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Vertical jigging proves effective on
deep-water crappies and others
deep-water crappies and others
TOP: Jerry Blake of Action
Fishing Trips guide service
shows off a crappie he caught
on a chrome jigging spoon
while fishing at Lake Greeson
near Murfreesboro, Ark.
BOTTOM: Chrome jigging
spoons catch many types of fish
including crappies like this
one, largemouth bass, white
bass, stripers, panfish, catfish
and many other species.
Fishing Trips guide service
shows off a crappie he caught
on a chrome jigging spoon
while fishing at Lake Greeson
near Murfreesboro, Ark.
BOTTOM: Chrome jigging
spoons catch many types of fish
including crappies like this
one, largemouth bass, white
bass, stripers, panfish, catfish
and many other species.
In the summer, crappies often go deep to escape temperature
extremes and could become lethargic.
In deep water, they might not chase baits as aggressively, but they
may hit something dangling in front of their noses. In addition, deeper
water makes crappies difficult to catch with traditional live bait rigs.
Therefore, anglers need something to get down to the fish quickly and
tempt them into biting. Enter the chrome jigging spoon!
“I’ve caught fish down to 40 feet,” said Jerry Blake of Action Fishing
Trips in Hot Springs, Ark. “It takes a little bit of time to get bait down to that
level and live bait becomes a little more difficult to use in really deep water.
Vertical jigging with a small spoon is a great way to catch deep crappies.”
Essentially, vertical jigging consists of positioning a boat over a likely
spot and dropping a metal spoon into the water. Small, heavy and
compact, a jigging spoon sinks quickly. A spoon fluttering down resembles
a dying shad or shiner, and crappies like nothing better than slurping
shiners! Facets reflect sunlight and mimic the flash of baitfish scales,
creating sparkles in clear water.
After the spoon hits bottom, lift the rod a foot or two and let the spoon
plunge back to the bottom. When it hits the bottom, it sends out vibrations
that fish can feel, but fish don’t always sit on the bottom. Even in deep
water, fish often look skyward because they can see prey silhouetted
against the bright surface better than they can see something hiding near
the dark bottom. Crank the reel handle two or three times to lift the spoon
a few feet off the bottom, keeping it fluttering in the strike zone indefinitely.
“Make a little flash by lifting it up and letting it drop,” Blake said.
“Crappies look up and might come up two or three feet to ambush their
prey. Ideally, we like to put baits right above their heads. Spoons are also
good for casting.”
Even when casting, let a spoon flutter all the way to the bottom before
retrieving it. Retrieve it with a series of jerks and pauses, letting it drop a
few feet with each pause. Sometimes, fish follow spoons, waiting for the
time to strike. Most of the time, fish hit on the fall.
Although usually found near brush piles or other cover, crappies
sometimes suspend in open water or above cover, making them extremely
difficult to catch. Frequently, they suspend under baitfish schools, waiting
for the proper time to attack or for wounded fish to fall to them.
Knowledgeable people can detect baitfish schools on their depth finders.
Some depth finders can actually detect a spoon jigging up and down in the
water so people can watch as it descends to the proper depth. Then, if
lucky, they can watch as fish approach the lure.
To reach fish at precise depths with imprecise equipment, some people
mark their lines in intervals and count the marks as the lure sinks. Others
slowly let sinking line slip through their fingers, fishing their spoons all the
way down. They count until something bites. Then, they drop the spoon
back at the same rate and stop at the magic number. People can also cast
or troll spoons with great effect, especially when bass chase schools of
shad near the surface.
Most people use 1/8- to 3/4-ounce faceted chrome spoons because of
their highly reflective properties in sunlight. Some anglers use gold, green
or other colors. Experiment with different sizes, colors retrieves and drops.
Sometimes, deep crappies become very finicky and don’t want to see any
movement at all. Just hold a rod as still as possible, only allowing the boat
movement to make the bait twitch.
“Sometimes, we use a 1/16-ounce jig fished at about 25 to 35 feet
deep on a tight line,” said Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips, also in Hot
Springs. “That catches fish a lot better when crappie are biting very subtly.
Sometimes, just a little vibration gets fish to bite. Often, it doesn’t take a
whole lot of movement to make crappie bite. Sometimes, I jerk it up and
down two or three times and then stop. Sometimes, the spoon twists on the
line and I just stop it and let it unwind. Keep the rod still, but the spoon
twists and unwinds at the end of the line.”
For booking trips with Blake, see actionfishingtrips.com on line; for
Morris, see www.familyfishingtrips.com.
extremes and could become lethargic.
In deep water, they might not chase baits as aggressively, but they
may hit something dangling in front of their noses. In addition, deeper
water makes crappies difficult to catch with traditional live bait rigs.
Therefore, anglers need something to get down to the fish quickly and
tempt them into biting. Enter the chrome jigging spoon!
“I’ve caught fish down to 40 feet,” said Jerry Blake of Action Fishing
Trips in Hot Springs, Ark. “It takes a little bit of time to get bait down to that
level and live bait becomes a little more difficult to use in really deep water.
Vertical jigging with a small spoon is a great way to catch deep crappies.”
Essentially, vertical jigging consists of positioning a boat over a likely
spot and dropping a metal spoon into the water. Small, heavy and
compact, a jigging spoon sinks quickly. A spoon fluttering down resembles
a dying shad or shiner, and crappies like nothing better than slurping
shiners! Facets reflect sunlight and mimic the flash of baitfish scales,
creating sparkles in clear water.
After the spoon hits bottom, lift the rod a foot or two and let the spoon
plunge back to the bottom. When it hits the bottom, it sends out vibrations
that fish can feel, but fish don’t always sit on the bottom. Even in deep
water, fish often look skyward because they can see prey silhouetted
against the bright surface better than they can see something hiding near
the dark bottom. Crank the reel handle two or three times to lift the spoon
a few feet off the bottom, keeping it fluttering in the strike zone indefinitely.
“Make a little flash by lifting it up and letting it drop,” Blake said.
“Crappies look up and might come up two or three feet to ambush their
prey. Ideally, we like to put baits right above their heads. Spoons are also
good for casting.”
Even when casting, let a spoon flutter all the way to the bottom before
retrieving it. Retrieve it with a series of jerks and pauses, letting it drop a
few feet with each pause. Sometimes, fish follow spoons, waiting for the
time to strike. Most of the time, fish hit on the fall.
Although usually found near brush piles or other cover, crappies
sometimes suspend in open water or above cover, making them extremely
difficult to catch. Frequently, they suspend under baitfish schools, waiting
for the proper time to attack or for wounded fish to fall to them.
Knowledgeable people can detect baitfish schools on their depth finders.
Some depth finders can actually detect a spoon jigging up and down in the
water so people can watch as it descends to the proper depth. Then, if
lucky, they can watch as fish approach the lure.
To reach fish at precise depths with imprecise equipment, some people
mark their lines in intervals and count the marks as the lure sinks. Others
slowly let sinking line slip through their fingers, fishing their spoons all the
way down. They count until something bites. Then, they drop the spoon
back at the same rate and stop at the magic number. People can also cast
or troll spoons with great effect, especially when bass chase schools of
shad near the surface.
Most people use 1/8- to 3/4-ounce faceted chrome spoons because of
their highly reflective properties in sunlight. Some anglers use gold, green
or other colors. Experiment with different sizes, colors retrieves and drops.
Sometimes, deep crappies become very finicky and don’t want to see any
movement at all. Just hold a rod as still as possible, only allowing the boat
movement to make the bait twitch.
“Sometimes, we use a 1/16-ounce jig fished at about 25 to 35 feet
deep on a tight line,” said Darryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips, also in Hot
Springs. “That catches fish a lot better when crappie are biting very subtly.
Sometimes, just a little vibration gets fish to bite. Often, it doesn’t take a
whole lot of movement to make crappie bite. Sometimes, I jerk it up and
down two or three times and then stop. Sometimes, the spoon twists on the
line and I just stop it and let it unwind. Keep the rod still, but the spoon
twists and unwinds at the end of the line.”
For booking trips with Blake, see actionfishingtrips.com on line; for
Morris, see www.familyfishingtrips.com.
