Hey Folks,

I went out saturday for my 1st ever crappie trip (i have never caught a crappie before). I picked a location known for crappie, fished 2 poles each with the eagle claw crappie rigs with .5oz weight (live minnows as bait).

I did not know the depth of the water (and have no fish finder on my yak). I would drop my rigs down about "half way", then every 45 seconds i would pull out 1 foot of line, wait 45 seconds, then pull another foot out. So on until i hit bottom or got a hit. I missed 2 and got 1 8" crappie. It was hard to determine the depth that i got a hit it. Any advice on how to lock in the depth the fish are at once you get a hit? All advice is welcome.

The only thing I might do differently is I would drop down to the bottom and then every few minutes reel up one turn. Keep count of how many times you've reeled up and when you get a strike you can easily return to that depth by dropping to the bottom and reeling up that number of turns. That's the best advise that I have.

Try marking your line with a sharpie close to your reel where you are getting bit at.

This ^^


or you can pick up a couple of these

https://www.amazon.ca/Zebco-ZEBCO-SLABSEEKER-SPINCAST-SLD20/dp/B000JQIEOY

I have two that work great for the kids. Hook a fish, slide the pin and start reeling. drop bait back to exact depth

I was doing the reel up technique from the bottom but wasn't having any luck. Another guy was there and he said start from top to bottom, which seemed to get me the hits. is going down 1 foot or up 1 foot ever 30-45 seconds too fast?

I like using casting rods for jig fishing.
Mark the rod at two feet from the reel. By grabbing the line at the reel you can pull off different lengths easily and be accurate as long as you keep count.
I mostly use 2 ft pulls in deep water.
I�m right handed and have found by using left handed reels I can control things better.

Just my method.

What rod length were you fishing with?

Here is how I fish from top to bottom:

If I'm fishing a 10' rod, then:
- I'll drop my jig or minnow to the bottom of the rod...then I know I have 10' of line out
- drop it down...now I'm fishing 10' deep if my rod tip is just off the surface of the water
- if you want to do your 45 second approach...then each 45 seconds, pull line from your reel out to the first eye on your rod (have drag set just loose enough that you can pull the line from the reel).
- Each 45 seconds...take 1 more pull
- When you get bit...make note of how many "pulls" you were down...and then you can return back to that depth

FYI...A lot of rods are about 2' from reel to first eye...just as a guestimate...then you will know how deep you are fishing

If you catch a fish at 3 pulls...then you were fishing about 16' deep (your initial 10' plus 3 pulls at 2' each)

You can adapt that to whatever rod length you are starting at.

Have fun!

Way


Exactly the way I do it other than the drag adjustments
With the casting reels I trip the spool and pull the line off.
Actually my reels have flipping switches.

you can also use bobber stops to mark your depth. The ones you use for slip bobbers. if you use braid you can mark the line with a black marker

This^^ is the way to go, in my experience.

This is the best way any time of year when fishing deeper water. Only added advice I have is wait about 2-3 minutes before you pull off another 2 ft. In colder water, the crappie sometimes take a little longer to make up their mind. I've held a jig still at 21 ft for over two minutes and then make a very slight move and a crappie will hammer it. Sometimes just moving the rod sideways will trigger the bite.

I use a slip-bobber to get me to where I need to term to each time. Works like a charm!

Get a buddy and split the cost of a good guide... He can teach you more in a half a day trip than you can learn all summer on your own... IMO

Plus #1.

+ 1 First SLOW down and then go slower!!

So i added bobber stoppers every 10ft up to 30ft on my line. What depth would you start at? I'm not sure the current depth i'm at but i'm sure it might be 40ft. down to the bottom (because of all the rain). Would you start at 20ft then go down every 2 feet? Also i am using 6lb fluorocarbon on my line, is that okay? I also set my drag really really loose, is this correct?

Ok , you see that little lip on the side of your reel....hook your live to that and it will keep your at that depth until you take it off.

The problem with to light of a drag is setting the hook and fighting the fish. Hold the line against the rod with your finger to help set the hook. Fighting the fish will require you to set the drag each time.
All that is the reason I use casting reels for vertical jigging.

There is a mind set that you have to use spinning tackle for jigging. If more would try casting reels I think they will find the fishing more productive and enjoyable
No line twisting and the ability to accurately know your depth without and aids. Set your reel properly to avoid overruns and you can strip off measured lengths fast and accurately.

By cheap ones. No need for high price reels.
I give $35 for my last ones and you can buy them cheaper.

So I went out yesterday. I fished 2 poles. One I started from the bottom and worked my way up, the other one I started half way down and went down. Tried to go down about 2 feet every 2 mins. I think I got a few more hits than my 1st time out. I only managed to get one crappie in but I was a keeper (my first). I was using the eagle claw pre made rigs, which someone told me aren't the best because the line is too thick and they can see it. When you see the end to a little wiggle up and down, do you jerk the rod or start reeling or what for it to bend down more?

When a crappie thump a jig it�s in his mouth.....Set The Hook....
Not sure if you�re into watching videos but look at a few of mine and you will see a lot of what you�re asking answered......

This time of the year they do not always bit very aggressively. I caught an even 20 the other morning. 8 that went 14-14.5 inches and the rest from 11-12.5 inches. Less than half of them bit hard. The larger ones were just there an I felt their weight when I moved the rod.
Crappies are also called paper mouths so remember to not try and cross their eyes when you set the hook.
Also this time of the year they are sluggish and not as willing to chase a bait. I have better luck holding my jig as still as possible letting the natural movement of the boat do the work. I do slowly raise the rod tip fairly regular checking for that weight feel I spoke of above.

Last but most important is no technique will work if there are no crappie under your boat.

I like almost all of this except the paper mouth part.....I think that's a myth.....
I cross their eyes on almost every hook set.... with authority and drive that hook in the boney roof of their mouths.....
I've lost so many less fish since doing this than just raising the rod or a flip of the wrist.....
BnM should be proud of their rods as I test them very well.....
Would love to get on their Pro- Staff but I'd doubt they like my advertising of popping that hook in those crappie.......

I also use a bit of authority with the hook set but I don�t try to cross their eyes. The op is new to this and if he comes from a basin background and use the same methods be will tear out a lot of hooks. Unfortunately all hookups are not in the top of the mouth with many being in the thin sides of the mouth which will tear and cause lost fish.

I also use rods with heavier actions than most.