SINGLE JIG POLE

I need a little help please.
I have been pushing double minnow rigs for about 1 1/2 years now.
I am no way a master but I would like to start to single pole some with a jig.
I have several B&M 12’ jig poles and plenty of jigs and plastic.
Now for the question....
Do I just start fishing stumps, lay downs, and submerged brush piles OR find fish on my graph and go to the depth and tease them into biting.
Headed out in the morning to regular spider ringing lake to try a different method for me anyway.
Thanks for the help in advance.


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I'd try all of the above & then some :biggrin (depending on the cover & depth).

Not to be a wise guy, but all of the above. Single pole is undefined in some ways. Put it where they live and how they want it. Add a float too. There’s no wrong way. What I like about it most are the rod stoppers. Set the hook and the fish doesn’t move, then strips drag and does what he pleases. Just don’t get that in a rod holder.

I love to feel that thump. Pretty sure I’m addicted to it.


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I find the brush, stumps, laydowns and go to jiggin. :biggrin:fish

One thing that I found was look for a pattern. Vertical trees, tops, trees at an angle, etc. Then notice the depth they are at. Start at the bottom and slowly bring the jig up till you come out of the water. Pretty soon you'll see where their at. I usually pull the line out between the reel and the first eye to control depth.

You may or may not want to try this. 20 or so years ago I decided after watching a couple of young guys catching crappie jibing in buck brush I was bass fishing around that I wanted to try that. Back then old timers wouldn’t tell you anything so I’m pretty much self taught. Depth control was hardest for me to learn. Here is what I did. Put on a bobber stop,slip float that would just float jig I was fishing with, a small bead then tie on jig. I would adjust stop to 1 ft then drop jig in around cypress trees or lay downs, if I didn’t get bit I would adjust down a ft at a time based on depth of water I was fishing. Hold pole where line stay tight enough I could wiggle float but let it suspend jig. After a while of fishing like that it then kind of became second nature to be able to place my jig and hold at depth I wanted to fish. Just takes a little practice. Like others I’d try all the places you mentioned and just take your time.

Fish all those you mentioned but pay special attention to those that have access to deeper water close . Brush on Sheer drop offs and creeks tend to hold fish till they go to banks . At that point fish everything you see as Sonar and down image are mere inches that your trolling motor just ran through . :twocents

cover is key in my opinion . it might be in a ton of different forms ,but the constant is crappie like to be near it .
whatever the depth so you see congregations of fish at is 1 foot deeper than you want your jig in most cases .
knowing how deep your jig is setting at is critical . sometimes one foot makes all the difference .
its really addictive as stated before and could become a problem . a good solid thump on a jig is a mighty fine thing to feel .

Last year I found a lot of crappie on the rip rap of the dam.
Lost a lot of jigs fishing the rip rap.
I didn't lose many jigs at all after switching to a jig pole. And caught more crappie.

I started vertical jigging on flooded timber. I would pull out ever how much line to fish the depth I wanted an pitch the jig past the target while holding the rod tip directly over the area i wanted to fish. The jig will pendulum back to wherever the tip of the rod is setting. I normally try to fish as close to the timber as possible (i even bump the jig on the stump) and feel that pitching past my target point just allows more fish to spot the bait. After I figured out how to jig on the stumps I then started targeted brush, laydowns etc. While others may disagree with me I find that holding the jig as still as possible and slowly altering depths is the best presentation method but your mileage may vary. Good Luck!

A lot of good advice so far. You should do the thing that gives you the most confidence. Good luck out there.

Single pole is one of the most challenging and rewarding/ fun types of crappie fishing.
It’s what I spend most of my fishing time doing.
My advice for fishing cover that can be seen is pitch/ swing your jig to the edge of the cover as you slowly approach.
As you get closer go deeper, swim the jig like a lost minnow looking for the school.
Lastly don’t be afraid to go right in vertically down into the thick stuff.
If you get hung up just pull the slack and run the rod tip carefully down to the jig.
99% of the time you can unhook it from the cover. ( as long as you’re not fishing deeper than the pole is long )
Also you might want to use a little heavier line than open water fishing.




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Originally Posted by Pcdimis

I started vertical jigging on flooded timber. I would pull out ever how much line to fish the depth I wanted an pitch the jig past the target while holding the rod tip directly over the area i wanted to fish. The jig will pendulum back to wherever the tip of the rod is setting. I normally try to fish as close to the timber as possible (i even bump the jig on the stump) and feel that pitching past my target point just allows more fish to spot the bait. After I figured out how to jig on the stumps I then started targeted brush, laydowns etc. While others may disagree with me I find that holding the jig as still as possible and slowly altering depths is the best presentation method but your mileage may vary. Good Luck!

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dead sticking is probably the best way to fish a jig .