Jig size?

[Boscoe]

Seems to me like a lot of good info in this thread, and that crappie fisherman from all over use similar methods.
1. Long limber rods, I use an 8.5' and 7'5' mirco lite rods from BPS, except under low bridges where I use a 40 year old 5' Garcia glass ultra lite. My buddy has a 9' Ugly Stick fly rod that he found in a dumpster and coverted to a spinning rod.
2. Slip bobbers, I use the foam one with the hollow black plastic sticks, clean the holes with a Dremal and spray with Pam to help the line slip thru.
3. Jig sizes, keep changing size and color till you find what works, my buddy and I fish different sizes and colors when we start out till we find what works. We also use fly clips for attachment because it gives the jigs better action, it makes for quicker changes of jigs and less time tryng to tie 4 lb line with 50+ year old eyes.
4. Moose hit on something about minnows, we catch mosquito fish out of ditches, dump them in my wife's goldfish pond and feed them dry cat food. They swim with a lot more action than store bought shiners and hold up much better in hot weather. They are native to the places we fish and are natural food for crappies.

[cmistfp]

I haven't had much luck catching them crappie lately . I went out this morning and netted some mosquito fish and put them on a 1/16 oz jig with a green and chartreuse tube . I trolled very slow in 20' water . The crappie seemed to be holding between 12 and 15 ft . I kept having to stop and let the jigs fall . I only caught 4 . And kept the biggest one(11") . I had some bites but was to slow to set the hook . They seem to gobble those mosquito fish up . I picked up a fat mosquito fish and went to hook it when it gave birth to about 20 or so little guppies . Seems they have live birth . Never knew that . Does anyone know a good attractant/bait to put in a minnow trap to catch them . Bread doesn't seem to work well for them and I don't know where you'd get mosquito larvae .... Chris

[Boscoe]

For trapping mosquito fish try something with a fishy smell, we have used skins from fillets, shells from peeled shrimp, or even cat crunchies in a mesh bag made from discarded panty hose.

[Moose1am]

Try using saltine crackers. Crumble them up. Also the flake fish food that you get for tropical fish may work. I know that my shiners will eat the flake food when I put some in their aquarium.

NOTE: My minnow trap is made out of heavy duty glass, not a wire cage. The wire cages may work also but the cracker crumbs will not stay in side the minnow trap. With the glass jar the bread, cracker crumbs or flake food stays inside the minnow trap.

I set my minnow trap out for the first time last spring and caught a few small bluegills in it after an hour. I again set the trap out Friday evening and left it out in 10ft of water for 3 hours but it didn't catch a single minnow or crawdad. Friday night I baited the trap with some old Turkey slice lunch meat (about three slices) and all they did was make a gooey mess inside the glass minnow trap.

I am going to go again and hope to find a good spot to catch minnows in the trap. I need the minnows to feed to my two captive crappie.

I haven't had much luck catching them crappie lately . I went out this morning and netted some mosquito fish and put them on a 1/16 oz jig with a green and chartreuse tube . I trolled very slow in 20' water . The crappie seemed to be holding between 12 and 15 ft . I kept having to stop and let the jigs fall . I only caught 4 . And kept the biggest one(11") . I had some bites but was to slow to set the hook . They seem to gobble those mosquito fish up . I picked up a fat mosquito fish and went to hook it when it gave birth to about 20 or so little guppies . Seems they have live birth . Never knew that . Does anyone know a good attractant/bait to put in a minnow trap to catch them . Bread doesn't seem to work well for them and I don't know where you'd get mosquito larvae .... Chris