HOW TO MINNOW YOUR JIG for crappie ........

let me first say this , I am not talking about tipping your jig with a minnow
that's the ticket for many folks but not needed if you know ....
HOW TO MINNOW YOUR JIG .......
it takes skills some may or may not have
and it requires a light stiff rod and the ability to ever so slightly make a float twitch
but without a doubt if you learn the presentation and get good at minnowing your jig
you will get a bunch of bites with this technique from crappie
.....
keep your line fairly tight in that you don't have much slack between the rod and the float
position a jig just heavy enough to hold the float half way down on light line ..6 or 4 lb test
I think a fixed quill float is not optional on this set up ..its a must
toss said apparatus in water near a potential place to ketch crappie
let it sit a second or 3 ....then VERY VERY lightly give it one tiny tiny little bity twitch
if this fails to produce a strike try 2 or 3 the same
this includes letting the float sit in the same spot
you are NOT dragging it during this presentation
the idea is to make the jig look like a very slow baitfish that's in a struggle to live
like a minnow on a hook would look
if you do it right you will be rewarded for sure

if all goes well you may even ketch bunches
its pretty tricky and you must eagle eye the float
the bites may or may not be rather noticeable at times

not all the fish that take it will be crappie
but sometimes ...most will be crappie if they are there
KABOOM

of course it helps to put on a crappie nibble
scent plays a VERY important role in the seduction of a crappie in my opinion

and it also wouldn't hurt none if you use a bait with lots of tail action
I love the lil fry, mr fry and slab stinger Thermoclines lures baits for this set up
on a 1/32 or 1/16 number 6 pink ball head
KABOOM time for sure

and in the final words of wisdom
I cant tell you enough how tiny the twitch needs to be

most of the fish took a Silver Flash slab stinger
some took a emerald green shiner in the lil fry
photobucket only allows so many photos per post
so to be continued
KABOOM

I have been trying to get a technique like that figured out. I'll get it soon, I think I'm pretty close.

so in conclusion ketch some crappie with the MINNOW YOUR JIG presentation
try to take a good seflie in between ketches

in the end even if it looks like camo
looks can be deceiving as we all know ....and...
you may need to look closer
it might just be a bunch of big bucks in the woods
KA DA DA BING BANG BOOOOOOOOM

Do you always use a hi vis line? I have been considering it since when I tight line jigs, at times it is hard to see the green line I typically use so who knows how many of those light bites i miss.

it for sure will ketch fish when others aint brother
I watched a guy not get a bite in a spot for 30 minutes
told me they quit biting ....LOL
he was float pitching as well
with a store bought chart jig
when he left I went right to THAT spot and jerked out a bunch

That's what I did yesterday, watched a few guys using minners and store boughts and struggled to get any fish and forget about keepers. When they left I went over and dropped my new Thermocline straight down and as you say..... KABOOM

most of the time I like the Hi viz mono 6 lb test from Outdoor Branz team catfish
TUG A WAR they call it ....fairly supple and super strong
and fish don't seem to care about the color in most cases
if I hit clearer waters I might change to a low visibility line though

them Thermocline Lure things flat out ketch some fish don't they

Weave done that before putting a minnow with a jig. Got good results.




Side Note: Nice fish "Ketchn" good job! KABOOM!

They sure do, now to try my jigs from constant pursuit but I gotta wait till next weekend. I leave for San Antonio today to go to the Golf Industry Show. Hopefully by next weekend I can find me some more spots. I'm thinking I may need to put a graph on my bass hunter so on calmer days I can venture out into some lakes and find some structure holding crappie. Of course here real soon they will be in the shallows and won't need no graph. I hear there is a brush pile by the damn of waxahachie lake that I want to find after the spawn and I want to make me some of my own crappie livin spots.

thanks sir and yes minnows on jigs work VERY well at times
especially if you are targeting larger specimens
but here locally in ft worth you will not ketch near as many with that presentation
not many fish large enough here to be brave enough to take a bait that big
and I prefer a lot of fish over just one or 2 most of the time

there are brush piles on EVERY dam on EVERY lake best I can tell brother

Never tried that before. Have always done good on just jigs. Love the thought of possibly getting bigger fish on the jig/minnow combo. That would be worth trying on these Guadalupe River Crappie.



Also nice fish!

Ketchn: So the 6 lb test is to allow the jig to move better not for visibility? is that correct?

With all these tips, you need a CD like Ernest Patty. You certainly have the pics to back up the technique.

Nice technic. You are the master of it.

The jigs up. Found these in Walmart today. All for $3.00
Your secret is out. All except the brush pile location.

I bet that there collection would do the job
and remember you cant use a large jig head
them floats wont stay up .....
sure works well in a few places for me
just keep the jig in one spot as long as you can
if its moving to fast they will pass on it a lot of the time
funny you mentioned cost on the set up
I was doing a cost evaluation myself the other day
float jighead and jig body with crappie nibble on it
less than a buck

Ketchn you gonna grow a fin from eatn so many crappie. Thanks for the tips.

your mighty welcome ....
I don't keep many fish brother
we only eat a few ourselves
I give some away though along the way
and release a large number in hopes they find other anglers

I bet that there collection would do the job
and remember you cant use a large jig head
them floats wont stay up .....
sure works well in a few places for me
just keep the jig in one spot as long as you can
if its moving to fast they will pass on it a lot of the time
funny you mentioned cost on the set up
I was doing a cost evaluation myself the other day
float jighead and jig body with crappie nibble on it
less than a buck [/quote]

These are 1/16 oz. jig heads. If the 1/2" balsa don't float em I have some in 3/4" that should.
I actually prefer the old round brown cork bobbers but I can't find them anymore.

stick floats offer much less resistance to the fish that take the jig under it
very few notice it .
of course during the spawn it matters not , but the rest of the year it matters big
that there balsa you got is a smoker stick float ...
once you get used to it ,you will never go back

Found some fish on the sidescan on Tawok Saturday in 1-2 fow!!! Not a single float in my buddys boat

Ketchn,

What kind of hair treatment do you use?

KABOOM.......

prolly just gizzard shad hiding out from the hybrids .....
it could happen ya know

golly I don't know
whatever the other half has in the shower area

My jig and float combo is way low tech. I learned it from my pap in Louisiana. Cheapest styrofoam floats like the ones from Walmart - bright orange or bright yellow (I think 2 for 66 cents). The kind that have the little spring mechanism for line attachment. The line is only attached on the bottom and the weight of the jig makes it sit upright. A little twitch of the rod tip makes the float turn over and move the jig a little. If the crappie picks it up on the rise the cork will turn over on its side - very subtle and you have to pay attention. Two weeks ago on the Gueadalupe I caught a bunch out of the same top under the cork. The next week they wouldn't touch it - I caught another mess but they wanted it deep with a slow retrieve, and I got hung up alot trying to go slow.

yes sir I use the 3 for 1.16 quill floats mostly as well
them thill floats are the bomb but pricey
but without any doubt this tech. you used sounds very similar to mine
and its flat deadly on crappie thru out most of the year
during the yearly seasons the crappie frequently will feed shallow
a lot of the times at night ....

My rig has its limitations - I am limited to a depth of about 5 feet. That is about all I can sling out there.

this is a fact on a fixed float
about the rod length is close to the maximum on the depth setting

Ketchn: What do you think about this cold weather doing to the slips?

So, I guess you are catching them shallow? This cold weather causing them to come up?

from what I have seen this week its all over the map sir
one day ok the next not so

I ketch those fish in that spot shallow
but I am sure they winter in there
I need to try the 2 other spots they were shallow in last week
don't know right now ....water was pretty muddy in the one spot I checked yesterday

Thanks for the tips Ketchn, I am preparing to start really searching Possum Kingdom Lake, for crappie. Main reason it is the last lake in this area I can still get a boat on. Years ago it was a great crappie lake, but the golden alga and other factors have really hurt the crappie population. I can find no one who has recently caught crappie on that lake. I have been buying (with my IRS refund) literally a whole bag of jigs that have been recommended on this forum. Keep up the good advice.

thanks sir , I have never been to possum kingdom myself , almost 40 years ago we did fish below the spillway at dark valley to ketch rainbow trout when the state first started the winter trout program . that was as close as I got to the lake though. I hope you find some crappie in there . I bet there is a good chance some are waiting for ya to drop a jig on em