Minnows verses Jigs

Lets discuss this option and its popularity both ways . I will for sure use whatever I think is available that will put the most fish on my hook and for many decades never liked feathers or plastics and actually cut feathered jigs down to just a jig head back when . My favorite way to ketch crappie was a half minnow or whole one put on as a jig body .
Of course now a days I use jigs 99.9% of the time ,but to be sure I still in tough situations tip them with things . Minnows are flat deadly on crappie in many cases and I have seen them make a jig look like it needs to be back on the store shelf .
But to be sure just as minnows are deadly such is the case I have found with jigs. Lets start with when and where approach .
Minnows are for sure NOT a winter time bait from what I have seen . I watch folks several times a week sit and ketch nothing or one or 2 at most while the winter jig fellas are slaughtering the crappie . The largest crappie ever managed at that local water body was by a almost minnow only fella back last spring at a hair under 3 lbs. But this same fella was at the fish house this weekend and using minnows as were 3 other people and combined they managed 3 crappie . The other 8 guys using jigs probably managed somewhere in the area of 300 to 400 crappie combined at the same time the folks with the minnows were there .
One thing for certain though in just 2 months this will turn around and the minnow folks will make the jig folks on many days feel like they cant ketch diddly and I have seen this before as well .
So never assume I don't like minnows and or care one way or the other about if you use minnows , I say use what works when and where and ketch them how ever you prefer .
in the end its about ketchn fish for me and not what or how you go about it,
keep in mind this , because I don't use minnows don't mean I haven't ...:highfive
and or wont if it seems I cant "ketchup" ....:Rofl
and yes they bit any color I dropped for 4 hours straight like I was on an episode of some kind of fishing show as well this weekend :ThumbsUp
4 am to 8 am and off to church I went

What's that knot you use?

I say use whatever “floats your boat!” I use jigs 95% of the time, but if it were easier to get and keep minnows, that number would probably shift.

I vertical jig with tubes, roadrunners, etc. If I'm at the boat docks people leavin offer me their unused minnows and I tip my jigs with them and usually have good luck, If I dont use them all I freeze them and use them dead or catfish bait.

Sent from my SM-G530P using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Freezing minnows. Why didn't I think of that?

I've caught many crappie using a gold hook, splitshot, and dead minnows. Crappie eatem dead or alive!

It has been my experience that sometimes they bites jigs better, sometimes minnows, sometimes neither one. Best to be prepared for which ever way is best that day. :twocents

For me its all about how I'm fishing and what time of year it is. From my experiences here in SC minnows are the ticket in the cold weather months. I will always have minnows in my boat when I'm spiderrigging. Not to say I'm not using jigs too, but I normally tip all my baits. When spring time rolls around and trolling picks up we are still normally tipping with minnows. Some days I've seen straight jigs due the trick but minnows are readily available to be safe. Summer time brush fishing in clear water is always a game with minnows too. And I never use dead minnows. If they die, they get tossed. I want fresh lively minnows on my hooks. Basically if I'm fishing with multiple rods I'm fishing with minnows. When I single pole jig, shoot docks, or cast I rarely take any minnows. I reckon I feel like I'm fishing for fish holding to a spot and I'll aggravate them enough to entice a bite. That's just my take on it. I want to fish with whatever I feel gives me the best chance to catch a fish and I've seen jigs and minnows do their thing at different times.

An old fella once told me, "Minners don't come in but one color!!!" That saying always makes me chuckle, but there's a lot of truth to it. I've got more tackle and colors in my boat that you can shake a stick at, but I think a lot of the times those colors and different style baits catch the fishermen just as much as the fish. I use a wide variety of jigs and colors and somedays you'll find the magic combo that seems to make a huge difference, but a lot of days I find my old standards of black/chart., red/chart., black/blue/chart., and yellow/white are what I'm using. But to each their own. Whatever gives a fishermen confidence that they'll be successful is the key in my mind!

I think it is technique related, season, water clarity, and temp. I let the fish tell me what they want. jigs cause a reaction bite, we are trying to mimic a bait fish (minnow, shad etc.) as stated before they bites jigs better, sometimes minnows, sometimes neither one. Best to be prepared for which ever way is best that day.

just my 2 cents

If you "need" to catch crappie, the odds are probably in your favor if you tip your jigs with a minnow, or a minnow & a cork. However, a growing majority of anglers (at least up here in the "cold" neck of the woods) have a tendency towards artificials. We just enjoy the challenge of making them bite on something that's not real. Sort of like fly fishermen. JMO! :)

I ain't using no stinken minnas:Roflbut that don't mean you can't....I say use what makes ya happy and I'll just drop my jig down thar and catch all tha feesh you & your minna left behind:cheers2
I don't care bout no pros that use'em either:highfive

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ET Fish

... but if it were easier to get and keep minnows ...

---

This ^^^^^

Minnows are just too much trouble for me.

Ah yes, the old "fool'em" vs "feed'em" debate .... :biggrin

Personally, I'd rather "fool'em" with artificial bait, but that's not to say that I haven't or won't still "feed'em" if I must. But, I am mostly a jig slinger in most cases. I will Push jigs/cranks when conditions dictate doing so, and/or the lake I'm at requires it for any chance at catching a decent number of keeper sized fish.

I've been conducting get together events since back in 2001 .... and it always amazed me how many different methods were successful in bringing fish to the fish fry gathering, regardless of the lake or time of year. But, I will have to say that most of the participants in these events were using artificial baits, for the most part, with only a smattering of minner dunkers among the crowd (and even many of those were using jigs/plastics tipped with a minner).

The nephew of my fishing buddy keeps a diary of his fishing - number, weather, jig color, depth..ect.. He caught over 2400 crappie last year, mostly from Black Lake, La., most single poling. He doesn't use minnows at all and won't allow one in his boat.

I AM A JIG FISHERMAN BUT I WOULD SAY THIS IF YOUR POLES ARE IN YOUR HANDS WHERE YOU CAN MAKE THEM DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO THAN JIG ARE THE TICKET HOWEVER IF POLES ARE IN ROD HOLDERS THAN MINNOWS WOULD BE THE BEST TICKET,I AM MEANING IN A GOOD JIG FISHERMEN HANDS ,NOT A MINNOW FISHERMAN THAT ONLY PICK UP A JIG NOW AND THEN

Minnows are my #1 bait for crappies. I do toss a jig around when waiting for the slip cork to go down and had outfished the minnow bobber rig using a jig usually a curly tail or one of Cutbait's creations. Jigs are used only if the bait shop is closed or out of minnows. As a food fisherman, if the crappies aren't biting, I pray a delicious catfish, white perch, or striper will find that minnow appetizing.

I use whatever I can to put fish in the boat

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sinkermaker

I use whatever I can to put fish in the boat

---

What he said.


Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Feed um what they want. When you go to the refrigerator to make a sandwich do you always grab your favorite or maybe go for something different, something new?

I have filled away in my memory banks a day that still makes me smile. My very best fishin buddy an I were spider riggin our way out of a bay along the edge of a channel looking for our last two crappie to complete our two man limit. We were coming in ear shot of two guys throwing jigs who wanted to know how we were doing. My buddy Set the hook on another keeper and said one more an we're headed for the ramp. The stranger said, OH, you guys are using minnows, we only use jigs. My buddy said, unless your out here trying to get a tan, it seems to me you have two choices, either take some of our fish or take the rest of our miners.
DONT GET HARD HEADED!


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

I use both....Minnows mainly for spider rigging and jigs for when holding a single pole.For the most part it seems I normally do just as good with jigs as minnows when I'm holding the rod,but I for sure catch more spider rigging with minnows then when using just jigs.

I usually have minnows but I’m working my way towards jigs slowly.

Best you can do is make your jig look like a minnow

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by algenco

Best you can do is make your jig look like a minnow

---

Attachment 288568

Agreed.



Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sunshine

What's that knot you use?

---

a regular loop knot and to be sure its a great knot for a jig person to use .
super fast to tie and strong ,plus the jig action is unsurpassed in my opinion .

When I started crappie fishing about 4 years ago I always used minnow's but that's the way my Dad taught me years ago. But he only fished the spawn. I fish year round. More and more I find myself using jigs. The trouble I have with jigs is all the choices I have. Color shape size etc. With minnows the choice is easier for me. I have a friend from Miss that occasionally comes and fishes with me and out fishes me 2 to 1 with jigs. And he is in his 70's. Just always thought the older guys would be "old school". But I am learning.

Another great thread Ketchn

Nothing wrong with minnows but a jig in the right hands will out fish a minnow. I feel like if you can catch them on minnows I can catch them better on jigs. Now don't get me wrong there's times when minnows are a easier than jigs but I like the challenge.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

For me it's all about the thump, verticle jiggin rules.

One jig, one minnow, a jig and a minnow, a minnow and a jig. Ok, I actually try a combination on a double rig until I figure them out. Minnows early spring, then too much for me to mess with when the weather gets too warm.

Custom jigs tied is what I try. Gets me a limit most days. But fished years with my father growing up and was bobber and minner in all major lakes below I-80 all the way to Crab Orchard

tough bite yesterday with the front blowing thru , the minnows held their own against the jigs pretty well from what I seen .
but we are also seeing the male spawn fish coming in sporting color and when them spawn fish come in ...
minnows will be deadly ....just saying

For for me it's all about a personal satisfaction factor. Tying my own jigs going out and giving it my best shot and rippen some lips brings me the most joy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Boogieman1

For for me it's all about a personal satisfaction factor. Tying my own jigs going out and giving it my best shot and rippen some lips brings me the most joy.

---

this is me in my old age ...LOL , I am not after a meal or numbers of fish , I just enjoy fooling them into a take , mind you I don't tie jigs ,but to be sure it is my thing to drop a jig

one common thread at Crappie University guides, besides kevin of course, was they always had minnows in boat as their job was to Ketch fish for their clients but many days they would primarily used jigs. went out with richard bowling on truman and we used minnows and slayed them but next day after we got our limits fishing with mongo we talked to richard with that day's clients limits and they used jigs only and of course it's easier to not fool with minnows.

BTW don't toss those dead minnows, that is silly. put them on with your jig and dip them around moving and is my favorite way to single pole even casting. don't put them on a bobber rig but even then if your running low it works, still taste and look like a minnow as they are one.

This is what works for me.

I do this for both night and day.

I tight line with (2) 8 ft poles (minnows).
I put a 1/8 egg sinker on with a bead and a peg (rubber bobber stop) and about 8" I follow up with a #2 Aberdeen Light Wire hook tied with a Trilene knot. . I let that sit while I jig my double rig. I usually do pretty good.

I tie my jigs with small Loop knots (4 wraps). Sometimes I use 3 jigs 12" apart from each other and vertical jig. That works very well! I'm covering 3 depths at one time!

Now at night, I use 8" glow sticks on my poles and tight line. When day light approaches, I break out the jigs!

So my point is, I use both not just one. If they want minnows, all poles are going minnow rig!