Minnow Fishing Question

[Sam]

I went out of K Dock on Monday, and had a tough time. Crappie aren't by the banks, in the coves, or on the brush - they're suspended in the deep main lake channels. Fishing the banks, brush, coves, and points with jigs in my usual way got me only a whole bunch of short Kentucky bass and one good crappie. I couldn't get any bites on jigs in deep water.

But I found out good fish are being caught, slowly, in the channels by drift-fishing with live minnows. The guys I talked to said they're using crappie jigs "tipped with minnows", setting a couple of poles each, and just drifting.

I haven't fished with minnows for years, but I guess I'll try it. I'm wondering how to rig them, though.

Should I just lip-hook a live minnow on a gold minnow hook with a split shot about 18" above? I've fished that way, but if the minnow isn't too lively it tends to spin round-and-round when drifting. Not good.

I always cast a bunch of lead-heads on Eagle Claw #1 and #1/0 gold jig hooks in 1/16th, 1/8th, and 1/4" weights - that's what I fish plastic "swimming minnows" on. Should I just lip-hook the minnow on one of those bare weighted hooks? That wouldn't spin.

Or, should I put the minnow on the end of something like a maribou crappie jig or even a Roadrunner? Is that what "a crappie jig tipped with a minnow" means?

This is something I'm not too experienced at, and I'd like advice from some good minner-fishermen here. Thanks.

[Phil Lilley]

I used to fish with an old guy on BS. We would set the boat in the middle of the channel/cove and drift with the wind and used 1/16th oz jig, I think white or pink, tipped with a minnow hooked through the lips. We catch the fire out of crappie- he'd get the biggest kick out of it. We did the best right in K-Dock cove when the dock was in the cove, not on the main lake. Lots of brush out in the middle, we'd set the lines just above the brush. I don't think we had any trouble with the minnow spinning.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I haven't fished that way in decades, but when we did we used Marabou jigs and lip hooked the minnows.

I do remember that the Crappie were fussy about jig color and minnow size. Red and White jigs with "Crappie size minnows" was best, but not sure fire..

[crappiefisherman]

Phil, Now I know your a real bull shoals fisherman.When I was in elementary school we used to camp on top of the hill above the ramp and fish crappie and white bass in the channel there.I remember catching so many little white bass from the bank around the dock we would get run off by the owner.I think the cove is still a good place for crappie but I got to be more adventurous and fish further away just to justify the 25 dollars worth of gas .I miss the old dock, and the camping down there, it used to be really nice.

[porter57]

i used to and still do occasionally do that very thing in yocum.

it can be very effective right after the spawn.

[Colorado hillbilly]

Down here for crappie (drove from Colorado!) and walleye. Took my mom and uncle out Mon afternoon and Tues morming. Cane poles with crappie minnows (just small ones). Haven't done that for over 40 years. Caught almost limits of big crappie using minnows (lip hooked) over the standing timber south of K-dock along the shore. I used slip bobber most of the time while the old folks (their in there 80's) used the cane poles. They out fished me.

Fish fry tonight!

Sure wish I could have found some walleye - but didn't.

Lip hook 'em. 18" leader below weight. Fish at about 8 to 10 foot depth. Fish right at the standing or submerged trees along the bank.

Mostly females (every one with eggs so still on spawn).

Good luck.

[porter57]

bummer for me hillbilly.

im gonna be there in 2 weeks and i hit that stretch a lot.

hope its not over when i get there.

sounds like they are post spawn.

and leaving sooner is out of the question, boss has already said no

to new time off requests till the 10th