I honestly didn’t think it would happen, but we caught crappies—a bunch of them. Nice ones, too.
This time of year, the crappie ace fishes straight up-and-down, using his bow mount to slowly push his jigs, and occasionally imparting quick vertical twitches. But he doesn’t use the rodtip—rather he holds a length of line between the reel and stripper guide between the fingers of his reel hand. Every so often, he plucks this line like a guitar string. The sudden jump this causes in the jig’s forward movement often triggers strikes from following crappies.
To make this presentation work even better, he tweaks his jigs—here’s how:
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1. Piggybacking. When fishing the Lindy Fuzz-E Grub, Morrow “nose” hooks a second smaller Fuzz-E Grub body on the jig. The added bulk moves more water and makes the bait stand out better. It also adds a second color profile to the mix, which can increase the odds of getting bit.
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2. Increases contrast. When fishing a bi-color hair or marabou jig, he snips off a length of one of the colors cleanly. This creates a stark edge between the two hues, increasing contrast and making the jig’s movements more visible. |
These tricks might looks subtle—and they are—but I saw them pay off big-time on about as tough a day as nature can dish out. They’re worth a shot wherever you target slabs.
What’s your favorite way to eke out a few more bites on winter crappies?
-- Ryan