Using The Micro Lights Rods and Jigger Poles For Super Size Crappie

In most parts of the country, Dogwoods blooming triggers crappie season. Crappie usually starts the spawn when the water temps reach the upper 60’s. This is when the fish start to move into the shallow areas of a lake. These areas could be the back of nooks or even flats next to the water's edge. They seem to prefer areas with cover such as submerged brush or anything that will hold cover for them to feed on small baitfish while the spawn is occurring.  One of my crappie fishing buddies went with me yesterday on Smith Lake. I had a couple of my microlights in the 7 ½ ft. lengths with 4 lb test line rigged. I also had my long jigger pole in the 11 ft. length with me. This length rod works well when you want to put the jig right in the face of the fish. Another great advantage with this rod is the vertical fishing one can do, meaning raising the jig up and down. Sometime the crappie will hit the jig on the downfall, especially when the bite is really slow. I like to use the microlight rods to search for the fish and once the bite slows using the microlights, then switch to the long rods so you can bring the lure even closer to their mouth. Crappie has a tendency to bite really well for 15 to 20 minutes and then turn off. When this occurs the fish usually retrieved back into the cover where they were holding when you first located them. Placing the jig using the long rods right in their face at this time will continue to help you get hits. I will discuss the types of reels, jig, lures, and rod brands in future post.

First Crappie of the day using a white curly tail jig --a lot of fun on the microlight rod. Notice the dark colors

Different colored jig --we manage to land 6 along with a number of bass and a couple of bluegills--all on curly tail jigs. I kept all the crappie, because they are beyond good when deep-fried. I know it would have been a better day for the crappie if it had not been for the crappie tournament they were having on the lake. It felt like we were picking up the last few in each nook that the tournament fisherman had either overlook or missed.