There is nothing I love more than catchin crappie on a "cane pole" this time of year. I never get tired of watching that cork go under and there is just something special about "perch jerking" we call it. Sometimes all of the stores around here run out of minnows on a busy weekend and so I try fishin with jigs but never have had any luck catching them on jigs when they are up spawning. Anyone have any suggestions they are willing to share?

I can't catch them on anything but jigs...I use my tiny (1/80th oz)'ghost minnow' jigs and generally out catch everyone using anything else, especially minnows!

you know what the difference is in a minnow in a jig? movement and scent. if you arent catching them on jigs, try jigging more, and scenting it. . If the crappie want it still, kill your minnow. if the crappie want a small profile, pop the minnows head off. When crappie wont hit a live minnow but will hit a jig I believe thats the reason why. EXCEPT one rule. If the waters COLD crappies eyesight improves, and they can Id fakes a bit better, so minnows might work better in very cold water. just my opinion.
Tie a small roadrunner on under your cork and work it back and forth and then stop. Then shake it in place and stop. keep dipping , shaking and moving, dont wait for them to come to you when they are shallow and aggresive. use bright colored jigs, with curl tails, tentalcle tails, tiny spinners, ect. getting attention is the quest. if they see it they will hit it. also mr crappie makes some little bobbers with rattles in it if the water is real stained, you can " call" them to your jig.

If they are on a bed they will hit just about anything to protect the bed. If they are just moving shallow to get ready tehn it can be tough with anything during different times of the day, they will feed then shut off constantly.

DeCrappie

Show us your ghost minnow jig, please

Location is the most important thing. You have to be where the crappie are. Second in importance is depth. You have to put the jig where they can see it. Third is color. My favorite has become white and chartreuse green.

When they are in two feet of water or less I have been using a 1/32 jig head with a small body. A balsa pencil float is my favorite. I have to add a bb or 3/0 split shot weight to make the bobber stand up when using a small jig like this.

When they are deeper 3 FOW or more I like to use a 1/16 or 1/8 Roadrunner with a crappie thunder body.

If I'm fishing a rocky shoreline during the spawn I have a lot of fun and success throwing the small Lil Fishie at them.

The 1/32 oz Val's Jig had been a new discovery for me. Val is no longer with us so I'll either have to start tying my own or order some from the numerous jig tiers who post here on the forum.

I hope this helps. Now is the time to fish shallow. I've caught them in 2 FOW during my last two trips. Good luck!

depending on where and when you drop a jig might have some play in it
if you put a jig about 12 inches under a slender quill float
and twitch it every few seconds around spawning beds you will ketch crappie on jigs this time of year
depending on other factors color might make a difference
they have to be able to see the bait
this time of year scent may or may not make a difference
they are in protecting the babies mode and its serious to them
start as close to the bank as your 12 inch setting will allow
if the float will stand up ....work it slowly with lots of pauses
twitch ..sit ...twitch ..sit ...repeat towards deeper water
don't be afraid to let the float just sit still a few seconds longer here and there
it helps to aggravate them if it lingers in the bedding area
good luck to ya

I also use a tiny 'fly fishing strike indicator' instead of a 'bobber'. I put it about 3' above the jig and S L O W L Y 'swim' the jig back and forth along the shore as far as my rod will allow me to reach. I watch the strike indicator for any kind of change of movement. The indicator will be a foot or two above the water as I'm fishing in <18" of water. When a crappie takes it, the strike indicator will either twitch a tiny amount or just stop moving, at that time set the hook! I have actually made some of these in black/chart and red/white and caught a couple on them too. These are 1/80th oz jigs. I might put a touch of JB weld in them to make them a tiny bot smaller with a 'pill head' shape. I'm looking at getting a 1/100th oz mold and/or a 1/64th mold so I can pour more than 1 at a time :P

I go at it with a little different approach, I use nothing less than a 1/8 oz and most time use a 1/4 oz jig head with #1 sickle hook, and rocky tops in about 4 different colors and hand tied jigs of the same size in few bait fish colors.I fish mainly big rocks and some brush when looking for them shallow, drop it straight down and as soon as hits bottom pop it off bottom and usually when I get a strike. I'm not one to let moss grow on my jig waiting for them to come eat it, I fish fast when they are aggressive in the shallow water. I will move out if all you are catching are really colored up males in the skinny water and pitch a jig and let it swing back to the boat to find where the bigger females are holding. I like to catch a limit of fish but when I go about it in this manner I'm after the biggest fish in the lake not just a limit of 10 to 12 inch males.