Staying With It

I am not exactly new to crappie fishing, but their are aspects that each of us don't use or don't use very often. Take for example some use plastics on their jigs, or strictly and tied jigs, some it is crank baits. Well for me my comfort zone has been minnows on a light jig. That's what I have caught the majority of my fish on. Yes I have dabbled with hand tied jigs with some success, and I have a couple hundred dollars in plastic lures I have bought over time. Some of the plastics work for me, some don't. But it seems, for some reason unknown to me, I always gravitate back to minnows.
Now here recently, due to lots of money spent on replacing floors in the house and other modifications, I haven't had the money to buy minnows, or not wanting to put money there anyway, so I have been going fishing minnow less and have had some success. Maybe it's a confidence thing, but rarely do I catch much on plastic's. Anyway to make a long story shorter, I have been going with just plastic's. I have been fishing, from the bank, where I know I have caught crappie in the past on minnows, and using just the plastic's. I'll fish with one color, usually suspended below a float when I'm at the tailrace area below the dam as the water does the work of moving the jig and float. It's been getting better each time I go.
I'll take an assortment with me, as well as an assortment of jigs, and about every 10 to 15 minuets I'll change up colors, till I go thru all of what I have with me. I have even started catching better fish with them. So I guess what I'm saying is, It's good to get away from your comfort zone and try new things...don't give up on new things to fast, and have fun...

IMO , the key with jigs is figuring out how they react to your presentation. It can change from day to day sometimes , hour to hour.
Then throw in color preference.
With some patience you can usually dial in a pattern that works as good and sometimes better than minners


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From my experience, a jig bite is often more subtle than a minnow bite. I have to be a line watcher. Also, scent will make em hold on a little longer in many cases. Slab Sauce is great, as well as Berkley Crappie Nibbles. Or use em both!

I do use both, lol. sometimes together, sometimes one on one and one on the other...Have rarely caught any fish on any lure without having had scent on it...and will reapply which ever one it had when I have caught a fish...