using worms on big water

i tried searching old posts first but i either got hundreds of farming worm posts or nothing at all. so i have seen some coments on using worms but im geussing thats more small pond type fishing my question is are worms efective on big watter for crappie and if so how do you fish them, was thinking just tipping a jig with like an inch or two piece or maby on a double rig on a bare hook above my jig? im mostly a troller but im trying to expand so when the wind gets to bad to troll effectively i can throw out a sock and keep fishing

Worms work everywhere for everything. However, the bluegill will jump all over it before the crappie get near it.

If you're gonna use bait for crappie, minnows are your best bet.

yea like allot of pepole i started on crappie with a bobber and minnow, the lake im on we have a bigger problem with little channels than gills but there hard on minnows too

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Originally Posted by azdesertrat

yea like allot of pepole i started on crappie with a bobber and minnow, the lake im on we have a bigger problem with little channels than gills but there hard on minnows too

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Just use jigs (jig/plastics) ... I do :biggrin

Trolling longline - pushing - spider rigging - vertical jigging - casting - dock shooting - can all be done with just a hair/feather jig or jig/plastics ... no extra "meat" necessary.

The biggest factor in catching Crappie is finding where & at what depth they are, then comes presentation (which method & bait speed puts the bait in their strike zone the easiest, longest, and most often).

yea i troll allot of jigs and cranks but my lake gets realy windy enough to where its almost imposible to troll the main body where the fish are hangin right now so im sewing up a drift sock and going to do more jiging when the wind gets bad instead of retreating to the coves

I've had worms save my life when I'm crappie fishing. Always carry a cup of em just in case the bait shop doesn't have minnows on hand. I use dollar tree scissors to cut red worms into bits to tip jigs. But the strangest 2 incidents i had were catching a big crappie on two different trips during those awful, nothing will, gonna, want to bite cold fronts free lining a whole night crawler behind the boat. During those times, bluegill and slimer pestilence is greatly reduced. Last big crappie of 2016 (16 inches) was caught on a free lined crawler when I tied up to a bridge piling due to high winds. The first big one of 2015 was on a crawler chunk on a hi lo rig meant for white perch during another cold front.

I'm going to try nightcrawlers this year because they are easier to deal with than minors. I also plan to drift for walleye with nightcrawlers because it has worked for me before. I never had a problem with Bluegill or other fish in deep water bothering nightcrawlers but suspect that in the brush and shallows it would be a real nuisance. If I remember I will let you know if I catch any crappie on nightcrawlers.

thanks, yea i think im going to atempt it as well but with the amount of carp and cats in the lake it might be interesting, im think maby a 2" section rigged on a bear hook with a bead above a jig and try and keep it about 4ft from the bottom to cut down on bycatch

Minnows although minors are problematic at times too :-)

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Originally Posted by azdesertrat

my question is are worms efective on big watter for crappie and if so how do you fish them? im mostly a troller but im trying to expand so when the wind gets to bad to troll effectively i can throw out a sock and keep fishing

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When the wind is bad, or I am fishing deep water, I will sometimes go to my modified Carolina Rig tube. I will take a two inch hollow tube and insert two 6 mm solid floating fish pills in it. I insert a #4 thin wire hook into it and tie it on six pound test line. I attach this to the Carolina Rig. The tube will float perfectly horizontal and it is light enough to be quickly and easily inhaled. I will sometimes tip the hook with a Crappie nibble or a bit of Red Wiggler worm. Done deal. Get your hot sauce ready. Here is a photo of this idea.

Attachment 258343

interesting rig ill have to see if i can finde float beads im going to my little bait shop today but its rather limited in there but would definatley be a good rig right now my fish are suspended a ft or so from the bottom in deep watter

Nice setup Shipahoy

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Originally Posted by azdesertrat

interesting rig ill have to see if i can finde float beads im going to my little bait shop today but its rather limited in there but would definatley be a good rig right now my fish are suspended a ft or so from the bottom in deep watter

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Hard Foam Float beads are at Mad River Manufacturing - Steelhead Worms and Jigs and they are called "Floaties." I used the 6mm size to stuff inside tubes.

Here is a video I made on the stuffed tubes.
http://s225.photobucket.com/user/shi...tml?sort=3&o=0