More advice please. minnows or jigs

Haven't fished with minnows for at least 20 yrs, catch just as many or more fish and don't have to deal with the stinky slimy mess minnows cause. If fish are hitting at all can usually catch more quicker with jigs.

For me my 10 biggest crappie i have caught was on jigs. All of those was caught using hot rods or shad body. As far as what catches most i think it depends on the lake and time of day. I do think jigs work better between 10 and 4pm for me anyway. Green river i havent used minners for several years and normally catch between 40 and 80 keeper size fish a trip. Cumberland average between 30 to 50 keeper a trip depending on what part of the lake and it is pretty even most jigs versus minner but i would give the edge to minners. Dale hollow only fished 6 times this year averaged 30 a day and would give the edge to the jigs there...

For several years I fished jigs only. You wouldn't find a minnow in my boat. But then a friend of mine and I started fishing crappie tournaments which we did for 20 years. I would say that 95% of all the tournaments we fished were fished spider-rigging (slow trolling) with jigs tipped with minnows. However, we usually always had one pole baited with a minnow only and I can honestly say that that pole caught as many or more fish day in and day out as any jig. These days, I spend a lot of time guiding and you will always find a bucket of minnows in my boat. True, there are days when jigs work better....but there are days when minnows win hands down. Personally, I find minnows work the best in the summertime and when night fishing for crappie, but that's just me. Basically, I believe that the best bait (whether jig or minnow) is the one you have the most confidence in.

When I can't catch crappie, I put a minnow on a jig and cast it the same way
pulling through the brush. It always does better for me when they're tough.