This has been a hard transition year for me: I have been learning how to catch fish with jigs instead of minners. Thanks to a dear friend and mentor, I have caught more crappie this year with jigs than I ever have. It has been hard!! I'm one of those who thinks that you have to have a minner in the boat at all times. That is just how I was raised I guess. My dad and granddad always used minners and never really used jigs. About the only jig I can remember my grandad using was a yellow marabou jig, any other time it was the old minner bucket. I guess we tend to stick with what we are use to and sometimes not step out of our comfort zone. I went fishing yesterday, and yes I had a few minners withe me from the day before. I would catch a few with the minners, and then I ran out,,,,most of them had died in the bucket!!! So, I opened up my jig box and tried to remember what my buddy had taught me. Tied on a blue/white tube jig, added the nibble, and set off to see what I could catch. I would say that my catch ratio of jig/minner was far beyond what I had expected. If I didn't catch one on every cast it was every other cast. Now it was a farm pond, but I have to say that I have been fishing bigger water this year and have caught more crappie this year than ever just using jigs. Wish I had taken pics of them yesterday, but it had gotten dark by the time I got home. Not sure that I will ever go totally minnerless, but fishing with jigs can be awfully rewarding!!