeing how most 1/64 and lower are smaller you can use it on a loop knot 2 foot up from a 1/4 sinker you will have feel on jig then the weight above it

In deep water (over 25 foot) I put a 1/16 on a dropper loop and put a 1/4 oz sinker about 3 feet below it. Sort of a modified drop shot rig. Keeps the bait about 3 feet off the bottom and gives it plenty of action.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IMADREAMER

Typically, anything over 6' deep is "New Territory".

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I know exactly what you mean. Welcome to the site.

Have fished Bull many, many times. The 1/64 and 1/100 oz. jigs work well but are best used for shallow fish...sight-fishing at docks or casting (with a small float) at cover such as a brush top or tree that reaches up to within 5 feet of the surface. The 1/64 and 1/100 are impractical for the 25-30' level. They're are little harder for crappie to see, and they're so light that there's too much line slack, meaning you won't notice some of the bites. Adding a splitshot helps only a little. It's better to keep the weight at the jig, so something like 1/16 oz. would be better for 30', or 1/8 oz. for Bull's 50' deep fish. The bigger jig might be bit less appealing at times, so add scent to it and avoid giving it quick movements.

Fishing above 20' I use a 1/32. Fishing below 20' I move up to the 1/16. Here's a link to an article I think will help give you an idea how to fish deep, clear water reservoirs - Family Fishing Trips