Now that you have an idea of some of the options available with different jigs, let's expand on what to use for fishing crappie. One of the jigs I use for crappie fishing is called a Minnow Head (diagram 2, ,E).. I use 1/32 and the 1/16 weights with #2 hooks. It has a narrow body that allows it to slice through the water, and is idle with a twister-type grub. However, you can run into the standard problems as you do with jigs that have the hook eye on the top:

1. it tends to spin on a slack line or when retrieved quickly, and
2. it will pick up weeds and is prone to snagging.

Most of my fishing with this lure is done in open and semi-open water (crappies tend to suspend). The Minnow jig can be tied with either hair or mylar foil (diagram 1, C3). I use the mylar foil when I use minnows, as it gives off lots of flash without impeding the action.

The most common jigs I use are gitzits (tube jig) (diagram 1, BI, B2), which are coloured soft plastic tubes with a skirted open end. A lead jig is inserted up the center and the hook eye is pushed through the plastic. It is good for mimicking the small minnows and larvae crappies feed on. This jig works well, whether fishing vertically or just allowing it to fall. Unfortunately, it has a very bad habit of spinning on the line, (we will cover this in a future article). But, when you weigh out the pro's and con's, this jig is still one of the most affective lures for catching crappies.

The minnow head jig/plastic grub and the gitzit jig are the two jigs I use and recommend most often. However, there are a few other jigs worth mentioning as they can be better in certain situations such as wind, fast current, snaggy rocks and weeds.

The first is the Whistler jig (diagram 2, C), made by Northland Sports Co., which comes in 1/16oz to 1oz sizes. It has a fat torpedo shape which flares at the bottom to help increase glide. Behind the head is a silver or gold two-blade propeller. There are several advantages to this jig. The prop slows down the fall of the jig which is useful when fishing in windy conditions because you can throw a heavier jig and still maintain a slower fall. The flash and vibration set off by the rotating prop can also be deadly on neutral fish. On the down-side, this jig is very snag and weed prone, and in the smaller sizes (1/16-1/4 oz.) it has a tendency to spin. But, I still rate it a great jig when the fish are picky.

If I have to fish areas with snaggy rocks, stumps or weeds, I'll use a minnow head (and loose them and pull weeds off of them, and why? I make 'em myself CHEAP), or a Sparkly jig, or a Drip-Lip jig, or a weedless Charley Brewer crappie jig. All in this group have the hook-eye out in front of the jig, making them more snag resistant.

...to be continued...

Rocky.

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