Thread: Jigging

Thanks for the info I will give it a try.

Originally Posted by Inkdabber

As soon as the crappie start moving to brush or structure, I change from tight lining and trolling to single pole vertical jigging. It is the method I learned to crappie fish with and the one I like most. There are different varieties of jig fishing. Some folks like to cast or pitch jigs to structure using 6 to 7 foot poles, some shoot jigs to structure using 4 to 6 foot poles and others like myself prefer to vertically present the bait using longer 10 to 12 foot poles. Another variance is in the approach. Some, like Crappie Buster here on CDC, prefer to pull the boat up near the structure, drop the trolling motor and thoroughly work over the structure being fished. S-Town and myself each prefer to use a tiller outboard on a jon boat, switching it, in and out of gear to hold the boat in place, pull up to the structure with the motor running, fish fast, catch the aggressive fish then move to the next spot. It is not uncommon for me to fish well over 100 spots in a day of fishing. Some spots will be hit multiple times during a day if they're producing well, or are known to produce well. During the last tournament I fished in, I fished a couple of brush piles 4 times before they finally held biting fish. As long as your not back washing the area your fishing while shifting the motor in and out of gear to hold the boat in place, the running out board has no effect on the fish. If your able, you want to swing your jig out and away from the boat slightly beyond your target and let it free fall watching your line closely. At times the fish will be holding a foot or so below the surface of the water, regardless of how deep the brush your fishing is. This is what you want, as the fish are easiest to catch when they are up. If you read enough of my late spring and summer thru fall post, I always reference when the fish come up. This happens at some point every day. The key is being where the fish are when they come up. My experience is that bright sunny days are best for brush and dock fishing as the fish tend to go to cover to avoid the light. Cloudy days and early mornings tend to scatter the fish making trolling a better option during those times. During high pressure times the fish tend to stay deep holding tight to cover. They are catchable, but a lot of jigs are lost fishing deep and tight to the brush. So, the bottom line is this: Fish fast, catch the aggressively feeding fish, cover a lot water, be where the fish are biting best when they come up. and pick days that are bright and sunny. I hope this helps you out a bit, as this technique can be a fun, exciting, and very effective method of catching limits of fish with out buying bait.

Thanks for the info I will try to put it to good use.

This is so very helpful info for us new comers to crappie fishing or jig fishing. Thank you for taking the time to let us in on this valuable information and your knowledge.
I have found this site has some of the best guys willing to give a hand to any and all on here. I sure am glad I found this community and hope some day I can have enough knowledge to share and help other fishermen. Thanks again fellas!!!

X2 on that. This is the friendliest board I know of. It's the only place I go for info. It's a large group that's well spread out among this state and willing to share. Not just good crappie info available on this site. Good fishing info in general, and good people.

Speaking on my own behalf, I make no claims of being a pro, not even a great fisherman. I have had the honor of being schooled by some truly great crappie anglers over my many years of chasing these tasty panfish. Sharing information with individuals that wish to learn or grow their knowledge of technique, equipment, or waterways is my way of giving back and paying it forward. It also helps grow the crappie fishing audience, which in turn aides in manufacturers developing better equipment that will help us all to be better fishermen.

So.....all good i9nfo but I havent read anything about jig color. From my longlining experience I can tell that on certain days the fish seem to like one color over another. With only one pole how do you know which color to start with and when it's time to change it?

As you stated, "experience" is the key here, but I will say confidence in the bait selected is equally as valuable. When jig fishing with two guys in one boat, each should use a contrasting bait, one light colored, the other darker colored. It will not take long to determine which color pattern the fish are keying on. Similar to trolling, darker/brighter colors work best in the early morning or cloudy days, and the lighter colored patterns are best on the brighter, sunny days. Tying a bait on that you've had success with in the past and feel confident in will make you fish it better. As I feel you can will a fish to biting the jig of your choice if you believe in the bait itself.

Originally Posted by gabowman

So.....all good i9nfo but I havent read anything about jig color. From my longlining experience I can tell that on certain days the fish seem to like one color over another. With only one pole how do you know which color to start with and when it's time to change it?

Trolling or single pole. First rod always gets my favorite color. Blue/chart. Second rod usually gets the newest color I have. I've noticed lots of small yellow bugs around trees and falling from trees. Typical for spring. Also hatching on the lake bottom. This is when I start using yellows. I agree, that I always fish my favorite colors harder then others. Color chose for the fish can change every hr. If I'm not getting bit I change.