minnows vs plastics

Over the past two and a half weeks, ive been fishing Jordan three times. 1st time caught 3 keepers on all plastics. never used minnows. saw an indivual slaying them on minnows in same area. 2nd trip caught one keeper on plastic and saw a different fisherman slaying them on minnows. He even was nice enough to give me 5. 3rd trip took 4 dozen minnows and caught 18 keepers on one rod in a totally different spot before I ran out and mustard up 2 more to get my limit on plastics. Ive seen times where my plastics were out fishing minnows but rarely this time of year. What are your guys thoughts on why and when maybe one is usually better than the other? Thanks

I started to serious about crappie fshing all winter. I've only caught a few crappie on plastics. The ones I didn't catch weren't big enough to keep

Jigs tipped with minnows always except on brush. On brush just gold hook and minnow.

I have had good luck on minnows using a plain jig head(no plastic or feathers). However I have caught a lot on plastic minnows too.

I agree with Capps Cousin, tip em all with live bait

Start picking up an assortment of different jigs and tip it with a chartreuse chromaglow crappie nibble. Fish it on as light of a head as you can for your presentation. Go to different tackle stores in the area and ask around "whats everybody buying" or "whats the hot jig seem to be right now". You will have to glean through that information,not all of it will be accurate,but some people will be eager to tell you whats been working.Minnows and minnow tip jigs will always be good.It takes some time to build the knowledge base etc to become proficient enough with jigs to match live bait or come close to matching live bait most of the time. If the fish are shallow and actively feeding I can catch more fish faster on a jig than a minnow. Get a mix of curly tail,sliders,tubes,minnow imitations etc. and start learning when and how to use each one. Figuring it out is half the fun.

I went fishing with a friend from work this spring,he brought live minnows . We pulled up on a sharp drop off from 5ft of water to 20 ft. Their was a weed bed on the edge of that drop off loaded with crappie. We both started out using a bobber with the bait set just above the grass. I was catching fish so fast with the jig he quit using his minnows and tied on the same color and type jig I had.Don't happen this way all the time...but on any given day....

If I am not trolling I will be using minnows 95% of the time. On rare occasion I have fished brush were they wanted jigs over a minnow. i like minnows but when they are hitting jigs (spring) it is a lot of fun.

I have been to Jordan 4 times in the last 3 weeks. On my worst day I only caught 24 keepers and the best day was 59 over 10" plus a few smaller ones. Depth is the most critical element.
The first trip, I caught them at 12 ft. One week later, I couldn't get a hit at 12 ft., but when I dropped down two feet, it was game on. The last trip was Tuesday and I couldn't catch a fish below 12 ft and the morning bite was sporadic, but I had my 20 by 1 pm, with most of them caught at 10 ft. Decided to have a sandwich and take a break for a while, then fish until two and go home. I ended up fishing another hour and caught another limit in that time, with some of the best fish I've caught on Jordan lake in the last few years. Throwing back 14"+ fish is too much fun. These fish are feeding up for the winter and will eat anything they see.
I used tubes, Kalin's Triple Tails and Mr. Crappie Jokers in all different colors, with pink and yellow working a little better than others. I'm sure they would hit minnows, but why waste time and money when a 20 cent jig will last all day.
About jigs, if at first you don't succeed.........

All, I have heard this both ways...my question is a jig tipped with a minnow...what attracted the Crappie to bite? I have fished many, many times with Keith Wray...fishdoc to most of you...he ties his own hair jigs and uses a mix of Bobby Garlands. You can put half a dozen Crappie in Walmart at closing and he will catch 5 of them before they open! Never seen him use minnows on jigs. Always great to learn though? G

I have tried using jigs but I just don't catch that many and that's why I use minnows. I have no problem with using jigs, but I stick with what works.