Jigging under a bobber...

If you've never tried it, it's time to start...
Spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon bank fishing; twitching a silver dart 15 to 18 inches under a a small bobber in a private pond in Alamance Co. Caught 5 or 6 bass between 4 inches and 15 inches, an 11" shecllcracker, 10" red ear sunfish, 11" crappie and two catfish 15" and 18". Lot of fun on a 7' UL rod and spinning reel. Had to tighten the drag on the catfish; they were running away.
If you're thinking about taking a kid fishing, twitching a jig under a bobber is the perfect technique. Enough physical activity (twitching) to keep them occupied and plenty of visual feed back when the bobber goes low. And, though yesterday was better than average for a couple of hours, I've never been skunked while twitching.

Good "Twitching" post....atti boy
:)

It is a great technique, Kevb introduced it to me. I have been impressed by the quantity and quality of fish caught. Yes I am teaching it to my oldest girl now, great way to introduce a kid to lure fishing.

Goodjob SnowCamp.Curious to what you call a shellcracker and redear sunfish.They're the same fish.Is it possible that you caught a Pumpkinseed,which has a redflap on it's ear also? If so,that's a big one.None the less,great quality fish catching.

Sooooooo....where's this great little pond you were fishing at? lol

You're correct, Jack, it was a Pumpkinseed. Although I usually fish my own property, I was fishing one of the ponds at Alamance Wildlife Club. Only open to members and guests. We've got fish feeders and several wildlife biologists who are members and they manage our ponds. It's not hard to have quality fish under those conditions.

When the fish feeders go off, the catfish open their mouths and scoop the feed off the top of the water like an out of control track loader..

That sounds like Lake McIntosh. Snowcamp have you ever fished there? When those feeders go off those cats, bream, and carp go crazy.

would I use a slip cork or a standard clip on weighted float?

I think you can use whatever is handy. I usually use a standard clip-on balsa float for twitching. But my fishing buddy likes to use a small slip float in the same situation. We both work the edges from a boat with a 12 ft telescoping rod and a fixed bobber; casting, I usually use my 7 ft UL and a fixed bobber, he might use a 5 ft ultralight spinning rod with a small slip float. Having said that, I think the fixed bobber eliminates any slack and makes it easier to twitch. But I guess the slip bobber generates a little more up and down motion. Both bobbers will catch fish.

Jigging under a cork is one of my favorite ways to catch crappie. There's something about watching that cork ease down before you feel any tension. I want to go fishing today, but don't know what for. Any suggestions?

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Originally Posted by Perch Jerker35

would I use a slip cork or a standard clip on weighted float?

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The slip cork is a little easier to cast to tight places. When out of the water, it falls down against the jig and makes a nice compact package. Just my thought, hope it helps.

Hmm wonder if that will work for trout? Good info

Went back to the same pond for a few hours Tuesday aft. Caught a couple of catfish and 10-12 bream. (I hate it when they're coming so fast you lose count). Kept the five largest which are in the pic. Caught most of them and the three fish on the right using the crappie bug in the pic. Lost it to a large bass or a catfish and switched to the black/chartreuse tube. As soon as I switched the baits, I started catching shellcrackers in the same spots I'd caught the pumpkinseeds. I assume the shellcrackers were there all along; just didn't like the color of the crappie bug.
Water was a little discolored with a couple of feet of visibility. Fishing 15 inches under a bobber in 2 to 5 ft of water. Don't know the water temp, but it's an 8 acre pond so it warms quickly. Periods of clouds and sunshine.Thumbs Up
Attachment 62359

Very nice shellcrackers

Thank you, strippickle, for very politely correcting me. All five fish are shellcrackers; two males and three females. However it worked, before I changed baits, all I caught was females, these three plus three or four smaller. Once I switched (no more red head), all I caught were males, these two plus two or three smaller. Don't know why the choice of bait should have divided them by sex, but it did. Caught the females over a two hour period, caught the males in about 15 minutes; almost a strike on every cast...

passed thru your area last week for the OBX

Oh I really was not correcting you. I was just admiring the fish. My dad would take me to a pond that was loaded with them. The picture brought back memories of my youth.