Shooting Crappie Jigs

Shooting Crappie Jigs

  Shooting jigs under docks can be a very productive way of loading your live well with crappie. Though mostly a technique used in the summer, it can also produce in the fall and spring. Crappie love structure and the shade provided by a dock is just as much a crappie magnet as is a submerged cedar tree. On a lot of lakes, the owners of some docks sink trees under them. This makes for a super crappie magnet.

  So what is shooting a jig? Well in short, it’s a way to get your jig under a dock without casting it in the conventional way. You can shoot a jig as far if not farther than you can cast it. It takes a little practice but it’s worth the time it takes to perfect your aim. A spinning reel is the easiest type of reel to use when shooting jigs. To start, let out enough line so that your jig hangs down about 2/3 the length of your rod. Next, hold the jig between your thumb and index finger of the hand that is not holding your rod. Flip the bail on your spinning reel but put a finger on the line to stop the line from feeding out. Now point your rod in the direction you want to shoot the jig and pull back the hand that is holding the jig. Release the jig and then release the finger that is stopping the line from feeding out. If your timing is good, the jig will shoot in the direction you were aiming. It may take a few tries before you get the hang of it. Be sure to hold the jig with the hook facing away from you. I have never hooked myself (while shooting jigs) but I’m sure it can happen.

  Shooting jigs will allow you to get your jig into spots that you just can’t get to by conventional casting techniques. A lot of times I will lie on my stomach and shoot under docks 5 to 10 times the distance that a norm cast could go. This technique has put a lot of fish in the boat. We have fished docks behind fishermen that weren’t shooting jigs and have caught more and bigger crappie than they did. Even though they thought they had caught them all. One more tip. I usually like a 6’ to 6’6” rod for crappie fishing. However, for shooting, a 5’ seems to work best. I don’t hit the docks with the tips of my rods with the shorter rods.

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