Spider rig ?

Question for you veteran spider rig users.

I made myself a rig over the winter and finally got the oppurtunity to try it out today. I really enjoyed this style of fishing. My question is, can you guys give me some hints on keeping the fish on while taking the rod out of the rod holders. I started out fishing with minnows and lost almost every fish I hooked. I then switched some of baits to jigs (with sickle hooks) and had much better luck connecting with fish. Let me know your experiences and give me some hints as to what I'm doing wrong.

When removing the pole from holder try not to let slack in the line.

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i agree slack will cause you to loose a lot of fish hook size on minnows is real important also i never use under a 1/0 aberdeen hook i also use 3/4 to 1oz of weight and on my jigs i prefer #2 my rod holder swivels at the back so you stay in contact with the fish when lifting the rod out of the holder another thing make shure you do not try to lift the fish dip them.

most beginners tend to let the rod tip dip a bit when they take it out of the holder, this gives a good crappie all the slack it needs to slip the hook. Be carefull to keep your rod tip up, even if it means you are slower getting it out of the holder, good form is much more important than swiftness. I keep my rod butts barely hanging on the edge of the holder that is facing me, when i get a bite i actually push and lift the rod out of the holder at the same time. hope this helps.

Thanks for the info guys. I had a blast fishing this way yesterday, so I guess I'll just have to keep practicing til I get it down pat. ;-)

X3 on watching the slack. Long rods amplify your movements from butt to tip so 1/2 inch dip with your wrist can mean several inches of slack on the other end. Once you put your hand on the rod focus on the tip and watch for the slack, won't take long for the movement needed to get the rod out of your holder without dipping to be habit.

Another thing I've learned the hard way. First instinct with crappie is don't hoss 'em. Casting or fishing minnows under a cork I've found that a stout pull as close to horizontal as possible sets the hook and normally the hook goes to the side of the mouth. Tightlining has you pulling at a different angle. The hook may be heading for the roof of the mouth which requires more pressure to get a good set. Switching to the jig gave you a different angle than a straight bait hook. Also, if you're fishing your weight above the bait, especially with minnows, they may just be holding on to it and not really hooked ......... basically what I'm saying is you might need to give the rod a bit of a snap when you pick it up.

If you bump into this again try to see where the hook is when they come undone and look at the fish you do get in the boat, if the hook is the roof of the mouth and he comes unglued then you didn't get a good set, if it's in the side of the mouth then you are probably giving them too much slack.

And the obvious .... SHARP HOOKS! I recently got some jigs from lightwirehooker on this site. They're poured on fine wire hooks that bend easily but they are also sharp as the dickens. You can definitely tell the difference in hookups!

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Originally Posted by papadave

Also, if you're fishing your weight above the bait, especially with minnows, they may just be holding on to it and not really hooked .

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That makes sense. A number of the fish that I lost on minnows seemed to just be holding on to the minnows. You're right it will take a little practice to develop that "muscle memory" to remove the rod from holder without letting it dip and then snapping the hook set. I'm certainly willing t practice! One thing I did observe is it seems like you have more time to get the rod out of holder/set the hook than you might think when spider rigging. Casting with a slip bobber you usually have to be on it pretty quick, but I observed yesterday while pushing you often have several seconds to get to the fish. I would guess that might change as the water heats up and they are less aggressive.

Lot of good info in this thread , thanks mjm76 for asking the question!

Proper adjustment of the holders will help some, butyou seem to have that. The right rod holder makes it easier also. I tried several brands that were hard to get the rod clear from. Once I found those I now have, clearing the holder is no longer an issue. I won't hijack the thread, but if you want more info, shoot me a pm.

To get a clean hookset and steady pressure on the fish with tite loks and driftmaster is "one hand in front of the reel and straight up". The rod will come out smooth everytime. If you can't do this, your holders are probably too high or too far forward. Rod tips low to the water and about 1 inch of the handle sticking through the holder also help.

This probably applies to other holders as well.

Another reason you may not be hooking fish is that you may not be seeing the bite until too late. Lots of times the fish aren't gonna give you much notice that they're on and multiple poles require undivided attention to see the rod tip bob up or the vee ripple of lines running in the water change direction.

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Originally Posted by papadave

And the obvious .... SHARP HOOKS! I recently got some jigs from lightwirehooker on this site. They're poured on fine wire hooks that bend easily but they are also sharp as the dickens. You can definitely tell the difference in hookups!

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x2

You didn't say how fast you were going. May try speeding up or slowing down. If your going too fast they may not be getting a good hold on it. If your going too slow they may have too much time to look at it (see light bite above) or just lipping your minnow. Just a thought. I sometimes have some trouble with that. You can feel them on it when you pick the pole up but no fish. They're jerking the skirt down but not grabbing the jig/hook. Usually changing speeds will fix it, some times faster, sometimes slower.

I have driftmaster style rod holders Any way, in hindsight I think that some of my problems were related to the position of the rod within the holder. Up until now the bulk of my experience using rod holders has been with catfish where pulling the rod overboard is a valid concern. After your comments and thinking about it I think I should have put my rods further out in the rod holder, probably so the butt was just held by the back of the holder. I played around with positioning the rod in the holder and taking it out in the driveway yesterday and I think that positioning the rods in that way would allow me to get the rod out of the holder with less horizontal movement (slack) than I was before.

As far as speed, I'm not really sure. I wasn't monitoring that, I know it was slow, I was monitoring speed to keep the lines as vertical as possible and ended up using the motor to position more than propel. My equipment is pretty low tech so speed monitoring will be pretty hard for me.

I know when I first started I missed a bunch of fish because I got excited and wanted to see whats on the line. Now when I hook one I dont care how big he feels I dont pull him to the surface without a net on standby. Have lost some good fish right on top of the water. When I get a bite I always make sure to be quick and to come straight up with my pole but not to hard. I guess it takes missing a few and catching a few to really get the hang of it. Rod holder height does have alot to do it.

The hook set and removing the rod from the holder should all be in one motion. I use baitcasters so I grab right at the reel but if you are using spinning reels then grab the rod in front of the reel and lift with a quick snap... Like it has already been said more times than not you are going to hook them in the roof of the mouth so it takes a good hookset. Once you get the hang of it your catch ratio will go up. Also like has been said make sure that you keep your net ready... having a fish come off is one thing but having a hawg come unhooked because you are trying to lift the fish in the boat is a whole other ball game... it will have you saying things that will make a sailor blush HAHA... Good luck to you and remember that the best advice is experience. Nothing is better than learning spidder rigging with time, time, and more time on the water!

Blake

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Originally Posted by bc1448

Nothing is better than learning spidder rigging with time, time, and more time on the water!

Blake

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If I can get my wife to buy into this idea I'll really be in business!:p

Use your minnow on the back of a jig with sickle hooks. The slack thing is really big too, but with sickles you will not lose as many.

I just started pushing double minnow rigs last year and never had any problems hooking up or losing fish. Last year I tied Kentucky rigs with the weight on the bottom. This year I'm trying out the Capps and Coleman rigs with the weight in the middle. Yesterday evening I was getting bit good but many times missing them or losing them on the way in. I'm starting to think it's the difference of where the weight is in the whole thing. Any body have any similar experiences?

Hello: As was said earlier sharp hooks and no slack. Also if you have all the rods at the same height off the water you can keep a closer tab on them. If you should get more than 1 on quickly decide which one is bigger and try to boat that one first. Good Luck. O - R

I always double rig with the weight in the middle of the bottom lure. I think...if the weight is on the bottom, tie loop knots for your lures and not have the lure 'in-line'.? The fish may feel the resistance of the weight in the latter situation and spit it before the hook-set.

Great info!!!!!!!!!

Jim Dant's comments on page 8 of this month's CrappieNow match what I've been experiencing. I've had much better luck switching the weight to the bottom and shortening the droppers.

Crappie NOW – Everything Crappie! – Crappie NOW – April 2016

Q: Why are fish lost?
Jim Dant, IL - had a cooler of Reelfoot crappie in the isle of the Grizzly Jig Show where he was visiting with customers about Bobby Garland Jigs. This tournament
fisherman says, “Hookset and slack line in the leaders are primary reasons for lost fish. I’ve been fishing a lot at Reelfoot Lake using double minnow rigs. I
changed from a typical Capps/Coleman double-hook rig to putting the weight on bottom and shortening the extensions, or leaders. Putting the hook only two inches
from the main line gives a more direct path for setting the hook. Fish I had been losing are now getting and staying hooked. My catch per bite ratio has probably
doubled. I do set the hook firmly but try not to go overboard with it.”

Pretend your rod and holder have a hinge between them, don't worry about getting the butt of the rod out. Pickup the tip in the air at say 1-2 oclock position first, then pull the rod upward out. That hole needs to be big enough for that to be done easily. I have taken lots of rookies (lol) and they worry about getting the rod out first. I try to hit myself in the chest with the fish. If it ant no pig. Hope this helps.

Straight up hook sets work most of the time, however not all fish will be caught lifting straight up, some times you have to set the hook off to one side or the other. Same thing applies to slip bobber fishing.

Another method I like, set the hook with my finger, pull the line quick with your free hand while your other hand reaches for the pole. Keep the line tight while you retrieve the pole. This is a simple way of keeping the line tight while your fiddle with removing the pole from the rod holder.

Great info and thanks for sharing

The Hi Tek holders work great for the problem you are talking about. They are very easy to get rod up and out. When you see even the lightest movement with your line, pick up, the bait is in their mouth. My 2 cents.

When I first saw rod holders & long poles used in the Spider Rigging method, my first thought was "get the rod completely out of the holder & then set the hook" :scratchhead .... and that seemed a bit cumbersome/awkward. Then, after actually "using" the setup, I realized you don't remove the pole & then set the hook; you set the hook by removing the pole !! You lift the pole, using the butt end of the pole and the rear loop of the holder as a stationary holding point (fulcrum) ... and as you continue lifting the pole, the butt end of the pole will slip right out of the rear loop of the holder as you lift the tip end of the rod up and back towards you.

Losing fish, for me anyway, seems to be a function of using a regular hook, rather than a jig. A regular hook can be pointed in any direction, while it's in the mouth of the fish ... so, when you "set the hook", the hook point can stick almost anywhere inside the mouth or even out on the lips of the fish. That's not always a secure "hookup" ... especially when the hook is in the lip, as it usually tears a hole in the membrane, leaving a large "exit hole" for the hook should the fish (or you) successfully cause a momentary slack in the line.

With a jig .... considering that the hook is always pointing up, you're more likely to stick the fish in the roof of the mouth for a more solid hookup. :twocents