The Upside Down

Now mind you this about that , this aint about the demogrogon and stranger things , nor is it about the boat gone over .
It is about emulation and the need to think outside the box at times to ensure a solid ketch rate .
Years ago a "crappie dock" well known in these parts for it's often legendary sling rates of slabs in the winter was a place I hit off and on . Being 1.25 hours from the house kept it on the not very often schedule and to top it off the more miserable the weather in the dead of winter the better it was .:yikes
So one day I am there and these crappie are well known to really finicky on what they want and how they want it , if you dont have the right bait and fish it properly you might just get to watch the local fellas whack em. So them fellas is hurting them and I can't get a lil peck , then one says you have to have a Texas Avocado or you won't get bit , one tosses me a plastic as I don't have one and STILL no bites , pretty humbling to say the least .....
Then as luck would have it,one wanders my way and whispers it HAS to be upside down? :dono
So I thought what a bunch of bla bla bla , that's ridiculous for sure , but in hopes of being in the show and not the audience, I flipped said plastic upside down . First drop till I left KABOOM in that there super deep water , the fish were at around 25 to 30 deep in 40 foot of water .
I tried and tried to wrap my head around the why and came up with several reasons it might matter . The silhouette maybe in water that deep ? Still not sure I formulated another opinion and tried it in other spots in the winter to see if it mattered in those spots .
Much to my surprise sometimes it did matter ....:dono
So once again I wondered and came up with yet another synopsis and it might be the case , said might . winter die offs on shad cause then to fall to the bottom, they don't float well in the colder water and often very slowly sink to the bottom,,,,,
upside down .....:highfive
Thought maybe I should try it after getting it handed to me the other day at a spot I frequent , sure enough let it rain was me and the hammer was down for sure , could it have been my crappie.com t-shirt you say ? maybe so but sometimes you just never know and need to get outside that box of confidence and possibly go all upside down ...:crazy:
KABOOM is the word ya"ll
7 foot of water on cover in the darkest shade on the dock and EVERYTING was hitting that upside down jig btw
yellow bass , black crappie , white crappie , longear sunfish, bluegill and one I aint sure WHAT, but it was BIG ....
crappie hammering tip number 429 on my list of how to KABOOM ...stay tuned ...:cheers2

Interest story and I like your theory about dead or dying baitfish sinking to the bottom. As you say, another technique for the books.
Bob

Good tip and thanks for sharing as always.

Sometimes on various occasions while reading here on crappie. com, the wife will ask "what are you doing?" I tell her I am in crappie school. In her infinite wisdom she replies, " when you pass first grade let me know!" I tell her I am still in kindergarten! :Rofl

Thanks, Ketchn for another great lesson. :fish

Outside the box works more times than not

On a two tone bait you would be looking up at an entirely different color as it fell to you if it was upside down on the hook. Very interesting indeed

Good tip! Thanks This is truly upside down Ketchn slabs.

Attachment 443354

Never intentionally put one one upside down to try it out but l do turn curly tails upside down when I tip with Gulp minnows. Attachment 443361


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This is interesting to me. I'm still trying to learn how to crappie fish, but I've caught many, many stripers jigging. My go-to rigging method is exactly what you show, but with a 7" Bass Assassin. Basically, it looks like a giant version of your exact setup.

My reason for fishing upside down is not color, but because if I rig with the hook coming out of the slit on the bottom of the lure, it has a lot more action and becomes a swimbait instead of a stickbait in action. But your logic on an upside down baitfish is very interesting and may explain a lot!

Here are a couple of pics of my nephews fishing "the upside down". The lures are in their mouth, but you can't see them well.:

Attachment 443364 Attachment 443365

At first I thought you were going to use an actual avocado to catch them lol. Nice write up…sometime you have to do as the locals do. Kaboom!


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by thill

This is interesting to me. I'm still trying to learn how to crappie fish, but I've caught many, many stripers jigging. My go-to rigging method is exactly what you show, but with a 7" Bass Assassin. Basically, it looks like a giant version of your exact setup.

My reason for fishing upside down is not color, but because if I rig with the hook coming out of the slit on the bottom of the lure, it has a lot more action and becomes a swimbait instead of a stickbait in action. But your logic on an upside down baitfish is very interesting and may explain a lot!

Here are a couple of pics of my nephews fishing "the upside down". The lures are in their mouth, but you can't see them well.:

Attachment 443364 Attachment 443365

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Some donkeys there!


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Oh yeah, it's very effective and very addictive. We have caught many, many over 30 and 40 lbs, with a few at or near 50 lbs, all of them caught on abass spinning rod with 10-15 lb braid and a 7" Bass Assassin, always rigged upside down on a jig, just like the OP shows.

Despite this, I'm determined to learn crappie fishing. My wife loves eating them, and we are 10 minutes from the lake, so it's very economical, especially compared to towing my saltwater boat 2.5 hours each way to fish. 5-6 hours of driving, not including the fishing helps break the addiction.

I guess I’ve always fished them upside down.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Centurion

I guess I’ve always fished them upside down.

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with crappie , sometimes it don't matter and sometimes it really matters , very finicky finned rascals for sure

Great tip Ketchin