Neely hot under the docks
This time of year I flip jigs under docks on Neely Henry almost exclusively. I fish at least 4 mornings a week between the 77 bridge and Fisherman's Island. If you see a small aluminum boat right in front of a dock on that stretch of water it's me. Nobody else fishes for crappie on that stretch of water this time of year. At least nobody I see.
The fishing is HOT. Right now. I limit on big crappie almost every time I go. I almost never see another boat out for crappie.
If you haven't been successful fishing for crappie in the past, now is the time to get out there and load up. Here is how to do it.
1. You must use a boat. (It doesn't need to be much - 10 foot Jon boat with a trolling motor or larger) If you don't have one, borrow one. There are jon boats in back yards all over North Alabama.
2. Fish on proven crappie water. Weiss, Neely Henry etc.
3. Fish only under docks that are wood, near 10 feet or deeper water, have large areas of the dock that shade water. The bigger shaded area the better.
4. Use jigs. I use curly tailed grub jig bodies on 32nd oz jig heads. COLOR MATTERS. Overcast use silver or grey. Sunny use chartreuse speckled body. Use black, red or yellow jig heads. Eyes or no eyes don't matter.
5. Flip the jig under the dock as far back as possible. Let the jig sink, then retrieve it slowly. Strike on the smallest hit.
6. Cast 10 times. If there are no fish, move to the next dock. If, within three docks you aren't catching fish review rule three.
If you haven't been successful in the past - follow these rules and you will be limiting out in no time. But don't delay - the fish will seek deeper water soon and they won't be back under docks till the fall.
Good luck and go get em.
