verticle jigging question

This year has been my first attempt to try and learn and catch crappie on a somewhat consistant basis. I've read so many good comments on this sight and have come a long ways. Although i've had some success catching crappie dragging a jig under a bobber, i'm still trying to learn how to catch them verticle jigging. What is the difference in the way you fish jigging in the cypress trees to jigging over the top of sucken structure? I generally use 4 lb test line with 1/16th oz jigs. My question is how do you work those jigs? Do you let em sit. Move em around? Raise them up and down in the water? Drag them side to side? I've never been in a boat with another crappie fisherman so it has been a long learning curve for me this winter. My Dad taught me from a youngster how to Turkey hunt, but he was no fisherman. So it has been alot of trial and error. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

The fish usually hit'em on the way down. Slowly lower the jig, pausing occasionally and twitch your wrist. Watch your line. If it goes slack you either have a fish on or your jig has hit brush or the bottom. By jigging vertically (not side to side), you can drop the jig on top of them without getting hung up (usually). Good luck.

Got to try it all and let the fish show you what they want sometimes.

Pm sent!!


You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take country out of the boy

You pretty much said it all in your original post. All can, and does work. But a word of caution... When in thick cover, NEVER go side to side, only up and down. You will get hung up.

I've also wondered this, great question. I usually just let it fall all the way and bounce it up and down once it is at the bottom with little success. I'll have to try twisting my wrist along the way down.

I'm with Nimrod on this one. I let the fish decide. I've had them try to grab it on top if the water and then I've had them sit there staring at the jig like they are sulled up and mad at me. When they are sulled up, I've had to hold the jig perfectly still for near a minute before they would take it.
I also agree that in most cases the fish will hit the jig on the fall, but sometimes they don't.
There is no right or wrong. Try different presentations until you find one that works

Fish slow and have confidence. And use mid south

pay close attention to the trees and stumps in the lake that will catch the most sunlight this time of year early in the morning. i have had good success with it. if the bite stops -fine. troll till late afternoon. more than likely they will show back up to same areas before dark where you can jig em again. this time of year most crappie are just not sure what they wanna do? sure hope i helped ya a little.

I believe the old saying "you don't know what you don't know" can apply to fishing as well. It's hard for you "old pros" to understand just how ignorant someone who's trying to learn just what all we don't know that only experience will teach us. It's easy to take for granted the things that an inexperienced person don't know. I'm just trying to shorten the learning curve a bit. Like I said I got a late start in learning how to catch crappie. Thanks for all the input.

you gotta try every thing you can think of every time you get on the water. One presentation might work today, but not tomorrow. Sometimes its moving the jig to the top of the water and letting it fall 3', sometimes its holding it perfectly still, sometimes its pitching it up to the cypress trees and letting it swim back to you, sometimes its a figure 8, there's no right or wrong answer to this question. I know a fella that I fish with some that will try and hold his jig just as still as he can, me on the other hand, I like to rip it up to the top of the water and let it fall and watch for the line to take off, but which ever works, I'll adjust. Good luck, just keep after em.

I'm glad I found this thread. I'm wanting to try this also. What is the best all around pole and set up for a beginner?

Sorry. Didnt mean to hijack your thread.

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Originally Posted by jjarvis0007

I'm glad I found this thread. I'm wanting to try this also. What is the best all around pole and set up for a beginner?

Sorry. Didnt mean to hijack your thread.

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Get with Conway. Ozark makes a really good jiggin pole. I like te 10ft pole with rear reel seat for vertical jigging cypress. That Ozark has got something to it, when you get a thump, you know it for sure.

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Originally Posted by LMBarnett

You pretty much said it all in your original post. All can, and does work. But a word of caution... When in thick cover, NEVER go side to side, only up and down. You will get hung up.

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Do plenty of that and you will get good at getting unhung!:Rofl Reminds me of my Bass fishing days with my buddy Leo Coffman who made spinnerbaits. He told me once ''durn son your good at getting your baits outa the trees!'' All I could say was ''I've had plenty of practice.'':Rofl

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Originally Posted by arkcrappie

I'm with Nimrod on this one. I let the fish decide. I've had them try to grab it on top if the water and then I've had them sit there staring at the jig like they are sulled up and mad at me. When they are sulled up, I've had to hold the jig perfectly still for near a minute before they would take it.
I also agree that in most cases the fish will hit the jig on the fall, but sometimes they don't.
There is no right or wrong. Try different presentations until you find one that works

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No such thing as perfectly still on the end of a jig pole. :twocents Try holding a jig out in the air perfectly still on the end of a line & jig pole sometime. You will be suprized how much that jig wiggles.:biggrin

Just like the guys have said all the techniques you described will work at certain times. The up and down though concentrate on the down crappie normally always hit on the fall drop stop, drop stop. I was thinking about your comment taking things for granted there are a lot of things we do with out even thinking about it. Here are just a couple: know what your jig feels like when you don't have a fish meaning it is easy to know when you have a bite when they pop it hard but lots of times you just get slack line, you start dropping down and the bait just stops and your not on the bottom, or go to pull up and there is just a little tension on the line these can all be fish. Most beginners are only getting the fish that hit hard and missing the others. Always pay attention when you do get a bite what depth, structure type, presentation and with in and hour or two you should have a pattern. Now when you come back the next day you can start with how you caught them the day before but more times than not you will have to start over. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

No such thing as perfectly still on the end of a jig pole. :twocents Try holding a jig out in the air perfectly still on the end of a line & jig pole sometime. You will be suprized how much that jig wiggles.:biggrin

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Nimrod, you are correct on the perfectly still. I hold the tip of the pole as still as I can. I should have been a little more clear on that!

They dont always hit on the fall. Some days, the side to side thing is the only thing that will get them to bite. Many, many times, I have been jigging Cypress trees without much luck, then decided to slowly move the jig away from the tree and WHAM!!! It looks like a bug or some other critter has fallen out of the tree, settled towards the bottom and is trying to swim away. Your presentation has to look natural. Also, dragging your jig over brush will pay off big time too. Lots of times, they wont even bite until the jig bumps a branch or Slides over a limb. As my grandfather used to say, "If you aint gettin hung up, you aint Crappie fishin." Some days, the deadstick method works well. On those days, they will eye your jig for 30 seconds or more before they bite. If you are lucky enough to catch em on a day when they are on a reaction bite(biting on the fall,) focus on weight more than color. On those days rate of fall is the most important factor, use a Fasnap so you can quickly change weights/jigs. In other words, you will have to change your technique from day to day, experience is the best teacher. Eventually, you will figure out all the different tricks that work on your lake. Then its just a matter of figuring out which one they want on a particular day. Hope this helps.


C.J.

Just wanted to clarify my post Cmj is absolutely correct about them not always hitting on the fall. They normally don't hit on fast upward movement maybe that is a better statement. I am more of a forum "creeper" just started to post but have been crappie fishing for thirty years and didn't want to get someone new to vertical jigging confused.

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Originally Posted by BBurns

Just wanted to clarify my post Cmj is absolutely correct about them not always hitting on the fall. They normally don't hit on fast upward movement maybe that is a better statement. I am more of a forum "creeper" just started to post but have been crappie fishing for thirty years and didn't want to get someone new to vertical jigging confused.

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Glad to have you. I just didnt want anyone to make the mistake I made when I first started vertical jigging. I had watched all the youtube videos and read the articles that talked about Crappie always biting on the fall. So I would drop my jig next to some structure and if they didnt bite by the time it hit the bottom, I was outta there. I would do good some days when they were on a reaction bite, but most days I went home empty handed, or with just a few fish. The point I wanted to make was that you shouldnt get stuck on one presentation.


C.J.

From what i'm hearing maybe patience is what i have been lacking. I'm expecting them to jurk the pole out of my hand. Generally if i don't get a hit in a minute or two, i'm on to the next tree stump. Thanks for all the comments. All very helpful.

I hope I can learn how to verticle jig fish one of these days !!! Been jig fishing 40+ years have not figured it out yet!!!!!! Lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk 2

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Originally Posted by Cmj

Glad to have you. I just didnt want anyone to make the mistake I made when I first started vertical jigging. I had watched all the youtube videos and read the articles that talked about Crappie always biting on the fall. So I would drop my jig next to some structure and if they didnt bite by the time it hit the bottom, I was outta there. I would do good some days when they were on a reaction bite, but most days I went home empty handed, or with just a few fish. The point I wanted to make was that you shouldnt get stuck on one presentation.


C.J.

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X2,
I hear a lot of folks say "Most of the time they will bite it on the fall"
For me this is not the case.. It does happen, and takes a trained eye and touch to notice it..
But I would say there is no "usual"
It seems they will bite one way for a day or a week or even a month until they change..
Sometimes different every day.
Do not be intimidated to try different things..

Also, if you do get hung up hold your line at the reel and slide the tip of your pole down to the jig and push it foward to unhook it from the brush or stump. This will get you unhung most of the time and not run all the fish off. Just do it carefully. I love jigging especially for big fat bluegills and goggle eyes. For those I use a grizzly jig and wax worm.

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Originally Posted by JigginPoleJoe

X2,
I hear a lot of folks say "Most of the time they will bite it on the fall"
For me this is not the case.. It does happen, and takes a trained eye and touch to notice it..
But I would say there is no "usual"
It seems they will bite one way for a day or a week or even a month until they change..
Sometimes different every day.
Do not be intimidated to try different things..

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Try using a heavier jig and keep line tight and lots of the time the first drop in a spot you'll get thumped!

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Originally Posted by jclark835

Also, if you do get hung up hold your line at the reel and slide the tip of your pole down to the jig and push it foward to unhook it from the brush or stump. This will get you unhung most of the time and not run all the fish off. Just do it carefully. I love jigging especially for big fat bluegills and goggle eyes. For those I use a grizzly jig and wax worm.

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Better use extreme caution as lot of poles broken this way.:yikes

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Better use extreme caution as lot of poles broken this way.:yikes

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I've been doing this for 23 years and if you're gentle with a good rod you'll never hurt a thing.

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Do plenty of that and you will get good at getting unhung!:Rofl Reminds me of my Bass fishing days with my buddy Leo Coffman who made spinnerbaits. He told me once ''durn son your good at getting your baits outa the trees!'' All I could say was ''I've had plenty of practice.'':Rofl

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I'll bet you was throwing a spinnerbait! "Daddy"! I knew ole Leo for manny years. Made the best baits in arkansas!

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Originally Posted by jclark835

Also, if you do get hung up hold your line at the reel and slide the tip of your pole down to the jig and push it foward to unhook it from the brush or stump. This will get you unhung most of the time and not run all the fish off. Just do it carefully. I love jigging especially for big fat bluegills and goggle eyes. For those I use a grizzly jig and wax worm.

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This the main reason I designed the "no ceramic insert" eye for the ozark rod. I can promise you, I am extremely tough on my ozark rods and haven't broke one yet, even during field testing where i intentionally applied more abuse than normal. I love being able to grab the line and slide the pole down and knock the jig free.


Midsouth tackle Prostaff www.midsouthtackle.com
Cumberland Crappie Equipment Prostaff
www.cumberlandcrappie.com
Ozark rods Prostaff

Feel free to contact me at: 1-501-231-3374

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Better use extreme caution as lot of poles broken this way.:yikes

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With a BnM, you will knock the eye insert out every time! Then your jig head will fall through! HEADACHE

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Originally Posted by Midsouth Man

This the main reason I designed the "no ceramic insert" eye for the ozark rod. I can promise you, I am extremely tough on my ozark rods and haven't broke one yet, even during field testing where i intentionally applied more abuse than normal. I love being able to grab the line and slide the pole down and knock the jig free.


Midsouth tackle Prostaff www.midsouthtackle.com
Cumberland Crappie Equipment Prostaff
www.cumberlandcrappie.com
Ozark rods Prostaff

Feel free to contact me at: 1-501-231-3374

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Yea.. What he said

I like horizontal jigging, but you gotta be careful not to get water up your nose...

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Originally Posted by Midsouth Man

This the main reason I designed the "no ceramic insert" eye for the ozark rod. I can promise you, I am extremely tough on my ozark rods and haven't broke one yet, even during field testing where i intentionally applied more abuse than normal. I love being able to grab the line and slide the pole down and knock the jig free.


Midsouth tackle Prostaff www.midsouthtackle.com
Cumberland Crappie Equipment Prostaff
www.cumberlandcrappie.com
Ozark rods Prostaff

Feel free to contact me at: 1-501-231-3374

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That's one of the main reasons I prefer the Ozark rods. Other reasons, but that's one of the main ones cause if you ain't gettin' hung up, you ain't crappie fishing! :yikes

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Originally Posted by ski trip

That's one of the main reasons I prefer the Ozark rods. Other reasons, but that's one of the main ones cause if you ain't gettin' hung up, you ain't crappie fishing! :yikes

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Yep!

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Originally Posted by JigginPoleJoe

With a BnM, you will knock the eye insert out every time! Then your jig head will fall through! HEADACHE

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I carry a good supply of rod tips eyes , hot glue, and matches.:fish Better use a gentle touch or you'll need a bigger rod tip and have a shorter pole.:yikes The big jigs I use don't fall through but once the ceramic ring is gone line is frayed quickly till ya change out the tip.
I really like that metal eye on the Ozark over the B-n-M . , that Ozark is a tough sensitive rod but heavier to hold all day.:twocents

Guess I've just been lucky not to ever break a rod doing this. But the tailgate on my truck gets me every year, haha! Design me rod that can handle that and I would be good to go.

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Originally Posted by jclark835

Guess I've just been lucky not to ever break a rod doing this. But the tailgate on my truck gets me every year, haha! Design me rod that can handle that and I would be good to go.

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:Rofl I'd buy a few of those too! :cheers2 Trouble I have is fishing partners who have big feet breaking mine.:yikes Did have a problem with my livewell lid dropping on one from time to time but got that under control.

I did break one once while trying to side arm a jig under a bridge piling....didn't mean to whip the rod tip into the concrete pillar.

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

I carry a good supply of rod tips eyes , hot glue, and matches.:fish Better use a gentle touch or you'll need a bigger rod tip and have a shorter pole.:yikes The big jigs I use don't fall through but once the ceramic ring is gone line is frayed quickly till ya change out the tip.
I really like that metal eye on the Ozark over the B-n-M . , that Ozark is a tough sensitive rod but heavier to hold all day.:twocents

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The Ozark makes my hand go numb!