Thoughts on jigging shallow weedy ponds ... need guidance

[Jig4perch]

Hi Guys,

what are your tips an techniques for crappie fishing shallow weed filled ponds. As we all know... crappie prefer deeper water in the winter   Over the years we have caught hundreds of BIG EYES targeting old weed lines close to deeper water and at times bagged them as move to and from the flats.

The challenge ... were to fish for crappie when there is only 3 - 10 FOW across much of the pond.  For example, Paradise Pond in Princeton has some decent crappie ... and I have iced a few ...but it seems like a random experience when I hook up.  Is that because crappie don't school up in shallow ponds ... or is it because of some other factor I don't understand. 

Additionally , fish finders are not much help when you have 3 FOW and 2 feet of weeds. 

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[troutncrappie]

Night bite and chubby darter. Crappie move throughout the water column at night I have hooked them inches below the ice at times and or 40 ft down just got to stick it out and find what works. Best advice I can give you is that no body of water is the same drill jig then move till you find um.

Tight lines

[HudsonRiverRat]

Drill lots of holes.  Maybe set some tipups out.  When you get a couple of fish see if you get a couple in a certain area.   Some times there are slight variations in depth that the fish use as travel routes.   Mark your spots with a gps.   And fish in the dark!

[lowaccord66]

Fish how you would during the day but at night...get some light on the ice and be patient.  They will show and most times will eat pretty good.  If it were me I'd be trying to find the largest holes in the weeds I can.  If I found an deeper area to jig adjacent to taller weeds that would be a go to immediately.  I do not subscribe to crappies preferring deeper water in the winter.  I find them all over and it seems to relate to where the food source is which makes sense. 

Listen to RiverRat...seen him in action....he knows!

[Jig4perch]

Night bite and chubby darter. Crappie move throughout the water column at night I have hooked them inches below the ice at times and or 40 ft down just got to stick it out and find what works. Best advice I can give you is that no body of water is the same drill jig then move till you find um.

Tight lines

Thanks Trout ...  although I have fished many of these shallow ponds first and last light ... I wasn't using chubby's and did not fish long in the dark.  Guess it's time to try the nite bite for shallow ponds. 

BTW ...we have been catching some nice crappie this year ... but mostly in ponds with 10 - 15 FOW first two hours of light. 

[Jig4perch]

Hudson and Iowa,

may thanks for the tips ..." get some light", look for holes in weeds" "set tip ups" "travel routes" and "fish in the dark" 

Are you suggesting that crappie are less likely to bite in shallower weedy ponds during the day than in deeper ponds .... or is that because they are harder to find in shallower ponds because they spread out?

We have good results in deeper ponds with 10 FOW or more ... but fishing ponds with 8 FOW and weedy we don't hook up.

Here is a pick of result in low light in 10 FOW ...

[HudsonRiverRat]

I believe that in the shallow weedy lakes the fish don't move as much because they don't have to.  Lots of food and cover.   At night all crappies tend to move more.   I should also correct my first post, I use tip downs.  I bet you will get a couple of bullheads too

[nitrousair]

Ive got a small but decent sized reservoir pond not far from my house that I've caught crappie in before. Ive never really targeted them but they have usually hit in 14-16 feet of water. Ive been thinking of getting out there in the early am one of these days to target them. Any tips from the pros? They seem to have been hitting pretty well in the 8-14' transition by the weedline but I have also seen pretty good action by the spillway box. Any tips would be great thanks. Here is an attached screenshot of the map and general info.

[lowaccord66]

Nitrous the transition spot you mention is one of my favorite night time patterns....

[Jig4perch]

Ive got a small but decent sized reservoir pond not far from my house that I've caught crappie in before. Ive never really targeted them but they have usually hit in 14-16 feet of water. Ive been thinking of getting out there in the early am one of these days to target them. Any tips from the pros? They seem to have been hitting pretty well in the 8-14' transition by the weedline but I have also seen pretty good action by the spillway box. Any tips would be great thanks. Here is an attached screenshot of the map and general info.

Nitro,

your picture and description reminds my of two of my favorite spots for catching crappie.   As mentioned ... we don't do so well in shallow ponds ... but give us a pond with 10 FOW and several other drops and we do well.   Here some thoughts about what may work in your reservoir.

get drilling ... at least 30 minutes prior to first light
drill a bunch of holes in the spots you feel are the best ... 30 ish may be a good start
start fishing shallow ...with bigger noisy baits ...like Chubby's
assuming you have a fish finder ... watch for action.  No action after a couple minutes move ...progressively deeper
when you get/see action ... replicate what works ... e.g. fish attack the drop or chase the jig up the water column
if the bite is on ... fish till the action slows/stops ... move to the next closest hole and repeat process
If lookers but no hookups ... go smaller ... we like small tungsten dressed with mousies or plastics
if you hookup with smaller jigs fish till action slows and move on

Other thoughts and considerations ... because the crappie bites range from light to aggressive ...the equipment is the X factor once you figure out where and what attracts them.  For example ... my brother likes a medium to medium heavy rod with larger baits ... when the bite is aggressive he lands his share ... but when they are finicky ... his action stops.   To that end ... we have learned that picking the right gauge for hunting crappie matters ...  mid winter crappie may require the smallest jig on 2 lb flouro ... but the last ice crappie may be caught with anything that moves.

Keep us posted on your results.

 
 

[nitrousair]

Thanks for the great info guys!! I dont really fish with larger lures, I prefer to use a medium sized jig, northland tackle forage minnows have been my all time favorite and I've caught all species on it. I'll take your advice on transitioning from shallow to deeper waters, I am assuming you mean jigging near the bottom? I have used a hummingbird ice-35 for the past 6 years so i know a thing or two about fish feeding patterns and how it changes throughout the day. I'll post back here with my results! May head out tomorrow morning and see what I get 

[stripernut]

Don't be afraid of using bigger jigs, at least as a seach pattern;


These are from yesterday (my son and I), shallow weedy pond, from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm caught in 6-8 feet of water... The deeper (15') of water had very few fish.


We loaded up on yellow perch and here are a few of the crappy we got... Made for a great fish fry!

[nitrousair]

Don't be afraid of using bigger jigs, at least as a seach pattern;

Ill give my bigger lures/jigs a shot. Ive always found that anything not tipped with a waxie would be at least twice as slow so I stick to mainly small to medium jigs. When the bite gets going a jig is easier to work with imo.

[nitrousair]

So I got up extra early this morning and hit up that pond I mentioned. It was a pretty slow morning, the fish were just not biting even though there was plenty of activity on the flasher. I did manage to ice one crappie and a couple of gills that I took home for lunch! I will hit it another day and try my luck again.

[Jig4perch]

Nitro,

Thanks for the update ... and for sharing the food pics too.   Just realized... I like the food pics as much as fresh fish pics.

You mentioned ......"It was a pretty slow morning, the fish were just not biting even though there was plenty of activity on the flasher."  

My buddy and me have had days when we saw and said the same thing ... but we have changed our point of view.

If we find/see fish activity and don't hook up ... we change, baits, techniques, equipment etc ... until we figure out what they are biting.   To that end ... we rarely find/see fish and don't hook up ...albeit tougher some days. 

Our new point of view ...any/all active fish will bite ... when presented with the right option.  Based on decades of experience and years with sonar ... when the is no action on the larger profile equipment ... go smaller on everything ...line, bait profile, rods ... holes, ect.   Size matters. ...   BTW the reverse may be true ... if not biting small go BIG.

Picture of some of the smaller baits that worked ...when the bigger baits did not.   

[2Dales]

Nice fillet pictures! Now back to my breakfast Oatmeal (uggh)!

[nitrousair]

Nitro,

Thanks for the update ... and for sharing the food pics too.   Just realized... I like the food pics as much as fresh fish pics.

My buddy and me have had days when we saw and said the same thing ... but we have changed our point of view.

If we find/see fish activity and don't hook up ... we change, baits, techniques, equipment etc ... until we figure out what they are biting.   To that end ... we rarely find/see fish and don't hook up ...albeit tougher some days. 

Our new point of view ...any/all active fish will bite ... when presented with the right option.  Based on decades of experience and years with sonar ... when the is no action on the larger profile equipment ... go smaller on everything ...line, bait profile, rods ... holes, ect.   Size matters. ...   BTW the reverse may be true ... if not biting small go BIG.

Picture of some of the smaller baits that worked ...when the bigger baits did not.   

I guess it's time for me to get some larger lures then! Would you mind giving me some pointers as to what worked from bigger lures? I hear chubbys mentioned a lot and Swedish pimples. I'm more of a small jig kind of guy and my jig/lure box is filled with an assortment of various color northland forage minnow size 6 jigs. I have one smaller rapala jigging shad rap and a similar style northland minnow. Haven't had much luck with the bigger lures usually so I stick with my forage minnow jigs and light line.

[stripernut]

Smallest Salmo Chubby Darter in Perch is a very good starting point... There are many "knock Offs" out there, but they do not have the same action and ability to swim in as big a circle... Most of the time I don't put bait on it, but there are days when a little something is necessary...

[nitrousair]

Thanks Stripernut I'll give those a shot going to check out what amazon has for options. Any tips on fishing with it? Line weight, rod, techniques, etc.

[lowaccord66]

Smallest Salmo Chubby Darter in Perch is a very good starting point... There are many "knock Offs" out there, but they do not have the same action and ability to swim in as big a circle... Most of the time I don't put bait on it, but there are days when a little something is necessary...

That bright salmo is a salyer...I wish the hooks were not as brittle!

[stripernut]

I have posted before;
This is how I most often fish them;
The cadence is 2 big arm sweeps (2-4ft), short pause (3-4 sec.), 5-6 "jerks" of about 4-6 inches, pause, then a short "vibration", then repeat. If in 2 or 3 cycles I don't mark fish or hook up, I move to the next hole. This is about what I start out with each trip out.
I have fished both the Lindy and the Salmo Chubby Darter and find I catch more fish on the Chubby Darter... The action is much more subdued with the Lindy....

I keep a second rod rigged with a smaller jig and the few times that I could get it down to the fish that the Darter has "Called" in, the fish I hooked were small.

[Frigid Finz]

The sweep worked for me in a shallow pond last weekend. A couple high sweeps and the slow flutter down called them in from a distance.. the quiver, then keeping the bait still at the end was deadly .. A machine is the only way you can actually see all the suddle reactions and lack of action from the fish .. Good info SN.  PS I practice the action at home with my cat lol.

[Jig4perch]

Nitro,

looks like you and I got some valuable insights that will up our jigging game.   Stripernut encouraged me to use try Chubby's and have made them a part of "go to" larger profile baits.  He knows his stuff!

However, I did a poor job of defining "small" jigs.  Your definition is consistent with most peoples definition of small ... however when I said small... I was referring to horizontal jigs easily concealed by penny or dimes.

If you like small jigs ...small raps, forage minnows, other similar profiles ... you will love the results you get when you move to much smaller jigs. 

For another perspective on these smaller horizontal jigs ... check out this article ...

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/fishing/2015/01/ice-jigs-size-truly-matters/

[stripernut]

for me the small one is the top one (only kidding a little)... I will be fishing the large one this weekend, I hope for some large lakers.

[nitrousair]

Nitro,

looks like you and I got some valuable insights that will up our jigging game.   Stripernut encouraged me to use try Chubby's and have made them a part of "go to" larger profile baits.  He knows his stuff!

However, I did a poor job of defining "small" jigs.  Your definition is consistent with most peoples definition of small ... however when I said small... I was referring to horizontal jigs easily concealed by penny or dimes.

If you like small jigs ...small raps, forage minnows, other similar profiles ... you will love the results you get when you move to much smaller jigs. 

For another perspective on these smaller horizontal jigs ... check out this article ...

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/fishing/2015/01/ice-jigs-size-truly-matters/

Interesting read! It looks like I will have to try some tungstens, i generally avoid smaller jigs because I don't want to deal with digging it out of the throat if inhaled lol. That and I usually fish deeper water so a larger small jig is great for sink rate; i can get it down there faster. The gills and perch both love my forage minnow jigs so that's my go to.

But it will be nice to expand my presentation arsenal and technique. Great tips guys! IceShanty has really made me a better fisherman.

[Townie]

I've fished a local shallow impoundment (6' max) for years that fishes good/ bad winter to winter. Drawdowns, winterkill, low dissolved oxygen can really shut the bite down. I've checked holes with an Aqua-Vu and watched pods of gill, crappie & perch hugging the bottom completely ignoring my jig/ waxworm presentation.