I'm new to crappie fishing. We were going for any kind of fish with a small swimbait and a "crappie jig" I think. We just cast and reel and soon we were getting crappie. Is this the best way to catch them?
When jigging for crappie, do you just suspend the lure at a certain depth? Do you move the rod up/down or side to side?
What about worms or crappie nibbles, are those better than jigging at a certain depth?

when jigging for crappie you're going to generally want to just drop the jig down to a certain depth and hold it dead still, maybe move it just a little. If there are fish there, they'll bite it most of the time. If no bites, move on. Try different depths til u find them, and when you do find them, there are often several if not a whole bunch in a spot. Lots of variations to this, but mainly what I do, And For what it's worth, I do a lot of my jigging off the end of docks. Dont see much about this, but on my lake it is very effective.

craigo is right, less movement is better. Also check out the information and videos on www.BigCrappie.com
Good luck

Fish a jig just like a minnow/shad.

Drag it over brush or logs.

Look out - that is when you are going to get that hit.

Minnow’s, shad or jigs - it really all the same - just move it - wait till it comes back to rest - and thumb - You got it.

Most folks fish every thing to fast (slow down - way, way down),

Less is best on most days - just read the fish and what they want (most days less is best),

Stay on this forum and you'll learn a lot, I have. You have to read past the general conversation sometimes. These guys are full of info and willing to share, with the exception of their favorite spots. Good fishing and I hope you have a forgiving wife after you develop this crappie obsession. It's more challenging than any other fishing. Of course that's my opinion.

on my pond I usually catch them near the lake bottom. I just lower the jig out straight down until it hits the bottom (slack in the line), then I crank up 1, 2, or 3 turns on the reel handle. Wait a few minutes with the rod tip several inches above the surface of the water while carefully watching the fishing line without moving it around. Usually get a distinct bump that I feel, but sometimes the crappie swims up a little with the jig in its mouth. If I see the line go slack, I lift the rod tip up a foot or two and if there's a fish on, the fish will pull back. Most of mine come out of 10-15' deep water in the summer and fall.

OK so I'm also one of the members here tryin to learn how to catch some Slabs. I'm scratchin my head here pretty good...... So when you're fishing with a Jig you just let it hang in the water with as LITTLE movement as possible???? Now I'm understanding a little better the gentlemans setup under a slip bobber. But if you're fishin a live minnow under a cork he aint gona be sittin still so is it better to fish fresh dead minnows??? Man I'm gona be bald by the time I figure out how to catch these dadgum fish...............


Rob

I wondered the same thing,finally took the advise of many here on the forum.My son and I booked with BigCrappie.com and had our trip earlier this week,the knowledge alone was worth the price of admission.And the bonus,we also caught a couple of very nice stringers.We caught other fish also and had a great time.Chuck is first class all the way.

Sometimes after dropping jig down to your depth you can tap on your rod with your finger.This creates a slight wiggle but not enough to scare them.

I picked up a trick fishing for a few years in Florida. Go buy a few dozen minnows and put 12 into small baggies without water and freeze them. Once good and hard, cut the into 3 pieces and them put them back in a bag and keep frozen until you are ready to fish. I like a nice sharp hook on my jigs and prefer pink and green or black and green coloring. I put a little piece of minnow on there and that keeps short-strikers from steeling the minnow and I like to fish as vertical as possible. Today the magic depth was 16-20 feet. I got some very nice Black and White Crappie. Caught my limit but only kept 6 for a fish fry with family tomorrow. The fish were very active and hookups were hard and fast. Good luck!

Not to butt in his post however whats the most effective times to crappie fish I have had ok luck at night but thats about it

Mine yesterday were between noon and 3:30. That's just what time I had that I could be on the water, nothing scientific.

I have found that in almost any body of water that durring my day fishing trips when there is alot of direct sunlight I catch almost all of my fish on the shady sides of whatever structure im fishing. Even if the structure is 15 ft. deep. Just an observation ive had.

Crappie are like any other fish they like shade. As for the question of how to jig, there are many ways to fish a jig. You can pitch it out and let it fall back to you, you can shoot it underneath a dock and slowly swim it back to you, or you can drop it down and hold it as still as possible. With the last technique, you have to remember that just because you think that you are holding the jig perfectly still does not mean you really are. Between the boat movement and your hand not being able to stay perfectly steady, you are already twitching the bait in a very inticing manner. If you have a swimming pool or a fish tank, put your jig in there so you can see how it sits in the water when you try and hold it still. Live minnows work because they move in a natural manner. You can jig a dead minnow as well but the same tactics apply, try and hold it still. When fishing gets tough I like to tye a pink jig head on and pinch the head off the minnow and put it on the jig head just like you would a soft plastic. The hook needs to go right through the spine. When you do it right the minnows tail will still wiggle everytime you slightly move your rod.

I would be willing to teach anyone how to jig in many different ways. If you are interested and in the Dallas area send me a pm and we can set up a time. I would want to do it at Lake Tawokoni because there is a place that I can take you and easily show you every technique that I have got. I have learned all I know from a seasoned tournement angler and I'm sure he would love to help out as well.

Crappie Fan, that's a real nice offer you made. I may take you up on it someday. I seriously thought about driving over there this weekend and trying it out with the thought that I might run into that seasoned tournament angler. Tell that rascal we said howdy and miss his entertaining posts over here. All those most interesting man in the world wisecracks was all in good fun and I'm sure he knows that. I sure do miss reading his stuff, some of it was priceless LOL.... Let's see if we can shoot this jig across the living room and hit that laptop again. But we need to watch out for your Great Grandma's antique lamp. Whoops!!

hey crappie fan i grew up fishing Holliday marina. I love that lake for crappie and sandies

It is a great lake. We have been pulling hogs out of Marina Del Ray for the past year. Lots of 2lbs fish coming out of there. Jon, come out anytime. Dale has been on the road alot shooting shows and commercials, so its rare to see him down there. Well, not rare but few and far between appearances. We have done a couple tapings down there as well for You Tube.

Crappie Fan, I've seen all the video's I think - those are pretty cool. I'll definitely be coming over there sometime soon. I'll shoot you a PM ahead of time to see if you're going. I'd like to meet you. Tell Dale I said Hi next time you see him....Jon