Catching just 1 crappie

[Moose07]

So I've been following advice from my previous posts and have only caught two crappie on two different occasions. When I catch one I cast back to the same area using the same jig and same technique that I caught my first one but I'm not catching anymore. I always thought crappie were school fish. Is this common? Should I keep fishing the same spot or has the bite turned off after 1 fish and it's time to move? For anyone that hasn't read any of my other posts, im fishing from the bank.

[silverside]

My first thought is that the fish are there, but maybe you didn't hit the same depth as before. The bite should still be on.

Sent from my SM-S711U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[Moose07]

Thanks for the reply. I have been doing the countdown method instead of using a slip bobber because I'm constantly getting hung up and having to retie sometimes every cast lol I figured I would save money by not losing bobbers that often but sounds like it's costing me fish.

[CrappiePappy]

If there's a reason for them to be there, like cover or food, then yeah ... they should stay there for awhile. If those single fish were loners or in a school that was "on the move", then you may have just put your bait in their path and they moved on before you got your bait in their presence.

I have also seen times when you catch a fish out of a school, and the school scatters or simply hunkers down deeper into the cover they're on. You "may" still be able to get the hunkered down fish to bite, if you give them time ... but, a scattered school may take a long time to regroup & come back to that spot, if indeed they even do so.

My only suggestion for "hunkered down" fish would be to use a weedless jig and let it go down into the cover ... and VERY slowly drag it back, paying close attention to when you feel the jig bounce over a limb, as that's when I've experienced the majority of "thumps" (or line jumps) when doing so.

What I do is slowly reel in the jig until I see the spot where the line enters the water stay in the same place. That lets me know that my line is draped over something and the jig is simply rising to that "something". Once I feel the slightest tension or the rod tip begins to bend forward, I'll drop the rod tip about 6" and then quickly raise the rod tip about 12", expecting to feel the jig bump over the limb. Once it does, I let the jig fall for a few seconds while expecting a thump or line jump (or even the line going slack) ... and set the hook in either of those 3 scenarios. If no such thing happens, I continue to slowly reel the jig in until I encounter another limb or the jig has obviously gone well past the cover I'm fishing. Then it's just a matter of "rinse/repeat" ... but, a little to the left or right of where my previous cast landed (like, say, no more than 1ft)

And yes ... even weedless jigs can & will get hung up, just not as often as a non-weedless jig will. And, as far as "type" of weedless jigs available out there ... I prefer the multi-fiber (brush) type weedguards over the single strand type, because I can spread the fibers out. That allows the weedguard to keep the jig from turning upside down when going over an obstacle.

[Moose07]

That's a lot of great info! Thank you.

[Ketchn]

so many factors can cause this scenario , they might have been on the move and you just got lucky
or one was just a bad actor and decided to get stupid , unlike his brethren in the rest of the crowd
or something you did that you didn't even realize you did enticed one in the bunch to strike
being on the bank is a completely different scenario than them that are chasing the bite in a boat with electronics
it's rather easy in many cases with a boat , it is not near so easy from the bank
not sure what depth your presentation was or is , but a cheap clip on is far better than a slip float from the bank in most cases as well
and in the end , far less crappie will hit jigs that are being reeled along as well ....
some will always disagree with the way I do it , but few if any of those ever went with me
on a quick side note: one beats none bro

[BobC]

Yep, as Ketchn said beats a skunk. Stay with it.
Bob

[Ketchn]

Yep, as Ketchn said beats a skunk. Stay with it.
Bob

the rode to ketch a herd of crappie from the bank winds and twists tremendously
there will be those please let me just ketch just one crappie days in that mix for sure

[ALBuzz]

Just as BobC said, stick with it and we will see you when the 25+ post comes!

[Moose07]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Just curious on why you recommend a spring bobber over a slip bobber? I was thinking I could get some weighted slip bobbers so I could cast farther to hit a little deeper water. I understand I don't need a slip bobber for just a few feet of water but I am curious to your reasoning. Thank you