getting the crappies to bite?

[Guest]

You can buy a quality graphite rod off this site for about $15-$17. I believe they are made by Croxton Pond. I have a 24" one that I picked up at the ice show. If you are paying $100 for an ice rod you are paying to much. I will say it again, if you can not feel the bites, get a better rod. This does not mean a more expensive one. The most expensive rod in my bag are 3 genz rods, hardly top of the line.

D-Man gave very good advice to taking on the wind. When the fish are finicky the wind is going to be your worst enemy if you are not in a shack.

PCG-Advice is like an old pair of shoes, fit really good sometimes but they still stink Scott Steil

PCG- Email me when you get a chance

[This message has been edited by ScottS (edited 01-09-2003).]

[Guest]

try a glow hook or even a plain hook tipped with a minnow. if that doesn't work I usually go to the smallest glow jig i can find tipped with silver wigglers. if this doesn't work I leave and try another day.
rm

[Pig_sticka]

pcg,
they wouldn't touch the bait though, i watched on the vex and they would all stop a few inches below the jig and disapear. when they did suck it in i set the hook. what was wierd is they would usually only chase it if i raised it over 3 ft above them, then all the sudden they came charging up for it. those crappies must really be able to see at night cuz i could tell they knew it was there once i dropped it in the hole.

i am pretty sure they were crappies. the spot i was on was over deep water and they were suspended all over the place after dark. ill try a smaller hook n smaller minnows. and also try waxies, i have never tried euros or anything. should i go horozontal?? the jigs i was using had a more vertical presentation with the minnow hooked thru the back or mouth.

[Guest]

It is such an honor to try and give Sticka some advice!!! The crappies around me have quit taking minnows to start out. Try a plain red hook filled with waxies. And if they start biting good slip a small crappie minnow down the other hole. On the plain hook, set it like PCG said because if they feel the hook they will spit it right now. Thats what has been working lately for me. Im in real clear lake.

GOODLUCK FISH ARE BITING

[erikwells]

PIG_STICKA, are you sure that fish chasing your bait wan't that extra splitshot you put on? Everytime you lifted your jig the fish came chasing. Sounds a little fishy.

[Pig_sticka]

i almost never use a split shot.
and yea i am human. this is my first year of actually knowing what i am doing on the ice. or atleast trying to know what i am doing. i am not the 40-50 year old farts on here that have been fishing for a long time jk
i am gonna catch those slabs tonight or i am givin up the name pig sticka to pig whipped lol. i need to get some of those plain glow hooks also, they look like they really work. even kobe bryant and barry bonds need some instructions and help with what they are doing.

[erikwells]

pig_sticka, I bought a vexilar FL8 in 1992. I had more fish come after my jig when I picked it up than I could shake a stick at. It took me about 2-3 trips until I figured out it was my splitshot. Remember the Vexilar was rather new then and I didn't believe it could really pick up my splitshot. Once I did figure it out I caught more fish. I remember fishing a metro lake in the late winter and fishing in a large group of people that weren't catching much. After I put my 10 and 11 crappies on the ice people started coming over to me to see what I was doing. I was able to see the suspended fish and pick up my bait and put it in their face and then whammo another fish. I think I could have sold my vexilar for twice it's value. Best of luck.

[Gordon Fothergill]

Pig sticka,

Any possibility the fish charging your bait are tullies? Some lakes support populations of runt tullies and they will charge your bait and echo like a decent dump.

The charging of the fish is a mood indicator. The right presentation will catch a percentage of crappies that charge.

I fish graphite and typically will feel most hits, but those of us who have done much fishing (site fishing to be exact)also can say that crappies and particularly bulls can take your bait into its mouth, analyze it and spit it out without us feeling it even on the lightist and most sensitive tackle. (Although I dont believe this is whats happening in your case).

I'd go ultra small (mini waxie or magi then minnow head)on horizontal presentation and fish smart. My guess is not crappies.

In my experience crappies that are tough to crack would be spooked by the setting of the hook on the "count method". Often just moving the bait up or down to these fish will push them aside. I am not saying the count method doesn't have its place, just doesnt seem right in this case.

My thoughts, GF

[BLACKJACK]

Hey guys don't fight! Its interesting hearing the different methods to try!! Was on a lake just last week fishing small crappies that would charge the bait as it was falling, but very few would take it. Got a few by setting the hook when the lines met, but not many. Will try the count method, and also the sinker on a hook. And wrote the the marmoska jig on my to-get list. Keep the ideas coming! Thats whats so great about the vex, you can see the fish down there, it keeps me interested and busy trying different rigs trying to get them to bite!!

[Guest]

Gordon/ Was that a relative i saw that won a prize with the URL crappie? Nice fish!

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[Gordon Fothergill]

D-man,

Yes, that was my wife. She loves pulling in those slabs! She's darn good at it too! Fun.

GF

[Guest]

Just remember seeing you on here and seeing the name in that paper.

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[Guest]

Gordon, you are to modest!!! I hope you hang out in the panfish forum with us a little more. We have all summer to chase those marble eyes!! Scott Steil

[Guest]

Panfish are attracted to the subtle color of grey. Thats why sometimes they will come and taste your splitshot. If they do get a taste of it,they get spooked because its not food. Try a plain leadhead jig sometime and see what it can do.

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[Guest]

Sticka,
Like someone already mentioned go get some spring bobbers get the ones that actually look like a spring and not the ones that are just a thin flat piece of metal. You will thank me if you do. When you get those put on your rods DONT look at the vex when fish come up to bite watch the spring. You will get those suckers this way, I do. Trust me on this one!

[Pig_sticka]

i got a few of them using a really crazy jiggin method
weird fish though lol
the smaller baits did work a bit, yet my friend got one on a bigger crappie jig n minnow also. even though the fish are moving a bit i still think they aren't the most active. who knows, but keep the posts coming. now i got to get that hookin method down more when they are being picky like that. usually i set the hook and nothing is there, then the fish spooks.

[Guest]

I've posted in the past that I like to use vertical jigs for crappies. For this situation I would have to disagree. I had a similiar occurance when fishing for crappies a few weeks ago. The fish would shoot up to the jig and just stop. I tied on a Genz Fatboy in glow red tipped with two euro larvae. When the fish comes up to the jig start to slowly raise the jig away from the fish and continue to pound the jig as you are pulling it up. Soon you will see the fish speed up and hit the bait. If this doesn't work then drop the jig below the fish and pull it back up, this will often times work as well.

The key to triggering these fish is to make the jig rock or kick back and forth. Make those larvae bounce up and down. And make sure that the jig isn't spinning as you drop it down.

Ask Hawgtime if this works. We were catching crappies when no one else around us were. Made short work of those hesistant crappies.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Johnny B]

PCG & Derek, man you guys are hard-core: fishing outside 100% of the time!

Over the weekend I tried the count method but could not get it to work for me. Trying the hook-set without actually having a bite that I could see or feel, It seemed like I just ended up jigging real aggressively. I must be doing something wrong.
PCG, how do you work this technique without it turning into a wild jig session?
I marked fish almost constantly. They would very subtly hit the Waxie under a spring bobber, but I would miss them every time. Switched to euros: same thing. Tried a small spoon and minnow head under my graphite rod: again, they would just barely take it, but not enough to get a hook-set. By the end of the night, all of my fish were caught on my dead stick: Small, glow demon with a crappie minnow under a light bobber. If I could have figured out that count method, those light biters would have been hooked every time.

As for the money thing...
For me it’s not about the $$$. I have some good quality equipment and also some less expensive items as well. However, the one item that I was trying to push earlier cost < $2.00 that would be a spring bobber. Does anyone other than Hornhunter use ‘em? They would be tough to use out in the open, especially with wind. But in a shack: great addition to any arsonal.

<)))><

[Guest]

Yes, i had one built into the end of my rod tip a few years back and that rod got stolen from me. I would like to get another one made but havent done it yet. A spring from an ink pen works well too.

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[crappie_fisher]

I have only been fishing for crappies for a couple of years and have never tried the wax worms. What is the best way to hook them on the hook? I just bought a Vexilar FL-18 and I also just built myself a portable fish house but since then I haven't been able to catch any crappies. I am going to try again tomorrow and want to try some wax worms or something other then minnows. The fish show up on the Vexilar but don't bite. I am going to try some of the techniques listed on this post.

[This message has been edited by crappie_fisher (edited 01-14-2003).]

[Guest]

The only I can still suggest is that you practice the timing thing on active fish. It will better adapt you and give a better feel for what you are looking for when fishing light biters.

PCG

[This message has been edited by PCG (edited 01-14-2003).]

[Guest]

Crappie Fisher, I use waxies a lot for crappies. I actually caught the biggest crappie of the year this year on a waxie. I prefer to use them during daylight hours. Just my personal preference. I use minnows after dark, again, for me they work better. As far as hoooking a waxie, I am 100% believer in covering the hook. I never let the tip of the hook be exposed. Again, just personal preference. Scott Steil

[Guest]

Iam with Scott, i like to mash mine on.

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[Johnny B]

Crappie_Fisher,
Welcome to the Forum.
I start with a tiny 1/64 oz. glow jig, hooked with a single waxie. However many you choose to fish with, hook the worm just under its head. The head will be a slightly darker than the rest of the body: impale the little guys there!

PCG,
Thanks. I read through your original instructions again and will try to follow them a little more closely next time out.
You changed your name! That means you went from a family member with close to 1000 posts to a newcomer! How come?

<)))><

[Guest]

Jonny B, don't spend to much time trying to time the bite. Sometimes when the signals line up on your vex, even if there is a "blip" the fish may not be biting. You will soon find out you are scaring more fish then hooking fish. I am a big believer in site fishing and doing this with a vexilar next to you will show you a lot about how crappies and bluegill bite.

You mentioned you have good equipment, that is a good start. Todays winter rods have come a long way in detecting bites. Slowing lifting the rod and watching for a slight bend or tension in the rod (or line)will tell you the same thing you get from a spring bobber. Yes, it takes some practice but it is very effective. Scott Steil

[This message has been edited by ScottS (edited 01-14-2003).]