I was curious about the difference in using minnows vs jigs. Fished 7 brush piles and fished with minnow for 10 minutes and then switched to pink 1/8 jig head and thump chubby ghost minnow. Caught 10 total in about 2 hours. 8 crappie, 1 cat, 1 yellow bass. 7 on minnows and 3 on jig. All between 15-20’. Do you normally catch more with minnows vs jigs? Thx!

It is an extremely rare event to have minnows on my boat. but I believe that it depends on the day, Sometimes minnows are better, sometimes
jigs are better. Somedays anything you put in the water gets eaten. When I take people out that bring minnows( I have not bought minnows in years)
I will cut up the dead minnow and tip my jig with minnow pieces. Works very well , most of the time.

MO

It's tough to compare in a scientific manner this time of year because it's pretty common to only find 2 or 3 that will bite from each pile so whatever you drop first is more likely to get bitten. I currently only fish with jigs but the exception is when I took my Mom out fishing a while back. She fished minnows and my dad and I outfished her 3 to 1 with jigs but we understood livescope and lure positioning and she didn't, so hard to say ...

I've been out of town and haven't fished Cedar Creek in almost two weeks but we are approaching the time of year that I have to downsize to a 1/32 hair jig. They love that 1/8 oz thump chubby for most of the year but starting soon (may have already happened) they will want a smaller 1/32 oz jig.

Are you saying that all of the fish that were caught were between 15 - 20' long?

Ron
I used the thump chubby because of your posts! I actually dropped it first every pile thinking the first time might give an edge. I’m new to crappie and trying to learn how to fish the jig. Where do you get your hair jigs? Thx!!

The one I use can be bought at Malakoff Bait & Tackle Shop but I've also found it online:


https://ttiblakemore.com/order/product/team-crappie/team-crappie-lures/team-crappie-slab-caller/

Color is white/chart called 'White perch' in 1/32 oz

IMO the size of the minnows make all the difference in the world this time of year. Small minnows will out produce jigs to me right now. Small jigs like thump chubbys will out fish large minnows

Why the need to reduce jig size or minnows during this time of year? A new hatch of small Shad or some other bait fish? Thx!

I think it is a combination of new hatch and higher water temperatures leading to more lethargic fish that don't want to expend energy on harder to catch prey. Shad that hatched in April/May might be 1" long at this time of year. While the thump chubby isn't that long, it is 'chubby' -- the hair jig has a much smaller profile and the length is a pretty good match for the recently hatched shad this time of year. The last time I went out I didn't see a preference for the smaller jig yet but it should happen soon.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but do you ever put crappie nibbles on the end of your jigs?

I tried them when I first started for a while and also tried spraying scent on my jigs. I concluded that (FOR ME) the hassle wasn't worth it and I could still catch plenty of crappie and haven't used them for almost 2 years. I subscribe to the philosophy of targeting aggressive fish and don't try to entice the ones that are more passive. Aggressive fish will hit a jig without scent. This time of year I catch a few aggressive one from each pile and then move to the next pile. That means I have to hit 8 to 10 piles to catch a limit but even in the deep of the summer I can usually do that in 1/2 day or less.

The key this time of year is to downsize. 1” or so baits on a 1/16 oz head are the way to go.