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I fish from bank typically shallow up to 15’. What lure/plastic do you use for bottom jigging? This is spot where most crappies concentrated in the evening, 50’ long dock plus 3 big tunnels that connect two body of water. I normally catch tiny ones but once awhile I’ll get some big one.
Here a clip from a few days ago.
https://youtu.be/Zcx1KJJcF3E
Nice video.
use a ultra light 6 lb or 4 lb line with a 1/16 or 1/32 jig .fish the shady side or under the dock
Great video nice crappie looks like you doing really good with what is working good already.
This BFS system really has me interested. Enjoyed watching video. Thanks
Great Vid...looks like we need to be askin'n what JIG!!
Your cast & retrieve, short sweeps & randomly timed pops with the rod tip seems to be working :biggrin
Whenever I'm working the "bottom" ... I'm most likely to be using a 1/16oz weedless jighead & plastics, with a short distance "lift & drop" retrieve (kinda like "plastic worm fishing" for Bass).
As far as "plastics", I'm kinda partial to Slabanator Jigs Mini Rod & Shad bodies, Panfish Assassin Tiny Shad bodies, or Mr Crappie Thunder Tubes for my cast/retrieve baits.
Slabanator Mini Rods are a "carrot" shaped plastic ... & the Shad body is a Shad/minnow shaped plastic
Panfish Assassin Tiny Shad are a "fry" shaped plastic ("fry" as in baby fish)
Mr Crappie Thunder Tubes are solid body tube baits with expanded "skirt" (as opposed to most other tube baits having a skirt that's straight and no wider than the head of the tube)
Thanks I have tried a few thing but seem Bobby garland baby shad get the most bite no matter on plain 1/16-1/24 jig head or 1/16oz roadrunner. Other like tube or crappie magnet not work as good. I have a few more coming like baby shad swim, mo glo baby shad and some striking thunder. I tried up size my plastics to something bigger like tiny fluke and Zman swimz but so far no luck. I mostly use 1/16 and 1/24oz jig head but the area that big one hang out is about 100’ away which is tough for this small lure to get to spot, I might have to give kastmaster a try next.
Might try to up size. Like a 1/4 oz roadrunner and maybe a larger profile in the bait as a Beaver Bottom. I have found these will catch larger crappie.
Have you tried lighter line on a wide spool spinning reel to see if you can get greater casting distances ?? Although, whatever that rod/reel outfit you are using seems to be casting a pretty good distance with those light lures ... and a baitcast reel, at that !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Just_Bass
You seem to be catching only Black Crappie, so am I to assume that's the only Crappie specie in that lake ... or just in that particular area of the lake ?? Black Crappie are more apt to eat crustaceans and bugs (along with minnow species) than a White Crappie ... so have you tried any plastics that resemble crawfish or bugs ?? I only ask because there's a small lake in KY that was originally stocked with Black Crappie, and I've caught many of them on a 1.5" Southern Pro Crappie Craw.
I'd do drop shot..you can increase weight, but still keep your bait selection small. Really, about any size bait could be used.
Perhaps a 1/4 oz. for starters..might be able to reach the far target.
Thanks again guys, yes this lake only have black crappies as far as I know. I’ve never tried beaver or craw type before will look into it. How do you fish those same retrieve as baby shad?
I’ve tried dropshot before when first started, i caught about the same size I caught now but far less catch rate. I might give dropshot a try again, this time with my 2500 size reel instead of 750 size that I alway use for trout/panfish. I have plenty of dropshot weight that I can switch for long range target.
I would swim it, bounce it along the bottom, or the same retrieve you used in the video .... what ever type of retrieve gets it in front of the fish. I was just casting & retrieving it when I caught Crappie on it ... right alongside & over a submerged cedar tree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Just_Bass
You try any Road Runners ?? If there are no brushpiles or weed beds & stuff to get hung up on, a simple cast & slow retrieve can be deadly on Crappie. I personally prefer the marabou Road Runner 1/16oz (pink, chartreuse, or combination of the two) over the ones with plastic bodies, but I'm sure they're deadly as well. I've even been known to cut the marabou tail off about halfway from the curve of the hook & the tip of the tail, to make it a smaller profile ... especially when getting a lot of short strikes on one straight out of the package.
Even if you have to use the 1/8oz version (for distance) you can still fish fairly shallow water with it by holding your rod up high when retrieving it .... same deal if you have to use a 1/32oz size & a split shot 18" up the line (to get distance but maintain a small profile bait).
And don't forget to enter the Road Runner Contest (& other Sponsor's contests) on the Contest Forum ... lots of good stuff can be won !!
I have caught a few with roadrunner either straight slow retrieve, hop/drag along bottoms and under bobbers at night. I have those marabou roadrunner coming tomorrow from bass pro among other stuffs as well. The thing with roadrunner is, I can’t seem to control depth and speed, in another word the catch rate is not consistency, but they do catch big one though and also bass. I love to enter contest but I lost most of my picture with my phone. I only have the one that I posted on instagram.
Another thing with this spot, it is not like crappies school or suspended together in one area or at the same depth, but seem like they spread out the whole area with majority at the three tunnels. I can catch them from under dock 2-3’ below surface or 50’ out at 15-20 FOW.s
Great video, I have trouble casting a spinning reel let alone a bait caster , good job
Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
You don't need a picture in most contests, just a comment on why you like the product. Just read the rules and follow what they ask you to do. And if a picture is required, unless it specifically states that the fish has to be a Crappie, then the Bass picture would suffice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Just_Bass
I generally retrieve a Road Runner at about 1.5 times the speed that I retrieve a jig/plastics. On a 40' cast, my Road Runner generally only gets 8' deep at the most, considering I start reeling as soon as the bait hits the water. If I want it to run deeper, I simply allow it to sink for a specific number of seconds before beginning my retrieve (aka - countdown method). I usually get my jig/plastics down to around 15' deep on the same cast distance.
I've caught all manner of species on Road Runners ... including a Tiger Muskie, & several species of Catfish.
I'm going to guess that these "tunnels" provide incoming water ... which may also provide a different or more preferred water temp, and/or provide a feeding ground for whatever baitfish species the lake contains. That, in turn, draws the Crappie into the area or proximity to those tunnels.
you might try an open faced set up for the type of presentation i saw . its probably easier to use for this venue . as far as what jigs to use i would most likely use real small bright orange handties on those fish possibly under a float .
but to be sure cast and drag works wonders on them if you get the cadence right . 1/32 on 4 lb test open faced spinning reel and a 6 to 7 foot ultra lite semi stiff rod and maybe even a 1/64 on 4 lb would be pretty sweet as the fall would be real slow and you could keep your jig in the strike zone longer . bigger black crappie tend to be less aggressive sometimes and a hesitant jig is likely to get hammered by a larger fish rather than a passing bait that requires a chase . my 2 cents ...blackies don't chase near as fast as whites or as much or as long in my experience ….luck to ya
Love how CDC folk jump in with very useful suggestions on how to getrdone. Good suggestions all and are giving me ideas on doing things differently on my home lakes. good video and giving me ideas on how to fish certain areas.
Thank you, I didn’t know that and I would think otherwise. I’ll make sure to use more 1/32oz jig but 1/64 that is gonna be too light.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
Yes the three 6’ tunnels connect two lakes together, water come from the north side I fish for crappies down to main lake and to the dam. These are everyone favorite spot where you can find plenty of bass and crappies, especially at night on top of tunnels. Too bad living in HOA community, we are not allowed to fish on crossway. The picture shown long dock and tunnels. Also another bass I caught this morning walking/searching new spot for more crappies.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Nice looking Bass !! What's that outfit ?? I can see it's a Benkei rod .. but, what about the reel & line ?? What length on the rod ?? And what weight Road Runner is that ??
Lol, I didn’t know you are interested in my outfit. The rod is majorcraft benkei 6’7 Light, I use this rod for both crappie and bass. The rod rated as BFS so have enough backbone to handle bass but with soft tip that can cast 1/16oz jig head with baby shad. Roadrunner is 1/16oz which I use the most when searching for fish. The reel is old school Shimano aldebaran mg7 (only 5.5oz) with yumeya shallow spool fill with 10lb braid.
BTW I went fishing same spot just now to try new stuffs I just got from bass pro , caught about 20-30 crappies, most of them hit on the drop either after hop or after cast. In this case the supposed to be 1/32oz jig head (I weighted it and got 1.2 gram ~ 1/24oz) get the most bite. BTW Bobby garland swim’r rock. The biggest crappie about 10” caught on 1/24oz with swim’r and bluegill with bps brand marabou roadrunner.
Yeah, it just looked longer than 6'7" in the video ... but that was just the camera's doings, I guess.
I cast with a 6'6" ESP PowerLite (Norsemen Outdoors) spinning rod & use 6# test Vicious Panfish Copolymer line. I was a field tester for the designer (& now current VP of Marketing) and the rod was given to me by him for feedback on how the rod performed. All my Bass fishing rods/reels are "old, old school" with my Calcutta 200 being the latest piece I own. Oddly enough ... I won it in a raffle drawing at the Grand Re-opening of a local bait shop. :kewl
I do have one casting outfit with braid (10/2 PowerPro) but it's also a spinning outfit. I generally tie the braid directly to the jig. Do you, or do you have a leader tied on ?? I couldn't really tell in the pics.
Oh in video is Tsrinoya 7’2 UL, I got this rod for casting distance alone since I know most of the time I’m gonna be fishing from bank, even though I have a kayak, float tube and Jon boat. I have total of 3 set up that I prepared for crappies alone. That’s how serious I am about crappie fishing.
About braid line, normally I don’t use leader, but with gliss line that frayed so easily, I started adding 6lb fluorocarbon. I plan to do about 2-3’ leader so that I can attach bobbers easier.
Here are my 3 set up, 2 UL rods capable of 1/32oz jig head (6’3 and 7’2), 1 Light/Fast Rod 6’7 for 1/16oz and up and dual as my bass finesse set up. All the reels modified with shallow spool.