Crappie fishing with a jig

[88mm]

I've only ever fished for bluegill, catfish and largemouths. 

Any tips for catching crappie with a jig? I'm not really sure how to use one. I hear they like to hang out next to downed trees and rocks in the water along rivers. 

[Bluebasser86]

Drop it straight down next to or into a tree and hold it steady for several seconds before shaking it lightly. A lot of times they'll whack it while it's just sitting there. It's good to use a lightwire hook because you're going to snag up a lot and the light hook will allow you to straighten it and get your jig back.

You can also fish them under bobbers and either let them ride the waves to impart the action, or give them short twitches and let the jig swing under the bobber. 

[Bankbeater]

On ‎4‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 1:34 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Drop it straight down next to or into a tree and hold it steady for several seconds before shaking it lightly. A lot of times they'll whack it while it's just sitting there. It's good to use a lightwire hook because you're going to snag up a lot and the light hook will allow you to straighten it and get your jig back.

You can also fish them under bobbers and either let them ride the waves to impart the action, or give them short twitches and let the jig swing under the bobber. 

Pretty much this ^.

[avidone1]

Yep, that's how it's done son

[Ratherbfishing]

Pretty much the only thing I can add is that marabou jigs (with feathers and chenille yarn) are, for my money, the best jigs out there.  With just the slightest movement, they undulate and move like a real bait fish.

[Tracker22]

Lure selection varies widely depending on the lake. It's best to ask local fishermen "what's working". I my neck of the woods it seems to change every year. One time it's electric chicken, next time it's Cajun cricket.... But you can never go wrong with minnows.

[Kevin22]

Check out  youtube. Lots and lots of info on crappie fishing. 

I'm not sure if you are wanting info on tube jigs, feather jigs, or jigs and minnows but they are all fished differently. just like bass fishing, there is no right or wrong way.. whatever works. 

 

[Attila]

On 2016-04-14 at 0:10 PM, Ratherbfishing said:

Pretty much the only thing I can add is that marabou jigs (with feathers and chenille yarn) are, for my money, the best jigs out there.  With just the slightest movement, they undulate and move like a real bait fish.

Couldn't agree more with you Ratherbfishing, especially in cold water where plastics just don't have the same action as they would in warmer water.  I used marabou on Friday and did well while others who used plastics caught some but not the same number and definitely not the same size.

[bassh8er]

Caught my limit of crappies (15 in Nebraska) yesterday "ice fishing" open water.

 

Tied up to some timber and used a tungsten ice jig and 1" Gulp Alive fish fry and vertically jigged right under the boat.

 

Caught several nice gills and a 26 1/4" walleye using this same technique.  Try it if you haven't before.  Good way to fish in the zone and not get snagged.

[tander]

Caught  some crappie today with a pink marabou jig in 1/16oz vertical  jigging with a 11 ft. jig pole. They were about 3 feet deep in bushes.

[desmobob]

On April 13, 2016 at 2:34 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Drop it straight down next to or into a tree and hold it steady for several seconds before shaking it lightly. A lot of times they'll whack it while it's just sitting there. It's good to use a lightwire hook because you're going to snag up a lot and the light hook will allow you to straighten it and get your jig back.

You can also fish them under bobbers and either let them ride the waves to impart the action, or give them short twitches and let the jig swing under the bobber. 

 

On April 14, 2016 at 0:10 PM, Ratherbfishing said:

Pretty much the only thing I can add is that marabou jigs (with feathers and chenille yarn) are, for my money, the best jigs out there.  With just the slightest movement, they undulate and move like a real bait fish.

+1 on the advice above.  I caught a big black crappie on Saturday while bass fishing a Ned Rig...  when I went past a downed tree, I lowered the Ned Rig down and held it there for a second.  Bam!

But my bait of choice is usually a yellow or white chenille/marabou jig or Roadrunner, or sometimes small plastics or tiny crank baits..

Tight lines,

Bob

 

[Silas]

In these bayous: 

Cane pole

8#mono

bobber

blue/white tube jig fished 3 feet under bobber. 

Drop next to Cypress tree and twitch the bobber sideways 

Sacalait come runnin!

[Crestliner2008]

There are many ways to fish a jig for crappie. None of them wrong. If you put a jig in front of a crappie, the odds are he's going to try to eat it. I would recommend a couple of main presentations myself. Start off getting a bunch of 1/16 oz. ball head jigs. Available in every tackle shop or online. Pick out a selection (various colors) of 2" curly tailed grubs, along with some straight tailed grubs (such as the Bobby Garland's Baby Shads). Put one on the back of a jig head and you're good to go!

You can cast these out and slow retrieve them back - or you can suspend them from a slip bobber (or fixed bobber if you prefer). There are many articles online illustrating to how to rig a slip bobber. Just know that it's a very effective presentation, especially when working around wood. If you are getting into some hard cover like that, I'd suggest you pick up and use some weedless jigs as well. Save you a ton of money on break offs. If you go with the slip bobber, then lean more towards the straight tailed plastics that I mentioned above. I think you will be very successful. Good Luck!