Let's just say,

You are longlining over a big brush pile and down imaging shows a stack of crappie above it and more around. You catch 2 at one time on the first pass. Then you move on but circle back to it and while it still shows lots of fish, no bites. Circle to it a few more times at different angles of approach and different speeds but still nothing even though you know it is stacked with crappie. What do you do next if it is you? Just give up and move on, go back and try to jig it, etc. I actually went back and tried to single jig it before I left the area but still could not get a bite. That is one of the downsides of having electronics that can show you the fish. Then instead of being able to say to yourself they are just not there, you have to say, nope, I am just not that good.

Happen a lot vertical jigging. Not all of them are actively feeding. Sometimes you get a couple and sometimes 50!! Good electronic will make you stay too long.


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I like your question, so I'll give it a shot. I've been guiding for around twenty years, and so I've had to figure ways to put fish in the boat whether they're active or not. I, of course, love the days when all I have to do is troll mostly open water to produce a nice cooler of fish, but I've also had the experience you mention. I've had days where it seemed like only trolling over brush would produce quality fish, but sometimes I had to troll so close to the top of the brush to get bit that I've gotten hung in it. This can be a disaster, as hanging one jig can slow the boat's progress, causing the jigs to travel deeper, and the next thing that happens is six hung jigs. So, when I encounter days that this fish are tight on brush like that, I will usually troll the fish I can, and then put up the trolling rods and position the boat directly over the pile and feed them live minnows on downlines. I haven't encountered many days when I marked numbers of fish holding over or in brush that minnows wouldn't put a lot of fish in the boat. While it may have been less trouble if they would have hit trolled jigs, your electronics are telling you they're there, so that's when live bait or meticulously fished single jigs can save the day. I know some folks simply have no interest in using minnows, but they've been productive too often for too long for me to not to have some along on most of my trips. Just my two cents, by the way. But a great question and I'll look forward to hearing others' responses.

I dont generally fish for fish that wont bite. I leave and go find some that will. Sometimes I am catching and sometimes I'm just fishing.:)

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Originally Posted by Fisher-o-Men

I like your question, so I'll give it a shot. I've been guiding for around twenty years, and so I've had to figure ways to put fish in the boat whether they're active or not. I, of course, love the days when all I have to do is troll mostly open water to produce a nice cooler of fish, but I've also had the experience you mention. I've had days where it seemed like only trolling over brush would produce quality fish, but sometimes I had to troll so close to the top of the brush to get bit that I've gotten hung in it. This can be a disaster, as hanging one jig can slow the boat's progress, causing the jigs to travel deeper, and the next thing that happens is six hung jigs. So, when I encounter days that this fish are tight on brush like that, I will usually troll the fish I can, and then put up the trolling rods and position the boat directly over the pile and feed them live minnows on downlines. I haven't encountered many days when I marked numbers of fish holding over or in brush that minnows wouldn't put a lot of fish in the boat. While it may have been less trouble if they would have hit trolled jigs, your electronics are telling you they're there, so that's when live bait or meticulously fished single jigs can save the day. I know some folks simply have no interest in using minnows, but they've been productive too often for too long for me to not to have some along on most of my trips. Just my two cents, by the way. But a great question and I'll look forward to hearing others' responses.

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Thanks for the answer. I did not have minnows but I was wishing I did. I did try going to a stinger type plastic to try to get something in their face but the wind was blowing hard enough that I really could not stay steady as spot lock was moving the boat around and the wind was blowing the line.

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Originally Posted by gabowman

I dont generally fish for fish that wont bite. I leave and go find some that will. Sometimes I am catching and sometimes I'm just fishing.:)

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What threw me off was the first two just jumped all over it on the first pass. Then the rest of their buddies wised up. Hard to leave them when you know they are there and they were biting just a few minutes ago.

I have had similar experiences. What I find is I’ll catch two or three off a brushpile or off a stump on that perfect point, or even that bridge piling that’s fed your family many times over. You know without a doubt the fish are there because of what’s on the screen, and they are there and they will bite.
Try this. You go in and pick off 2-3 (of course the bite stops) Don’t keep dropping stuff at them. Leave them for at least 30 min or so (45 is even better) Go back in with a single poles and a jig similar to what you caught the first ones on. Be aware of Sun, wind, and current so as to understand how the school may be staged on the structure. Fish it ultra agonizingly slow. Windy situations like the OP described makes it difficult to do. You will usually pick up 2-3 more. I have 7-8 locations I do this to throughout the day and just rotate through them. Sometimes you find a school that totally has lockjaw. Nothing to do there except suck it up and forget what your electronics are saying and move on. There’s always plenty of others willing to bite.
Hope this helped.

Rob


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I had the same thing happen a couple weeks ago. After the third pass without a bite, I pulled 3 of my 8 rods out of the water and went back with 5 rods set for vertical. I set two rods on the bottom, 2 about 5-8' below the surface and one in the middle of the water column. I ended up catching a few more, and all of them came on the baits that were on the bottom.

Like i told a friend not long ago
"Just fish a brush pile. Don't fall in love with it"

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Originally Posted by tackleboat

Happen a lot vertical jigging. Not all of them are actively feeding. Sometimes you get a couple and sometimes 50!! Good electronic will make you stay too long.


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Last comment,
Livescope lets you see if they are interested or absolutely not.
Change rod/ color twice.
Move on if its not being chased

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by brettw

Last comment,
Livescope lets you see if they are interested or absolutely not.
Change rod/ color twice.
Move on if its not being chased

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Now that you have had a little time with your Livescope, bottom line, has it put more fish in the boat? Thinking about getting one but have not pulled that trigger.