Vertical Jigging

I actually have to questions: 1) When vertical fishing, how much action do you add to your presentation? 2) Do you use marabou jigs?

I use very little action, basically just twitching the jig and I do not use marabou, strictly soft plastic on a jig head, and very small, 1/64 ounce or lighter.

Personally, I don't vertical jig much at all. I do "Vertical Cast" in some circumstances, though. This is what I mean : Crappie Pappy Article

If I'm casting to deep cover (>15' deep) I "may" occasionally give the jig a little extra jiggle a few times on the way back in/up ... but, rarely (if ever) do so when Vertical Casting.

I use weedless jigheads (except when using any "trolling" method), so most of my jigs have plastic bodies attached. The biggest exception is when casting Roadrunners, which are almost always "marabou" ... or occasionally when trolling or pushing I may use a marabou jig.

I could have had weedless marabou jigs custom made, but figured it would be easier & faster to change color(s) by using a weedless jighead & plastics. It's more of a convenience thing than a confidence thing, as I have no doubts about the fish catching ability of a marabou jig.

You have to let the fish tell you what the want. Sometimes dead still other times a little twitch. I agree about soft plastics. They have so much natural action they are hard to beat. We don't usually vertical jig with curly tails or paddle tails. Try Bobby Garland baby shad or Wally Marshall jokers to start


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The fish will tell you what they want. Most of the time, just dropping it down and attempting to hold it still is all that you need to do. Lately, for me....90% of the fish I've been catching have bit once the jig has reached its depth and I've gave it a little pop, raising it maybe 6".

not much action at all . a bump every 10 sec. or so . I have found that holding it as still as possible works as well if not better some days . Do not be surprised that sometimes 30-60 sec. will trigger a bite . marabou is good . I like it in clear water in smaller sizes on 4 lb . test .Most of my jigs are made by crappie logic (site sponsor )and Bobby Garland . throw in a supply of Slider grubs and roadrunners and you got it . Biggest mistake I made was not using small jigs early . I now carry 1/100-----1/8 oz .:fish

Usually have a better bite either still or on the drop. I use all sizes I can to make sure I'm not missing a better bite, 1/48th oz #8 hook with 1.25" soft plastic, to 1/8oz #2 with a 3" tube. You've got to mix it up depending on the water depth that you are on and the mood of the fish.

I drop a jig down to the depth I'm expecting to find fish, say 8', hold it there a bit, then move the jig around to the other side of the tree or structure, raise it a foot or two, and let it drop again, then drop it to 10', move to the other side of tree/structure and raise/drop it again. Maybe drop it down to 12', or bring it back up to 6'. You just have to try different things until something works or you can see a pattern.

Marabou works, my dad and I used to use it a lot, but plastics are quick and easy.

Hold it completely still because you can't.

I vertical with a 1/4 oz. Big Head jig. I start about 2 ft. above the structure and work my way down. I try to just hold the jig still but you can`t with waves, wind, and boat action. I like the Mid South tube jig myself but any will work. I have not tried any curly tail grubs I use them for casting. Sometimes they want it still and other days they like movement. The fish will let you know. Just don`t give change colors. Change action and have fun. It is the easiest way for my wife fish other than trolling. I really like one pole and feeling the THUMP.

We caught them by holding the jig as still as possible. But can't hold it perfectly still so I guess holding it still as you can allows just right amount of movement for them. When I tried hoping it - nothing.

I've done well as others have already stated, just trying to hold it still. I do things a bit different and I will also just drop the rod tip an inch or two, and give the bait a second or so of natural fall, at least with a lighter jig. Drop the tip 3 or 4 inches and raise it right back to where it started has also worked. I've found that when I fished alone and paid attention to what I was doing and how well it worked that I figured it out faster.Next trip I could tel my guest how to and they would say" how do you figure this stuff out. Just pay attention, lots of folks don't.
Also, once you know the depth make a short cast that will get you down close to or at that depth and let the bait pendulum into place. It's worked for me many times and I've found fish nearby that I didn't know were there. The bait falling and then stopping seems to aggravate them and strikes come shortly after the movement stopped. They were just watching the show, it seems.

Thanks for your replies. I currently use a 12' ACC Crappiestix for this technic along with soft platics in several different styles, mostly Bobby Garland. My interest is in the action used. I very the presentation between all that has been mentioned. The other day the fished seemed to prefer a dead stick drop to the bottom. Being fairly new to this approach, I am trying to soak up knowledge.

I fish plastics and I switch it up. Sometimes I try to keep it as still as possible. Sometimes I just give the line a tic with my finger. I will also slow swim or slowly lift my rod tip a foot and then let that jig fall back to it's original spot. Many times this will trigger a crappie to bite. Just try them all to see what they want.

1/4 oz big head jig mostly with any color tube jig as long as its purple and chartreuse. ��Use super slick braid with a barrel swivel attached to 3' leader with 6 lbs. mono. Hold it still and pop it once in awhile to make sure one hasn't inhaled it. Feel the thump!

I also use tube jigs and prefer 1/8 oz but at times use 1/4. Like said before it is impossiable to hold a jig perfectly still on the end of a 11' jig pole . It move it slowly trying to hit every part of brush or condo . The fish will let you know if they want it fast or slow . Up high or low . Sometimes it will need to bump cover and other times they suspend over or near it . I too use purple / chart but use Southern Pro umbrella tubes which are fatter and use unpainted heads up inside them .

We use a vertical presentation 90% of the time while drifting. No action by us at all, but we do pay attention to the depth the jigs are presented. We mainly use 1/8 oz. heads with BG plastics, mostly the straight tails. Occasionally I'll "tap" the butt of a rod to see if that stimulates a bite, but mostly not needed.

When we cast and retrieve, very little action is applied. Just a slow, steady retrieve is all that is normally needed, with an infrequent pop from time to time.

:popcorn

I dead stick 90% of the time and I do use a marabou jigs but I trim back the skirt to 1/8 passed the hook.

It's mid November and I see small shad in major creek mouths. Should I spider rig through them, cast to them or what? The locals are up in the creek fishing wood. Kinda confused.

Do what the locals are doing if they are catching fish. A lot of lakes the fish are still on brush

Thanks Sinkermaker for the reply. We will give it a try tomorrow for a few hours.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

OK, Thanksgiving morning my son & I fished tree tops vertical jigging in the creek just off the main river.
We tried 3 trees close together with no bites. Then we moved to the main river and fished some big blow downs on a steep bank. We both had some hits. About 10 or 12 ft. deep. I had one on and he got off. Water was 60 degrees, color green stain, could see a jig down to about 2 ft. 1/16 jigs. My son used chart/blk/chart and I used pink/blu/wht. I tried several other color but those were best. All with crappie nipples. We were anchored in 25 fow. Will crappie stay in those tree tops through the winter? Looking for advice. New to this jig fishing.

i hold my rod in my right hand with my pointer finger. I twitch the rod downward barely. Just enough to see the tip shimmy a little. That is about the most I ever use with this technique. With the exception of an occasional lift and drop. Depending on the fishs mood. Hope that helps. I definitely fish hair, feathers or Maribor jigs.

OK, I shall give those tips a try.
Thanks!!