crappie fishing off dock south side of the lake . Only had luck with minnows hate going back and forth to get them or they die and they don't seem to bite very often off dead ones . I need jigs ?? I have no clue what kind what color the feathered ones the plastic ones .need some advice before I end up just getting a makeshift live minnow well lol

There are dozens of great jig makers on this forum! You can get feather or plastics. I believe that two of the most popular makers of plastics are Thermocline Lures and Bonehead. Thermocline Lures is my choice, as these are hand poured with the best quality control, and are tougher than about 98% of the plastics on the market. You can get these online or at their shop on Lake Fork only. It is a true Ma and Pop brand. Bonehead is widely used and dispersed at a lot of Texas bait shops, and can be purchased online.

It is just my opinion on plastics over feathers. I prefer plastics because of natural color dispersion with the uv treatings and holographic glitters. They both are effective, as I have caught plenty of crappie on both. You can also change colors rapidly with plastics by simply changing the body.

As for color, water clarity will drive this factor. Stained waters, I prefer very bright reflective baits. Semi-stained you can work the spectrum of colors. Very clear waters, I stick to blues and chartreuses, but clearer baits with reflective materials work well also.

I recommend getting several different shapes and sizes of every color you choose. Crappie are strange in that they will prefer one color and size one hour and prefer the total opposite the next!

I hope this little, tiny fraction of info helps! There is lots more to add!

Tight Lines and God Bless!

I personally prefer hand tied jigs, but have recently started injecting plastics. I have found that they either want a "match the hatch" type bait, or they want an obscenely bright chartreuse bait. I rarely have to stray from those two. If you just want to keep your minnows alive you can add an aerator to any cooler and have a great bait well. One thing about using jigs is that if you miss a bite, your bait is still in the water. That is rarely the case with minnows.

I agree with snappa, but you may want to try some hand ties also and out your way Jerry T. here on TFF is one of the best.

Nicely stated...I'd add a few of Lane's thump chubbies to your list in the shaddaboy color(dark gray with blue flake)! For some strange reason, crappie knock the fire outta this bait when fishing bridges or low light/cloudy conditions!

I prefer ties to plastics as well. Usually, I put one of each on, then go to whichever gets bit more, usually ties. I'm right by Alvarado (off 917), and needing to go to run the boat. I usually fish Benbrook, but it is still too high. Done good at Alvarado, but the brook has a lot more quality fish. Plus, you get 10 boats on Alvarado, and there isn't a place to fish. Meet me out there some weekend, and you can pick through my box. I have more plastics and ties I will use in 10 lifetimes, and I bet I will buy more when someone has something new. I tie my own, so can always make more of those. Message me contact info, if you want to go. Could do this Saturday and possibly tomorrow evening. I took the day off for daughter having her tonsils removed in the morning. You can try them all, slab bandits, Lanes thump buddies,chubbies and toads, some of Mike's customes, and just about every style at BP. Got a few Thermoclines, but they need to make a bigger tackle box b4 I can pull the trigger and order. You can also try one of my rods I built.
If they are not biting on jigs, they are not biting!

Make one of these , it works great , and cheap to make. Mine will keep up to 5 dozen or so minnows alive for up to 5 weeks. Pump and filter @ Wally World along with fish food. Just add the stuff they sell to take the Chlorine out of the water when you fill it.

Oh my!! You're about to find out what the THUMP is all about! Once you learn, minners will be a thing of the past. Jerry here on TFF makes wonderful hand-ties, and plastics are aplenty here.

You're fixin to have a lot of fun.

I suggest starting with something with chartreuse with white, black, or blue. Jigheads with sickle hooks.

Both Thermocline and Bonehead Lures are one stop shops and can get you started.

Or If you want to get into jig tying PM me

That's a lot of info ! Sorry just now picked my phone up . Had it off all weekand goofin off at the lake . Haven't got any crappie in about a week I tried and tried bank fishin sucks . Swapped over to some trotlines and beer drinkin before I got too frustrated . Think I'm gona hit it again tommorow and see if I can put this knowledge to use !

I was there yesterday. Saw that colored line in the water too!

Get yourself a Ned Rig setup and have fun. It catches all species and lasts a while.

All I can say is "I HATE when I get a hook stuck in me, but for you to get BOTH those hooks caught on that area must have been a real bad day for you."

Cool you fish the dock off blue water oaks ? If you see anybody messin with my line tell them to leave it the hell alone lol were you the guy out there fishin with his wife and little girl ???

Hahahahaha I was so confused looking back at the comments to see where someone said they got a hook in them...... Then I looked back at the picture and got what you were saying lol