long line help

hey guys im from MS i been crappie fishing for years but have not been a crappie.com member very long. the guys on the MS forum said ya'll are some of the best long liners in the world and suggested i ask y'all my question. i was wondering when long lining jigs is there a way to calculate the depth V's line out the same as crank baits. i have good success with this and when the fish are in six to eight fow the trial and error isn't too bad. but when there on down there is there a chart or calculation to make this easier. most of the time i use two 1/16th jigs about 2.5 to three foot apart

Hey Murdok, I have my own little calculation but I always use the same jig heads, made by Litewirehooks, because the weights of his jig heads are consistent. I weigh all my jig heads out in grains. A 1/16th oz Litewirehook weighs 29 grains. A different brand 1/16th oz jig head could weigh 24 grains or 35 grains so knowing the weight of the jig heads you use is good info. Then you have to take into consideration what size line, the bigger the line the more buoyant it is. Speed also controls depth as well as how much line you have out behind the boat. It's hard to give you the "Perfect" answer but trial and error will teach you more than I can tell you. For example, You can tie on a couple of 1/16th oz jigs and start trolling in about 10-15 ft of water and head for the shallower water. When your jig starts bumping bottom, you know how deep you are pulling at and then adjust from there.....Good Luck...It's definitely addicting!!!!

Murdok, different people can tell you where their jigs run because they have went to the trouble to find out...............and that is exactly what you need to do. Doesn't take long but the results will be your personal ones. Here's my suggestion on what you need to do...

First off, tie on your most commonly used jigs. Mine was a single 1/16th jig with a curly tail jig body. After reaching a speed of .8 mph then cast all your rods out on a "good throw" (meaning on your shortest rods casting as far as possible, then matching those same casts on your longer rods). Place all your rods into the holders and now start trolling towards shallow water. Watch your rod tips carefully until you see them start "bouncing". Now look at your depth finder and see how deep they are running when they hit bottom.

It's as simple as that. You can experiment using larger or smaller jigs, multiple jigs, adding a split shot, slower or faster speeds...whatever. I could sit here and type EXACTLY where each of my jigs run but that wouldnt necessarily fit your setup as your rods, holders, or boat might be alot different than mine. Just spend an hour or two on a clean flat learning what your jigs are doing and afterwards anytime you start marking fish you'll know EXACTLY what you need to do. Just remember, you want your jigs slightly ABOVE the fish instead of below them if you wanna catch a bunch. Hope this helps.:)

Murdok as others have said they rely on their instincts based on experience. Like you I'm new to long lining. When I started I read everything I could on the subject and asked lots of questions. That information helped but time on the water is the key. In my case, I usually fish 10 rods but I may not make the same length of cast on every rod. I'm usually trying to fish somewhere between 8-12 feet deep. I fish double 1/16's on some rods and single 1/16's with a 1/16 oz sinker on the others. I fish doubles out the side of the boat on the 12 and 16 foot rods and singles out of the back of the boat on 8 foot rods. I try to keep all the rod tips 6-8 inches above the water. Late this spring I noticed some of the long liners were fishing very deep using 1/8 and even 1/4 oz jig heads. I tried that also and had good success. Do not be afraid to experiment. Like TnT said it is addicting. There is a good read on the subject on the South Carolina forum. I hope this helps.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/south...ing-questions/

thanks fellas. it never crossed my mind to troll toward shallow water.