Different tree, bigger fish. . .

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07-24-2006, 02:22 PM
b_a_s_s_101

Different tree, bigger fish. . .

Me and dad took the lil alluminum jon boat out to the lake that we caught a bunch of little crappies in on saturday. there are about 7-10 old christmas trees set up in a row sitting in (estimated) 10' of water. We just did verticle casting around an older tree, lack of little branches, and had pretty good luck. We both caught a nice amount of crappies from 8-13". I caught the biggest one of the day, a 13"er. I saw a little school of minnows amungst the branches of the tree and droped my orange/chart. jig right under them...WHAM!! my 13"er slammed my jig. thought it was a big bass for a while. my biggest of the year, only fished for crappies in the boat twice and have had great success. I owe a lot of it to you guys for tips and advice. The rest i owe it to my jigs and line :p thanks guys.
07-25-2006, 05:33 AM
CrappiePappy

B101 ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_a_s_s_101

Me and dad took the lil alluminum jon boat out to the lake that we caught a bunch of little crappies in on saturday. there are about 7-10 old christmas trees set up in a row sitting in (estimated) 10' of water. We just did verticle casting around an older tree, lack of little branches, and had pretty good luck. We both caught a nice amount of crappies from 8-13". I caught the biggest one of the day, a 13"er. I saw a little school of minnows amungst the branches of the tree and droped my orange/chart. jig right under them...WHAM!! my 13"er slammed my jig. thought it was a big bass for a while. my biggest of the year, only fished for crappies in the boat twice and have had great success. I owe a lot of it to you guys for tips and advice. The rest i owe it to my jigs and line :p thanks guys.

Did you actually use the "Vertical Casting" method ... like I outlined it in my article ?? If you did ... it's a hoot, ain't it :D It's surprising when & where that method will work, sometimes. ........... cp :cool:
07-25-2006, 06:29 AM
b_a_s_s_101

Yes we did!! Its awesome, till you feel a slight tug, set your hook and........snag!! they're easier to get out in a boat though. We got bit on the jig's way down a lot of times, which is crazy because you have to watch for the slightest tick of your line, and if not that, it will start moving off to the side. It's truely a blast. Any one who hasn't tried this, give it a shot. its a ball. thanks crappiepappy.
07-26-2006, 06:03 AM
CrappiePappy

Definitely cool ..

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_a_s_s_101

Yes we did!! Its awesome, till you feel a slight tug, set your hook and........snag!! they're easier to get out in a boat though. We got bit on the jig's way down a lot of times, which is crazy because you have to watch for the slightest tick of your line, and if not that, it will start moving off to the side. It's truely a blast. Any one who hasn't tried this, give it a shot. its a ball. thanks crappiepappy.

and pretty easy for even the most novice of anglers.

I know what you mean by having to watch your line with great interest ... :D

I've had many different types of bites with this method. The "tic" or "tap" - the "yank" - the sideways movement of the line - the "mushy weight" feeling (like your hung in moss or snagged into a leaf) - and my favorite, the line going slack (while you're slowly reeling up) !! I set the hook when any of these things happen :D
I don't get snagged often (with the hook) because I'm usually using a weedless jighead. Occasionally, I will get the line hung in tree bark ... or the jighead will hang up in the fork of a branch. But, if you ain't fishing down there amongst'em ... you'd never know they were there !!

The most exciting thing that's happened to me, while Vertical Casting a jig, was a few years ago. My partner & I were fishing at Watts Bar. We were up in a creek and fishing around a blowdown. I dropped my jig down and was reeling it back up, when I got the hit ... it was one of those "all of a sudden slack line" hits. I knew I couldn't be more than 3-4ft deep with the jig ... so I set the hook !! The fish came shooting out from the branches and jumped clear over the front of the 17ft Tracker I was in :eek: :D He landed about 4ft the other side of the boat ... and was headed for the main lake as hard as he could pull :p When I got him under control and boated, he turned out to be a 1 pound Blacknose Crappie !!
The Vertical Casting method has worked for me, alongside bridge pilons, deep water brush piles, shallow brush piles, blowdowns, and standing timber. I usually try and cast to the cover, first ... and swim the jig over and around it, then pull up to it and Vertical Cast it (for those fish that are reluctant to come out of the heavier cover, or those that were spooked into the thicker portion of the cover by having other fish caught around them).
Glad to see other people using the method, with as much success and fun as I've had using it. ............. luck2ya ........ cp :cool:
07-26-2006, 10:18 AM
b_a_s_s_101

Crappiepappi-
We usually cast around trees to find the fish. then if we don't get bit that way we go tree-to-tree verticle casting. All of the bites, mush, slack line, swimming sideways ect. has happend. I will try a weed-less jig head next time. Do you recommend trimming the weed guard back a little like some people do on bass jigs? I have never had a crappie jump over the boat, but i've had a few jump into it! Thanks for the advice.
07-26-2006, 05:56 PM
CrappiePappy

B101 ......

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_a_s_s_101

Crappiepappi-
We usually cast around trees to find the fish. then if we don't get bit that way we go tree-to-tree verticle casting. All of the bites, mush, slack line, swimming sideways ect. has happend. I will try a weed-less jig head next time. Do you recommend trimming the weed guard back a little like some people do on bass jigs? I have never had a crappie jump over the boat, but i've had a few jump into it! Thanks for the advice.

I haven't found the guard trimming, necessary .... at least not with the P&S Custom Tackle jigheads that I use (brush guard type). I mainly use, what I call, the "V-wing" style P&S Custom Tackle jighead, though. And no trimming is necessary with it, either.
Here's the two P&S Custom Tackle jigheads that I use:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...y/jigheads.jpg

I really haven't seen the need for trimming the fiber guard (brush), as it has not shown any instances where the length of the fibers has been detrimental to the hooking of the fish. And I've used 4lb mono on some micro & ultra lite rods, with these jigheads, and still stuck the hook very consistantly into the roof of the fish's mouths.
Also, I don't even "thin out" some of the fibers, as some members have suggested doing, for the simple (same) reason that I haven't found it necessary. As slow as I drag the jig over a branch/limb ... I want all the "snagless" factors of the guard, to be working in my favor. I can't even remember how many times I've worked a tree, swimming the jig over and around it, only to get the bite after the jig drags over a branch & falls free :D

Some brands of jigheads with brush guards, DO have quite a long set of fibers .... but, I wouldn't trim them, unless it became obvious that the length of the brush fibers was getting in the way of hooking the fish. IMHO, anyway. ........ luck2ya ... cp :cool:
07-28-2006, 02:17 PM
mperry

Hey pappy where is that article at????
07-28-2006, 09:45 PM
pescatore

Verticle casting

deleted
09-01-2006, 02:23 PM
exit 84

I am new to crappie fishing and the article by Crappiepappy has really help out. Thanks
09-01-2006, 09:49 PM
CrappiePappy

You're welcome, exit84 ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by exit 84

I am new to crappie fishing and the article by Crappiepappy has really help out. Thanks

and I hope it continues to be a productive part of your Crappie fishing methods. .......... luck2ya ... cp :cool:
09-03-2006, 01:16 PM
fichere

fichere

Quote:

Originally Posted by crappiepappy

Did you actually use the "Vertical Casting" method ... like I outlined it in my article ?? If you did ... it's a hoot, ain't it :D It's surprising when & where that method will work, sometimes. ........... cp :cool:

where can i find your article ?
09-03-2006, 08:40 PM
CrappiePappy

Fichere .....

Quote:

Originally Posted by fichere

where can i find your article ?

The article I wrote is in the "Articles" section of this site ....... here's a quick link that will take you straight to it : http://www.crappie.com/articles/crappiepappy.htm

You may also want to check out the other fine articles in our Articles link ... at the top of this page.
Welcome to Crappie.com .............. luck2ya ... cp :cool:
10-06-2006, 05:53 AM
Glowgood Jigster

That's exactly how we've been getting most of our crappie this last few weeks.
When the bite is hot, you can cast to the bank and get a hard hit and set the hook, but when the bite goes cold, it's the vertical cast that we rely on... I love that "slack line" bite that always results in a set hook! Well, almost always.
We've noticed that the jig color can make a difference, as well as the size.
When they're really off the bite, the smaller and brighter jigs seem to do best in our green Sept./Oct. waters. We haven't had many overcast/dark days yet to see what will work then. We have had a lot of sucess with "glow" colors. I know that even in crystal clear high lake waters, a glowhead curlytail jig can get your trout limit faster than you want to be done fishing.
They are just urged to bite a glowing bait, I guess.
Doug