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I have been bass fishing for over 40 years. I still enjoy chasing after them, but would like to branch out and try new things.. I have a Ranger Bass Boat with Garmin livescope , Three hds 9" graphs and an Ultrex trolling motor. I feel I should be okay there. I would like help selecting a couple rods for casting and jigging. I currently use Dobyns rods and Lews reels . I am curious about Wally Marshall Lews rods. What are a few basic jigs and soft baits to get me started.
Almost any light or medium light rod you use for bass would work fine for crappie. If you have a "finesse" outfit for bass, you have what you need already.
There are a million jig bodies that will work. The Bobby Garland Baby Shad is a good one to start with.
Look on the Member Sponsor Classifieds for jigs/plastics .... good stuff there !!
As far as casting/jigging ... I'm using a 12' BnM BGJP rod for Livescope jig flipping ... ESP PowerLite 6'6" rod for casting purposes ... I don't do much "jigging" (vertical jigging) so my 10' or 12' rods would serve that purpose should I decide to do so. As far as reels go, I'm using half a dozen different brands/models ... but the most important aspect is whether they balance the rod I'm using them on.
Also, see here:Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Keys
Bass Pros Crappie Fish - Crappie Now
I'm primarily a bass guy, too. Dobyns Rods are my favorite and while I use Lew's bait casters, I prefer Dawia spinning reels.
Any spinning rod from Dobyns rated as light will work. Fury FR661SF works if 6ft 6 in rods is to your liking. Champion XP offers 701SF in light fast--7ft and if I were going today with a Dobyns it would be DC 792SF at 7ft 9in medium light, because I already own one.
You might have Dobyns light action spinning rods and they work for crappie too.
But if I didn't already own several Dobyns and was spending money, Id go much cheaper. South Bend, Eagle Claw and Berkely would get my attention.
Simply put, I don't think a good rig for crappie fishing needs to be expensive. Wally Marshall rods are good too.
I just started to target crappie myself. I have been putting a lot of crappie in the boat lately. Here is what has been working for me. I've been using two techniques vertical jigging and using slip cork/bobber. I've been fishing in 10fow to 25fow.
Vertical jigging: Fenwick HMX 6' 6" paired with a diawa regal LT 1000 with 6lb mono
Slip Cork/Bobber: 7ft okuma celilo light rod paired with a regal 2500 LT with 6lb mono
I do a lot of walleye fishing and just starting to branch out. The reason for my vertical jigging gear. I want something light and I can hold all day with out wearing my arm and wrist out.
For slip cork/bobber.. For me I dont set the hook by lifting and jerking the rod.. I reel down on the fish to set the hook. So I want somthing that takes in line quicker. Like I said I'm not expert and still learning.
I see pink jigs are becoming popular, around here chartreuse, black/chartreuse are common "go-to's". Ice blue is a good color to have in your box too. You can add colors as you go. I'm far from an expert but I cast 1/16 jigs from a 7' light Shakespeare on a small President reel. A lot of folks on here recommend even lighter jigs.
I like a 9 or 10' B'n'M jig rod and a cheap crappie reel for jigging. You can try a variety of jigs till you find some you like, they aren't terribly expensive.
I tend to go light on tackle, I carry maybe 20 jig heads, seven or eight colors and can fit it in a couple of plastic tackle compartment style boxes.
its a slippery slope you headed down and its really easy to fall and NEVER get back up ......just saying :Rofl
crappie can be had a multitude of ways , I would think any rod around 7 foot long and kinda fast tipped would be fine to cover a few different presentations .If I only had one rod ,it would likely be a fast tip 7 footer with a small open faced on it with a real smooth drag .
As far as brands on jigs and rods and reels the sky is pretty much the limit .
But as a start I would spool up 6 lb mono and get some 1/16 jig heads and about a half dozen colors in small shad looking plastics ....
chart , orange , white , black , pure silver sparkles and maybe a bluish one to .
and scent on your jigs with something crappie might like .
on a final note ....crappie love to ambush something BARELY moving or dead still right above them quite often.
turn down bass fishing to EXTRA slow and it is kinda similar to crappie ketchn ...sorta
my 2 cents are non cents and no cents ,,,,btw
:Rofl
:cheers2
Can’t go wrong with anything BnM makes.
Tried to go cheap when I first started and ended up with ALL BnM rods.
Great company in my opinion.
I’m ashamed to say how many I carry on my boat!!
Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
Went catfishing one night and used Bar-S hot dogs. Could not keep the 3 to 5 lb. bass from gulping them down. I think they like them more than me. Never would have thought that if I had not seen and experienced it.
In my opinion a good all around setup is a 7ft medium light rod with size 1000 spinning reel. I use 10lb braid but a 6lb mono works just fine. The big difference using livescope is to go with a 3/16 or 1/4 jig head so you can better see your bait on your screen.