I am sure everyone has their favorite but need a bit of guidance.

Thanks

Roadrunner types are good if you are casting. A few of the guys on here tie their own, some sell them. Jigum jigs are good but so are Slabmesilly jigs, and a host of others. I'd buy me some of the hand tied ones and get out there. Good luck.

Some handtied jigs would be a good start. Jigum Jigs, Slabmesilly jigs, and Thumpit jigs are all good handtied jigs. For plastics, some roadrunners or panfish assassins would be good too. Either kind will catch fish.

Here's the gospel according to Ernest.

A good angler can catch them with "any" jig and a poor angler can't catch them with the "best" jig most of the time.

I like a good hand tied jig for fishing bridges and use plastics most of the time for docks and timber.

A good hand tied jig has a good hook and looks good and will hold together with lots of catching. A cheap jig has a sorry hook, will fall apart after a little use but will still catch fish.

There's hundreds of choices in plastic bodies. All will work most of the time, some just a little better at times. Size can be the critical factor or occasionally it's the color.

To sum this up, there is no best jig, just the best at that moment. Get a few and try them until you find a few favorites. Once you get good at jigging then worry about the little things that will make you an expert.

When you see a post by me (or someone else) about a big catch with a particular jig just be aware that it may well have been the only jig tried that day. (I rarely change color or jigs except when I lose one).

PS. I carry about 6 big boxes full of all kinds and colors of jigs and bodies (just in case).

Notes from a prestige jig-tier
Does it matter which kind/size/color? To me...of course or else I wouldn't have but "one kind one weight one color jigs" in my tackle box. Like anything else....NOT all jigs are created equal!!! However, which one would be best suit for a beginner?

I would strongly recommend a plastic jig (tube is the cheapest; solid body is a bit higher/better, but still cheap). Pick one among the colors that are common. i.e. White chart (best choice for the majority of situation); Black Chart; Red white; Blue white; Black Orange. Once again, they are cheap cheap cheap... I would rather fish with a plastic tube jig before I would fish with a cheap Wmart feather jig, though...

I recall vividly when I first started jigging many years ago. It was a red/white tube jig.

Loose as many of them as it takes for you to feel the submerged structures; get skunked more than you could count, eventually, caught a few and gained the experience.

Once you are used to fishing with a jig, you can then decided many other factors according to your budget. At the mean time, get your combo correctly rig (pole/reel/line/jig wt) for the application you are fishing.... i.e. bridge/docks/bp/timbers...etc.

NOT all jigs are created equal; but I have talked newbies from buying my jigs more often than any common sense business person that I know of. There is a good reason for it. If a newbie doesn't know how to use a jig properly, my name is at stake!!!
Look at it this way...if someone handed you a luxurious Mercedez for a day, but you are only 14 and don't know how to operate a vehicle. That luxurious machine is nothing but a pretty piece of metal.

So if I were you (obviously we were all once a newbie); stick with the plastic tube for now. Some newbies learned faster than others...Soon enough you will be looking for better jigs. At which point, there are a few sources to touch base with, including myself...
Most novice anglers thinking that if I put on a jig, I will catch fish because that guy and this guy said so... There are so many different factors to consider. Pole/reel/line wt/jig wt/jig color....then location location location. You can put a million dollar jig in the water where there is no crappie, then you are not gonna catch any.
However, if you put in efforts and a desire to learn, you will eventually know exactly what it would take to give you the edge with the appropriate tools you choose for your quest of crappie angling!

Great advice Ernest and CV. Can't get much better info then that!

Thanks for the great information and the wealth of knowledge! This forum is a great thing.

I always used minnows until late last year. I tried jigs before but always caught about 5 times more fish with minnows.

Now that I have my own boat I've been crappie fishing several times per month and got tired of stopping to buy minnows then trying to keep them alive and/or throwing them out if I don;t catch anything and use them up.

So I finally went to Bass Pro shop and bought a jighead pack that had 1/16 oz. jigheads in about 4 different colors. Also bought some plastic tube skirts in about 5 different colors.

I use a ultra light 6' spinning rod with 6 lb test line. Tie two 1/16 oz jigs (different colors) to the line about 18" apart. Then just pick a tube skirt color that will work depending on water clarity and amount of light. Usually white/green/chartreuse will work any time the fish are there and feeding.

Putting two jigs on the line gives you the ability to fish two depths at the same time and also try two different colors at the same time.

I've just about given up using minnow altogether it just took a while to convince myself that jigs worked for me.

For plastics my favorites are panfish assasins and Zoom tiny flukes, they are very subtle and it seems holding it still or small movements work best, but thats just my opinion.

Try, try again. It takes alot of practice and technique. Once you find one you like, taht is what you use. I like roarunners and jigum's myself.

For a new jig angler I would suggest the basics. The basic will always serve you well.

A half dozen of the most popular colors in 1 1/2 inch plastic tubes. My faves: Red with Chartreuse, Blue with White, Pink with White, Black with Chartreuse, Black with Pink.

I would purchase these same colors in 1/16 ounce in handtied jigs from one of the popular jig makers on the forum.

To round off my crappie jig selection I would purchase either Limetreuse or Chartreuse Panfish Assasins.

Carry a supply of jigheads in 1/16 ounce. In addition, since jigheads are relatively cheap I would purchase a pack of 1/32 and 1/8 ounce jigheads for those ocassion when you need a slower or faster fall of the jig through the water column.

I think this basic selection will allow you to show prepared to battle the crappie submerged below your rod-tip.

Cheers!

Jeff