Keys to floating a jig and catching Cane Creek crappie

[Lucky]

Location, location, and location. We know they say that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. I have established for myself that when the crappie are not scatered and active they are in certain very specific locations.

For each location I have learned what and where the structure is. In that, my cast are very specific to the given area. By starting shallow (3ft) above the structure and working my way deeper (8ft) into and around the structure I often find that the Crappie are in one specfic spot. I may catch 15 to 20 crappie from one very specific place. If I can't fish those certain locations I do not catch crappie.

I feel for the bait fish which I can feel when I lift the jig from the dept. Once I know the dept of the shad I set my dept just below them.

When the crappie are not really feeding I feel that how I move my jig is critical. I use a small round bobber that the most sutle movement is to cause the bobber to simply roll 90 degrees onto its side without moving laterally. Sometime this small movement is all that is needed. The most aggressive movement for me is to snap the bobber forward 2 to 3 inches. No matter how I move the jig I only do it once.What I do most often is set a pattern that goes like this. Snap pause snap pause etc. Note: I feel that I can't do the pattern to slow but certainly can do it too fast.

On a recent trip to Cane Creek I fished side by side with two other boats. We all cast to the same location at the same time and started our retreives. Repeatedly my bobber disappeared while the other two fisherman did not get a bite. One man yelled "how the hell do you do that"? I feel it was the movement of the jig.

What I have seen of most of the fisherman that try to do this technique is that they move the jig to much. They move the jig too often and too far ( 1ft to 2 ft). This type of retreive will catch fish but not as many. When the crappie are deep and not active they will not chase the jig. Also if I determine that the crappie are deep and located between two tops I want to stay in the strike zone longer.

I am sharing some of my thought as to why I think Cane Creek is being so productive for me.