It's a profile thing....

[CrappieJohn]

When looking to find that one "just right" jig while crappie fishing open water, people tend to look at color and size. Some may consider action. Many will use nothing but a jig tipped with live bait, regardless of what type of jig it is. More often than not though, one very important part of the artificial world is likely to be eliminated from lure selection and that is profile.

Just what is profile? It is how a bait/lure's outline is percieved visually by the fish you are chasing. Yes, color has some bearing on this. And yes, the physical size will come to play. But let's look at profile from a different standpoint. Let's try and look at the three primary types of profile jigs- plastics, hair, feather- the way the fish are likely to see them and look at some of the different ways profile comes into play.

Plastics today are available in a multitude of colors, sizes and profiles. When we look at how they work to catch fish, profile will become an issue sooner or later. We have twisters available from one to 3 inches....some even larger than that. The twister moves through the water with it's tail extended and spinning, emitting lots of high-speed vibrations in the water that will draw the attention of fish from very long distances. These baits mimic a minnow and are one of the most aggressive baits for aggressive fish. The profile fits with a minnows and with the action to the rear when moving it looks like a swimming baitfish.

We see paddle tails as another profile. They too resemble minnow forage, but at rest. When twitched or jigged, that paddle tail "thumps" the water and is an excellent stained water or dirty water lure. It's the noise that draws the attention to the minnow-shaped body. Lures of this nature are almost always hit with a vengence because they are in the "window of sight" for but just an instant. These baits come in a wide range of sizes and thicknesses. The Culprit is a favorits of mine as is the "paddletail-in-a-tube" found at JR's Tackle. Gander has some similar products.

Stinger and nail-tailed baits are yet another profile lure that work well in clearer water and resmble the lateral line of average crappie minnow. The fish are not targeting the overall size of the bait, but rather the long, thin attitude of it....that which appears to be the lateral line. When jigged these units simply show a light twitch to the tail portion and appear as nervous. These work great under a float on slower days , but will tear the fish up when fished on a light head...cast and twitch-retrieved after counting down a few feet.

Today were are seeing an influx on minnow-shaped plastics. They vary in profile from skinny to bulky. They have twister tail, paddle tails, nail tails, and split tail. Falls Baits makes a minnow bait-have for years- that looks just like aminnow and they catch fish like crazy.....when the fish are active. Stanley Jigs is offering a new crappie minnow bait in 1 1/2 and 2 inch that looks promising. PowerBait has had a 2" minnow on the market for a couple of years and these can be hotter than fire at times. Regardless of tail type, the profile goal of these baits is to copy the minnows that crappies feed on. The tail action will determine when and where they get used.

Hair is another lure type that gets plenty of attention in the crappie waters across the country. It can be bucktail, squirrel, man-made fiber....I've seen jigs made of poodle hair and human hair. It makes some difference as to what is trying to be achieved when hair selection is made, but hair has limitations. Generally the hair jig, when wet and in the water, suck down onto into a long thin profile and appear as a minnow body or the lateral line of a fair sized minnow. The one exception to that may be when the jig is tied up using the heavier(and hollow) deer hair and bucktail found closest to the body end of a tail and really having the thread cinched down to cause the hair to stand up or flair. Of all jig profiles, this is the least likely to catch crappies since their food preferences are much narrower than what I described. I don't even carry this type of jig while crappie fishing.

Feathers are an old addition to jigs....been around for over a hundred and fifty years. Feather jigs can look like a minnow like found in the old bumble-bee or chenille body/feather-tailed jigs. These are still a deadly bait. Feather jigs might resemble more a fly than a jig. Feathers interact with the water much better than hair. The maribou jig will look huge in the package, but soak it and it becomes a living creature! At rest in the water these babies simply undulate without even moving the line. Give it a snap and it is instantly almost nothing. The profile of this jig is a catch-all for those fish that like to study a bait before hitting. The seemingly endless array of moving tentacles when at rest drive fish nuts and that little twitch that changes the shape of the bait instantly is the frosting for this cake. Yet on the exact opposite end of the profiles found in feather jigs is the flu-flu like jig with several pieces of feather fiber tied onto a small jig. Here we see the profile again resembling that of a lateral line. I make a jig with about eight or ten pieces of this feather "hair" tied to 1/32 ounce jigs. The heads have a solid color and have eyes. These jigs are useless from spring until early fall....when the young-of-the-year minnow hatchlings come into shallow water areas and the crappies follow them. These small prey fish are nothing but a transparent body with the bloodline visible where the lateral line will be at maturity and a huge head that seems way out of proportion. The head, in fact, appears to be all eyeballs. These small jigs look just like that head and the bloodline. They are nothing more than a thin line of color and eyeballs. And the crappies pounce all over these from mid-August until ice-up! Even plain Jane...no tipping....these jigs are deadly.

Profile is more of an issue to me than color....where I live I can effectively fish crappies using four colors. Profile will influence my decision as to size concerns. The action of a lure is matched to the profile preferences as dictated by the fish. If I hit an area and get a fish or two on a certain bait, but think more are to be found there, I will commonly use the same color but go to an altogether different profile of bait. Keep in mind that this is not like down sizing. If you are not doing well on a 2" twister, chances are you will not do well using a 1" twister....you still have a minnow-like profile that demands speed for action. Hang on a paddled tail and change the profile. Tie on a maribou and float it gently under a float. The fish will let you know what is going to work.

Slow fishing does not always equate to fish not being around.It often depends on your willingness to step out of the ordinary. Every day will pose new demands on you abilities. Color and size are but two of the common pieces of this puzzle. The third is profile. Find this piece and you will find a whole new approach to your fishing!

[Matt Johnson]

Phenomenal Tom! Very informative! Boy, what an asset to have here at FM! From one diehard panfisherman to the next, great read Tom!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[delmuts]

i agree ! between Tom ,the Matts and a few others, great info ! i can't wait for open water ! what i find the most interesting is why certain baits/jigs and or styles work.

[knoppers]

good post tom, I have good luck on my lake using hair jigs with a waxie, or small crappie minnow, but also do well using a twister tail with no bait. they seem to like the action the twister tail provides. if I'm lazy, I will use a twister tail that has flavor built in, they will hit that while sitting still. I won't use any live bait through most of the summer, and catch as many if not more than the ones using live bait.