Sadly there are times when you can see the crappie but can not get them to bite. Tuesday I fished for 5 hours and only caught 4 undersized crappie. I fished ten different brush piles and six different sets of bridge pillars. Monday I fished 9 hours and only caught 10 crappie, only four legal. Monday I even tried minnows along with my jig combinations to see if that would make a difference. It didn't.

I generally spend 10-15 minutes to fish all levels and sides of a brush pile, trying different size and type of jigs to see if that will provoke a strike. If nothing happens I then move on.

I have found that crappie suspended in the brush pile (no movement) will not bite, regardless of what you do. So I look for fish that are showing some movement to target. I also drop my jig to the bottom around the edges of the brush pile as often fish right on the bottom will rise up and take the jig. I have also found that if there are no bait fish balls around the crappie are slow to bite. Right now the bait fish are missing from the areas I fish, including my slips, and the bite is very slow. It has been too windy to fish the open lake for the past week but I suspect that will be where I would find the bait fish right now.

I don't believe braid makes a difference. I use it year around without a leader.

I look forward to reading the responses to your question.