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When the fish are deeper I would say 20+ feet, I usually use a 12 foot rod and just swing it to them, but when the fish are shallower than 15 feet, I have a hard time getting my bait down to them without scaring them after I catch 1-2 of them. Is there a better way to approach shallower fish to keep from scaring them after you catch a few and still see mother loads of fish still there, that will not bite.+Cross+
I like to cast to the them , it is a highly unconventional approach in this brave new world of the VERY ridiculously long rods , but you know what they say , someone's gotta do it , right ?.....:Rofl
Ketchn what length rod do you use when you pitch to them, size line and jig weight.
Two thoughts come to mind :
1) Back off of them and let them settle down for 20-30mins. while you fish somewhere else.
2) Back off and cast to them from a greater distance. (& maybe cast farther past them than you were doing)
I find that nervous crappie tend to calm down (if left alone) after about 10 minutes. Sometimes, their in-laws drop by and they are hungry. :Rofl Just stop and observe. Good time to eat a sandwich and have a beverage. Always good to find several piles close together so you can alternate attempts.
Danny I scared some Sunday & they moved so when they regrouped I started staying back 30 feet & casting past them & caught several. They’d move if you got hung & made the tree move but they’d just regroup on another one & you could repeat just sitting back & casting past them. I’ve been vertical jigging & never really gave the casting enough of a chance but finally figured a couple things out which will help me big time. I feel pretty confident my catch rate will go way up now.
crappiepappy that makes a lot of sense, I caught some good fish off this spot 3 fish weighted 2 pounds and lost several that was big also. If I would of just backed off a little, I might of caught a lot more bigger fish. Thanks for the thoughts. It really helps.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Les Young
thanks what would you have changed to catch more. Maybe we can learn together, pm me if you would.
If they won't take it moving, I switch to slip bobbers, allows me to back off. I simply am not currently capable of any rod over 10'
:Rofl me either rotflQuote:
Originally Posted by grizwilson
DL, what lures are you casting? type and test line? what action and length rod?
What depth range? i.e. 2-5', 12-15' ?Quote:
when the fish are shallower than 15 feet, I have a hard time getting my bait down to them without scaring them
Pre-spawn fish?
Vegetation?
Bait fish on sonar along with predator fish?
Before I can offer advice (though rarely taken lol), I need to know the above. Granted, every water is different when it comes to when and where fish are located. The higher the provocation - tease/ fish sensitivity state, the more apt fish will strike; the less active the fish, the less likely they'll strike.
Example: The pattern in my local water is shallow (2-5')/ prespawn/ high water (heavy rainfall), wetland weed lines, emerging pads and school fish.
Find the school and fish bite one after the other. Smaller, light lures under 1/16 oz. cast long distance, or even pitched to fish that hit & missed, allow lures to stay in the strike zone longer. Many lure designs work, but soft plastics on light jigheads are hard to beat. My spinning and spincast rods are 5 1/2' - 6' and light action. 8#test braid for the best in light strike detection.
Your situation may be totally different, but pattern fishing is key in my book and the above illustrates that.
I find if you catch the fish off the edges and top of the school you get more bites before they shut down. Don’t just land your bait right in the middle of them all or you’ll shake them all up quickly.
If fish are coming to bait keep it out of the school and catch the looser fish first.
Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com
Crappie seem to spook easiest in clear water .I see them in warm water take less to spook than in winter . I pitch to them but have seen times just getting close to a brush pile enough to send them running .Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Sometimes a 6 foot , 6 lb mono , 1/32Quote:
Originally Posted by Danny Lang
Sometimes a 7 foot , 6 lb mono 1/16
Sometimes a 7 foot 10 lb braid 1/8
Depends on several variables on the who what and where
If school fish are shallow, I can catch fish after fish. Many times a missed fish can be caught by pitching the lure to the same spot. But then again, the lake I fish has monster populations of crappie and once one is caught, 30 or more can be caught from the same school with boat anchored. With the water as high as it's been, the fish of different specis can be caught in the same areas. These are just a few of the lures that caught a bunch yesterday from the same school in 2-3':
depth range is anything under 20 ft, I use braid 20lb with a mono leader with a 1/4 oz egg sinker with a 1/16 oz jig head with Bobby Garland jigs, these are post spawn crappie with a 12 ft med action rod. Sometimes roaming fish others are on structure, no vegetation, mostly muddy water with cold fronts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoonminnow
Finesse presentation suggestion:
3' - 8# test braid leader (thin but strong and strike sensitive)
1/16 oz ball head jig good for deeper water, 1/24 oz for 5' or less. The weight of the plastic and jig is more than heavy enough.
no egg sinker
6' light action rod
Reel handle imparted-action along with slight twitches of the rod tip with pauses.
Thank you spoonminnow I will try this.