Thread: Bridge Crappie 101

I have several friends that do not like bridge fishing for crappie. I have a few friends that love bridge fishing for crappie .
So its like fords and chevys with the crappie people best I can tell you .
I am of that opinion that it matters not me where when or how I ketch crappie I just like to ketch crappie .
So if its sunny and hot and they are under a bridge so be it ,lets pitch a jig is my thought .
first thing you need is a way to hold still enough near columns to concentrate on ketchn fish .
lots of the guys I know tie up and it works well if you can keep the boat of the columns .
second thing that will help you is look at that graph and see where in the water column the concentrations of fish are holding .
third and very important is measure your line out carefully to a depth that's a foot or so above the mother lode .
the next thing that's important is DO not use a jig heavier than you need to present the bait .
this part is often critical as a meandering slow senseless bait fish is more likely to get bit than a fast jerky one .
a heavy jig will be more likely to look like a pass it up bait than a light jig that's floating around
now mind you some of the tips I am offering go against traditional methods and to be sure I have buds that whack plenty with a heavy jig
another valuable thing to do is drop a tandem about a foot or 18 inches apart to cover more water column and also look more like a small school of baitfish
often times bridges have cross members at a desirable depth for crappie and they tend to load up on them and many times just under them as an ambush point .
pitching your set up out and letting it fall back to them often gets a bite as it reaches that desired depth as well ,so don't just always drop the set up straight down the column , this isn't a natural way a baitfish comes into a strike zone in most cases .
finally if you find a herd and they wont bite pretty quickly , try another column or 2 .
many times one column is so so and or not good at all and the next one is on fire .
last thing I think matters a lot is the shade side is typically the best spot in the darkest shade and the downwind or current side of that particular column or crossmember is probably the best place .
10 to 16 foot down in waters 25 to 35 foot deep were real good the other day when we went out and it was good times for sure.
tandem 1/32 number 6 hook with shad body baits in a dull chart with pepper flecks in it ,NO scent required .
only kept a few for someone that asked us to and only hit the bridge for a little bit around 6 30 pm to about 8 pm
hopefully you get to use some of this advice and do well using this info .
luck to you on your next trip

Originally Posted by Jackson87

Good info.What color baby shad is that?


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

I have not clue on that bait color other than it wasn't extremely bright chart and it did have lil pepper flakes in it .
a custom bait mfg. sent them to me to test in a bag with 2 or 3 of several different colors in it .
a little on the soft side though and they got tore up pretty good .