May 28, 2010, Newsletter Issue #171: Jig Fishing Crappie

Tip of the Week

Soon now the spring crappie bite will arrive. It might come earlier before later with all this warm winter weather. Lets hope so, ´cause I´m raring to hit Lake Elsinore again. Last year, yours truly got into a hot bite with the crappie even though I was about a week late. The previous week they caught hundreds of crappie, let´s amend that, some guys got hundreds....Those that knew what they were doing. The age old axiom you must follow is to use tackle that works for that particular fishing spot. My first trip was a bust because I insisted on using my traditional yellow and white mini jig. I caught a couple but that was all. After observing what the veterans were doing and using, I came prepared the next week and even though the spawn was over I landed 10 fish close to 2 lbs.

The Lake Elsinore crappie wanted large red and white or green and white jigs. But the answer was to present the bait correctly. The north end of Elsinore is a virtual jungle of tree tops and bushes mostly in the perfect depth of 8 feet deep. The guys that really got them used long 14-15 foot rods, I think they were the telescoping type. They manually pulled their boat around by grabbing the tree tops. They stopped periodically and plunked their jigs down the tree tops fishing the area completely in a circle. Once the bite stopped at each place they moved on another 20 yards or so. These guys absolutely "slayed" the crappie. I saw them catch and release 25 fish in a period of 30 minutes.

I went home with a plan for the next week. Yes, I was going back prepared. I tied up some jigs using the ice jig principle. You know, the jigs they use through the ice in the North. The jig hangs off the line parallel to the bottom and doesn´t dangle with the hook bend down. They worked very well for the ten fish I caught and I didn´t have a telescoping rod. This year I have one. If you are a fly tier this is the Lake Elsinore jig and how I did it.

1. Twist off about about 1/4 inch of a straight pin leaving a nub on the break point. This nub helps to hold the pin in position. Tie the pin onto the shank of #4,#6 or a #8 1x long, bent down eyed, hook. The pinhead should be at least 3/8- 1/2 inch in front of the hook eye.
2. Tie on weighted eyes after attaching the tinsel at the rear of the hook. Wrap in a crisscross manner tightly then soak it with head cement.
3. Crimp a small 1/4 inch long piece of strip lead a little behind the eyes, and attach the chenille just behind the eyes. Wind the thread to the nub.
4. Tie in marabou and finish just behind the eyes. Wrap the chenille to the nub. Wrap the thread to the eyes.
5. Wrap another chenille layer back to the eyes.
6. Wrap the tinsel in a rib pattern back to the eyes.
7. Whip finish and soak it with cement. If you use bait hook the worm (grub) and thread it up to the nub of the pin. Assuming that the worm or grub is about 1/2 inch long, the whole worm or grub should be impaled on the hook with no part hanging behind the hook bend. The idea is that it´s only there to add a scent and not there to add action. Also if dangles behind the hook it obstructs the feather action.
8. Hanging position like ice fly´s.
9. Different colors.

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