Thread: Jig fishing

Most of us can learn more by watching than we can by reading and listening.
There are lots of good videos on YouTube regarding fishing for crappies.
No doubt there are quite a few that are about you watching me catch fish, and not much else.
But some are also very good as to picking up information. But you need to be observing as much as listening, by watching how fast they turn the reel handle, how much they move the rod tip, etc etc.

I personally think one of the best is a good ol boy by name of Richard Gene from Alabama.
Closely observe his boats, electronics, and other gear and tackle, its about as basic as it can get.
He has numerous different videos, and all are very informative including rigging etc.
Just type in (Richard Gene fishing) on you tube.
Don't go out and buy much of anything until you watch Richard.

I appreciate all the help! I will watch those videos.


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I use 1/16oz jigs with 1.5" to 2.5" plastics when casting, about 99% of the time. I'm using a 6'6" fast action rod & 6lb test line, and a normal casting distance is about 40' ... so I try and stay about 30' from an open target area or the shoreline, so that I don't have to "sling" it as far as I can on every cast. That gives me the ability to cast past an open target area by 10' or more, which allows me the option of letting the jig fall several feet before starting my retrieve (IF that's necessary to get to the right depth). If I'm casting towards the bank, I can start my retrieve as soon as the jig hits the water, then slow or stop my retrieve when the jig gets near my intended target.

I use weedless jigheads when casting plastics .... so I can allow the jig to drop into the cover and still have a good chance of working the jig in/around/over the limbs & obstacles I'm fishing, and not get hung up nearly as often as one does using open hook jigs. Tubes or straight tail (stinger shad) style plastics are used by me about 95% of the time.

My retrieve speed, when "swimming" my jigs back, is just fast enough to keep a slight bow in the line. That does three things : it allows the weight of the line above the water to keep that bow in the line and the tics (slight jumps) in the line are easily seen, indicating a fish has sucked the bait in .... when the fish does that, they feel little to no resistance from the rod (like they would if line were taught) ... and it also shows me when the line is draped over a limb & warns me that the jig is approaching that limb, because the line will start to straighten out and stop coming towards me.

When I see that the line is likely draped over a limb/obstacle and the jig will soon come into contact with it, I will slow my retrieve even more until I feel the jig make contact ... then I will drop the rod tip about 6" and raise it back up about 12" all in one smooth movement. This lets the jig fall back over the obstacle that 6" and hang straight ... then the 12" raise will cause the jig to bump the limb and hop over it. This is important, even with weedless jigheads, because most jigs will roll on their side or turn completely upside down when being dragged over a limb ... and then the hook point can more easily come in contact with it & snag into it. When the jig is upright and hits the limb, the head of the jig ricochets off the limb and it bounces over it before the hook can turn.

Also worthy of note, is the fact that when that jig bounces over the limb and starts falling back down on the other side, I've had many hits from Crappie. In fact, it's happened often enough that I "expect" the hit when that happens ... and even TRY and get my line draped over a submerged limb, just so I can "bounce" the jig over it.

One other little "trick" that can sometimes work well with a jig, is what I call "Vertical Casting". My article is pretty self explanatory ... but, bare in mind that when I wrote it I was using an UL reel, so the 5-7 seconds per reel turn was in regards to that. You can use a 3-4 second count per turn when using larger reels (or reels with greater than a 5:1 retrieve ratio).

Here's the article : Crappie Pappy Article

This is some great information. Crappie Pappy- what kind of weedless jigs do u get or do u make your own?


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Originally Posted by Wolfman29

This is some great information. Crappie Pappy- what kind of weedless jigs do u get or do u make your own?

I have mine custom made by a member ... Grousefly (Paul Mullins / P&S Custom Tackle)

I use two different ones - fiber brush style and the Y-guard style :


Pictured above at top is the brush style, and underneath is the Y guard style. These are both 1/16oz ballhead jigs with a #2 gold Aberdeen hook. My preference is the Y guard style, but the 2+ pound Crappie that I'm holding in my avatar pic was caught on the brush style weedless jig, as you may be able to see in this picture (the white streak above the fish's mouth is the fibers of the brush weedguard) :




You can contact Grousefly by PM for discussion on sizes, colors, and styles of his weedless jigs, hooks, or weedguards ... and the price rates, and Crappie.com member discount.

There are other members that make/sell jigheads, but I'm not sure if they offer the Y guard style weedguard. I started with Grousefly, got him started making the Y guard style for me, and have stayed with him.

Originally Posted by yobuck

Most of us can learn more by watching than we can by reading and listening.
There are lots of good videos on YouTube regarding fishing for crappies.
No doubt there are quite a few that are about you watching me catch fish, and not much else.
But some are also very good as to picking up information. But you need to be observing as much as listening, by watching how fast they turn the reel handle, how much they move the rod tip, etc etc.

I personally think one of the best is a good ol boy by name of Richard Gene from Alabama.
Closely observe his boats, electronics, and other gear and tackle, its about as basic as it can get.
He has numerous different videos, and all are very informative including rigging etc.
Just type in (Richard Gene fishing) on you tube.
Don't go out and buy much of anything until you watch Richard.

Yes, his Dental floss and super glue trick workes great for keeping plastic on a jig.

Any suggestions on colors of these jig heads and colors for the plastics? Also do any of you tip your hooks with meal worms or crappie nibbles? I've heard that some people do this.


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