Crappies

[Bird Watcher]

I guess you can catch 'em with high-tech or low-tech.

When I was in my early 20's and newly married, my wife would sometimes get mad at me when she did the laundry. Back then, I'd go fishing with just what tackle I could carry in a shirt pocket (don't know why it takes a whole boat-load of stuff now), and sometimes I'd encounter crappie and not have any lures for them. So - I'd cut a little strip of cloth off the tail of my white t-shirt and move that slowly on a bare hook about a foot below a split shot sinker. It works, and I guess that sort of thing is still my philosophy now.

My camera won't take clear close-ups, so this picture is fuzzy but you get the idea. This is the sort of homemade, ugly thing I often catch crappie on - and it's NOT for catching fishermen, 'cause nobody would buy it.

I take a piece of nylon mason's twine and double it over, then run that through a cheap plastic WalMart bead (I've got those in all colors). Run a jig hook through the bead, put a drop of super glue on the back of the lead head, run the string and bead up to the jighead and let the glue dry. Then I frizz out the nylon twine with a comb.

The cost is: Hook, 6 cents; Jighead, free - I've got 100 lbs of free wheel weights in my shop; Bead, too cheap to figure; Twine, too cheap to figure. Assembly time: Very little. I've even put these together in the boat when I need a color I don't have.

The advantages are: Wide hook gap because there's no lure body, super-live action and durability from the nylon fuzz, and it's quick and easy to make in any color or combination of colors, using lure dye.

The disadvantage: Anybody but a crappie would think it's ugly.

Here's a 1/8 oz. one on a 1/0 hook in off-white with a blue bead. Again, sorry for the fuzzy picture.

I love that. That kind of stuff is what I really enjoy about huting and fishing, that being, I love it when someone shows how overcomplicated everyone makes this stuff.

Way to keep it real Sam.

[troutgnat]

Sam,

nice looking jig there! It tells me I should quit trying so hard!.......LOL

CrappieMagnet,

Let's talk dock shooting with all these folks. I love to shoot docks. This can work anywhere however I have got it down big-time on Lake Of the Ozarks for pre-spawn and you can literally catch a hundred or more in a day when conditions are right. I have some of the Stren Hi-Vis gold line in 6# that I use for dock shooting on my B&M "dock special" rod. You can see your strikes like no other!

[CrappieMagnet]

I think dock shooting is one of the best tactics a crappie fisherman can have if he can master it without sticking himself with the hook.

I buried hooks to the bone trying to learn how to do it,Troutnat.Trying to explain how to do it on paper is gonna be way hard....So I'm opting to throw up a video

to help explain it to the fisherman here...and maybe some questions can be answered afterwards.I looked around on the net and came up with this one from

Mr.Crappie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WrXZOd5Asc...feature=related

and this one from legendary Ernest Paty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVb2HDrfAYg

[troutgnat]

I think dock shooting is one of the best tactics a crappie fisherman can have if he can master it without sticking himself with the hook.

I buried hooks to the bone trying to learn how to do it,Troutnat.Trying to explain how to do it on paper is gonna be way hard....So I'm opting to throw up a video

to help explain it to the fisherman here...and maybe some questions can be answered afterwards.I looked around on the net and came up with this one from

Mr.Crappie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WrXZOd5Asc...feature=related

and this one from legendary Ernest Paty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVb2HDrfAYg

I never have hooked myself yet. But I did fall out of the boat once at LOZ in the 4th week of Feb.......leaned a little far out and low over the gunwhale and buddy hit the trolling motor. What can I say, lost my balance......LOL

[CrappieMagnet]

How cold are the waters down there in February?

We have probably 2 - 3 feet of ice on our lakes up here in February.

Man I can't wait for ice fishing! :D

[Sam]

Shooting docks is a ball - I've had a great time doing that over in Tennessee. I've got a little 5' 6" fast-taper Shimano rod just for that, and I've never stuck myself doing it. Just remember to pinch the curve of the jig hook BEHIND the point!

Unfortunately, that's another thing that's different about our local lakes - no shooting docks. All our docks are floaters, not on pilings, so there's no space underneath them. We've got so much brush and timber for cover, crappie don't hang around the docks much either - mostly you'll find bluegills and bass there. A lot of dock owners sink brushpiles within casting distance of their docks though, and those are worth checking for crappie.

I think the lowest surface water temp I've seen here in Feb. is about 36. Normally, we get ice in the coves that a boat can break through and the open lake stays ice-free - but the water gets crystal clear and that can make fishing tough.

[Sam]

I've been messing around with my quick-and-easy but effective crappie jigs a little more, and I think I'm making progress.

I found some 8mm chrome-plated brass beads for 5 cents each, and I'm experimenting with using those instead of cast lead-heads. I already had some colored plastic beads from WalMart, and I think the combination of the two looks good. I'm looking for small glass beads in various colors to replace the plastic ones, as I think that'll look even better and add a little more weight to the body of the hook.

The nylon tail material is great, as it has good action in the water and soaks up water like a mop. This gives good weight for casting even to a lightweight jig, and of course the weight of the water in the tail has no further effect once the jig hits the lake. I'll need to squeeze the water out before I put one of these I've been fishing with back in a tackle box - it's surprising how much water they hold and how heavy they are when wet.

What I'm trying to do is make lighter weight jigs that cast well but sink slower than a lead-head. Also, by moving the weight back toward the middle of the hook they should sink in a more natural "minnow" presentation when the retrieve is paused, instead of dropping fast nose-down like a lead head. I want a jig I can work very slowly over and around brush.

These are real easy to make. I cut a piece of nylon Mason's Twine and double it over, then run the loop through the plastic bead and the brass bead. Then I run the point of a bare Eagle Claw #575 jig hook through both beads, and move the beads onto the shaft of the hook. Then I hook the loop of string over the front of the jig hook, pull it up tight, and move both beads tight to the front. Put a drop of superglue on the string at the front of the hook, and another drop between the beads. Then, trim the two pieces of string off about 1/2" past the end of the hook, and frizz out the fibers with a comb. The tail material can then be colored with lure dye, if a color other than white is wanted.

I weighed these on a powder scale, and they're 1/25th oz. They'll be a little heavier if I can replace the small plastic beads with glass. These are almost as fast to make as just tying on a hook - and I do believe they'll catch a crappie!

[troutgnat]

Sam,

Nice looking jig and I like your method of thinking. YOU THINK LIKE A FISH YOU CATCH MORE FISH! Theres been many a time when I have put a lighter jig on or used heavier line to get it to fall slower. Probably something most people would overlook in a hearbeat.