How did panfish/crappie and jigs come together??

[bombora]

This has intrigued me for donkeys years: What's the history of crappie/panfish being fished with tiny jigs? How did it get started? Who first started fishing with little jigs for these fish and in these fisheries? Why did they go to lures?
Other parts of the world have sort of similar fisheries but they either never, or only until quite recently, were lure fisheries?
For example, in Britain the Poms have really only just got into serious light and ulltra light lure fishing for chub, perch etc etc etc (it's funny to read of guys using their "ultra light" ten pound line outfits, they are on a steep learning curve). Europe has been a bit ahead of the Poms, but is still dominated by bait.
Here in Oz we've had a long history of heavier tackle luring. But our saltwater bream mini jig fishery, inspired by panfish luring, has only really been around for the past 15 years. Before that it was mainly baitfishing for our bream though a few guys used very small bibbed minnows.
So what's behind your crappie/panfish lure fishing tradition?
Oh, and are they pronounced "cray-pee"?? And what's the difference between crappie and panfish, or are they the same thing?

 

[Shoemoo]

The correct pronunciation is craw-pee, with a long a as in 'awe.' You do hear people mispronounce it the other way, though. There are a lot out people who fish for them with minnows, and from what I've heard on other boards, live minnows do outfish jigs. The downsides to minnows are they're a pain to keep alive, and they can get expensive because they're only good for one or two fish. A dozen minnows costs $2 - $3 depending on the size, species and area, and they don't last long. They're also restricted or banned in many areas, because biologists are worried about people inadvertently spreading invasive species.

Most people do bring along a mix of lures and bait, usually minnows, worms or artificial bait like Crappie Nibbles. When the bait runs out or the fish aren't biting on bait, they switch to lures.

Tournament fishing for bass may also have had something to do with it. Live bait is not allowed in tournaments, and large crappie and sunfish will hit smaller bass lures, including jigs. People who fish tournaments probably noticed and applied their knowledge when fishing specifically for other species.

 

[redman]

Bombora I have been trying for a few years to find out where jig were first use in the USA. It has come down to one of two places. It was ether Illinois or Iowa. They were not fished until after WWII as most people up till that time fished ether with a cane pole or bait casting rig or fished with a fly rod. The first crude spin cast outfits appeared after the war and think that the first jig were the small jigs with split shot being added to long shank hooks that were slightly bent. That way the fly fisherman could get a bit more distance out of there flies or streamers and put them closer to the bottom where the fish were. By the late 1940's People had started to make jig molds and hook makers were making jig hooks. In the early part of the 1950's Spinning out fits were readily available and jig fishing really started to take off. All sizes of jig were available and they were produced in all corners of our country. The rest as they say is history. With many companies offering jig and fly tying supplies the 1970's and 1980's were a big boom time here in the states.

As far as when lures became popular to fish panfish and crappies with I would have to agree with Shoemoo that tournament fishing was the start of the smaller lures for fishing crappie.

Think that JSC can add more to what I have to offer. I have only just give a quick over view of the early part of the history of jig fishing in our part of the world.

Redman

 

[Shoemoo]

Interesting information there, redman. Do you have any images of what the early jigs looked like?

As far as the definition of panfish, it's kind of loose. The traditional definition is "any fish that doesn't grow big enough so it won't fit in a frying pan." Most people consider panfish as yellow perch plus all of the species in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) except the bass species. So crappie are considered panfish.

 

[LedHed]

I thought jigs were derived from the lures that were for the Tuna fishery that was started up after the war.

Bombora - Panfish covers a bunch of different sun fish like Bluegill, Redear, Crappie, Pumpkinseed..... there's a bunch and some call them Brim or Bream. Confused?

I fish for Bluegill and they love to hit jigs. Bluegill and Redear fight the hardest. We like to fish with 2lb test line and jigs.

 

[redman]

So true Shoemoo a Crappie would and is in the panfish family. I do have a old jig from the 1950's that I will post a picture of one of these days. I will have to find it I have many examples of my work from the late 1960's and early 1970's this was some of my crude work. Sadly there is not much left from the 1940's and early 1950's. Much has been lost to time. I did see at a Famous Dave's BBQ in Waterloo, Iowa a good collection of 1960's Doll Fly jigs. They must have come out of a old Tackle Shop the cards were still in good shape and the jig were nicely done. The place was a museum of old fishing signs and tackle and ect. I embarrassed my son by not eating much and having to look at everything in the place. The manager came over and we spent 10 or 15 minutes of me just explaining some of the things that he had there. He was grateful to have someone that knew something about the treasures that hung on his walls. I was happy to have the opportunity to have a few minutes to view and enjoy his treasures.

LedHed If might have but the jig has been around as a form of bait in the Scandinavian countries since the 1600's. I guess that we need to qualify as a sport fishing tackle. This once again brings it into the mid-west in the late 1940's. So much of this history has been lost to time as much was never written down and is now just oral history past down to old folks like myself that listened to these stories. I will say that there were three places in the mid-west that were hot beds of tackle making. Mostly on a small scale that grew Central Illinois, North west Iowa and the area around Hayward Wisconsin. Don't Think that there is a fisherman around that hasn't fished with a product that didn't come out of Pure Fishing (Berkley and Company) at Spirit Lake, Iowa. It was one of those companies that grew. I can name no less than 10 companies that started in that part of the state. Now Ohio as so was a hot bed of lure making in the years before the war. After the war in center seem to change for some reason. Maybe because of all the small tool and machine shops that the vets from WWII started and those guys were more than likely fisherman and sportsman.

Redman

 

[AtticaFish]

Cool info in this post. Panfish cover all sunfish, crappie & perch in my mind. I pronounce them Craa-Pee 90% of the time.

I have zero knowledge in the history of jigs but had started out using them mostly for bass in the river. I used fly patterns (mostly dry flies) for some panfish way back then but never down sized and focused on panfish with weighted flies or jigs. The 1st ever crappies i had caught on jigs were with brightly colored fuzzy grubs - a store bought plastic body bait with a marabou tail. I had been duplicating fuzzy grubs for years (in darker clors) from catching smallmouth in my river. I finally put them to more use in my local lakes... that was about when i found these internet forums and started making them smaller and smaller for bluegill as well.

 

[redman]

The Crappie has many names in the south. Here in this part of Texas they are called White Perch, move a little further north and the Arkansas boys call them Specks. Move farther south and they are Sac-a-lait. They come in two colors White and Black. Lately there is a variant that is a little of both in that it has a black strip from the dorsal fin down to its mouth I catch two or three every year. Don't even get me started on the different names that they have for all the varieties of the Sunfish.

Now the yellow perch is a member of the Sauger/Walleye family. It is considered a panfish by some and a gamefish by others depending on what part of the country that your from. All I will say is they are dang good to eat. I am surprised that there is not more of a interest in jig crafting for these tasty fish.


Redman

 

[JSC]

"Think that JSC can add more to what I have to offer. I have only just give a quick over view of the early part of the history of jig fishing in our part of the world."

Redman you have said more than I can on this subject ... The first Jigs I fished were for Pompano off of Piers, bridges and in the surf ... We called them"Dudes" .. Bullet Head Nylon Bristle Tail (Still very popular along this part of the Gulf Coast) ... I think here in the South East for Fresh water (and some areas in Saltwater "Tipped" with Shrimp for Reds & Spec Trout) that the Thompson Doll Fly was one of the first used big time .... Some of us "Venturess Souls" made small jigs for "Brim" in the 60's most were fished under a spin bubble ... Squirrell Tail was the #1 dressing .. I made and sold a bunch of them at that time) .. Over along the Chattahoochee River system was where a lot of this came from .. fact that is what Tom Mann got started with ... He was originaly from over in the "Valley" .. before moving to Enterprise and then to Eufaula .. (Note my Spelling leaves much to be desired) .... Redman left out one hot spot on lure and tackle making and that was Indiana . South Bend, Creek Chub and many more ...

 

[papaperch]

Redman - Hate to correct you brother but its the other way around. Walleye and Sauger are members of the perch family. Other common mistake is lumping smallmouth and largemouth into a bass family. Actually they are members of the Sunfish family. The only true basses in our waters are the striped and white.

Growing up in the 1950's my family harvested panfish. They did use the liberal description as anything that fit in the frying pan. That incuded bullhead catfish , bluegill , crappie , perch and almost anything else. The only fortunate biters were smallish gamefish. They were released to grow some more.

My first jig that I tied was actually a fly. It was tied on a # 4 aberdeen hook. The material was a 1-1/2 inch piece of nylon clothes line with a quarter inch of the plastic covering removed and the fibers combed out for a tail. These were really crude ties but they were super cheap and they worked great in one place. Greene , Ohio north of Mosquito Lake. The main feeder Mosquito Creek flowed into the migratory bird sanctuary and then into the lake proper. This snag infested stretch of river hosted unbelievable crappie runs. Generally about the last week of April to the second week of May. 200 fish days were common place and was the rule rather than the exception. All of a sudden one year it stopped. Many legends as to why but no actual facts. We used to hike way back away from the crowds and this is why we started using this crude jig. The snag infestations consumed too much tackle for teenage wallets to support. The minnows were too heavy to lug that far. So this jig that probably cost about 4 to a penny was born. To tell the truth anything white would have worked and this was the simplest and cheapest solution.

Mosquito Lake continues to be an excellent crappie lake but the huge runs in Greene have not been seen since the late 60's.

 

[redman]

Papaperch I stand corrected. Yes the perch family. When you get my age my mind slips a cog every once in a while. Loved that cloths line trick. Its like how they fish for Gar down here. A piece of rope that combed out no hook. The Gars teeth become tangled in the rope. Go figure Redneck fishing at its best.

JSC Like I stated the mind gets weak in old age and yes South Bend was a hot spot. Who can forget the Bass-Oreno. or the South Bend spinner. Classic baits as well as Creek Chub. I have thrown more than a few at Muskie over the years when I lived up north. Know that they were mainly a Bass bait but the larger ones were good on Pike and Muskie.

Redman

 

[jiggerjohn]

I believe that the crappie/panfish jig became popular in the Missouri area during the 1950s, with exploits of famed anglers, Harold Ensley and Virgil Ward. and It was around that time that 2 fellas from Iowa ,Lacey Gee and Erwin Sias, were active light tackle jig fishermen,who wrote what still is the best text ever on jig fishing,titled simple "How To Fish With Jigs". Heck, even our own Hawnjigs used a splitshot directly in front of his homemade nylon flies when he was a kid -and he's older than dirt!! But the earliest I ever heard of a really successful light tackle panfish jig was one called a "no-name" lure,with white marabou tail, created by John Fujita during the latter days of WW2. By the way, this" no name leadhead" & its exploits/history is fascinating & can be found online at chicagolandcanoebase.com

 

[redman]

Jiggerjohn Yes believe it or not I know both Lacey and Irv as we call him Silas. They we sterling gentleman. Most of there information was gotting from Jim Stone , Paul Weiland, and Cap Kennedy who I knew well. Any of those three guys couldn't write but remember Erwin Silas was a Newspaperman, a journalist. Lacy started Wapsi Fly Company back in the 1950's in Independence, Iowa. Believe that Irv was out of Waterloo. Irv and Lacy were good friends and where you would find one there would be the other. Fished with them a few times in the 1970's on Lake Okoboji for yellow perch. One time Cathy Kennedy Cap's wife cooked a big supper for us all and fried up the perch we caught. The most memorial part of that meal was the Dutch apple pie that she made. 3 inches thick and frosting on top and served with a big slice of sharp cheddar cheese. I thought that I was in food heaven.

Not doubting any thing that you say for I remember Harold Ensley and Virgil Ward. Virgil had one of the first TV programs out in syndication. At any rate I have fun reminiscing about the old days when I was young and stupid Having great time times with these old guys that I though were just codgers and Geezers to me. Not knowing that they were some of the legends of fishing. What does a young kid know anyway.

Redman

 

[bombora]

Love the history you guys are telling. Fascinating.
I have found a bit of info on the survival kits used in WW11 by your airforce/navy. They included a set of white feathered leadhead jigs, sourced from some makers on the east coast around New York way. The story goes the armed forces wanted the most simple, reliable lure around for personnel stuck on a raft. I'l see if I can find articles and a pic and post them up.
As you guys say a lot of the history has been lost to time.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Bombora, Thanks for that memory refresher - those jigs you refer to from WW2 were "Bill Upperman jigs", the first jigs that I got excited over,during the 50s - I still have the pamphlet they printed on best ways to fish them! Here's a bit of their history - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119569/index.htm

 

[bombora]

Thanks JiggerJohn, very cool. Here's the WW11 US Navy lifeboat survival kit rules. The original wording:


(s) Fishing kit. On everyocean vessel of over 3,000 gross tons there shall be provided in each lifeboatone approved fishing kit consisting of the following equipment:

1pair, gloves, cotton, commercial grade.

1knife, 2 inches high carbon steel blade, thickness of blade 0.060 inch,tempered to test 0.56 to 0.60, well riveted into a wooden handle 6 inches long,3/4-inch wide by 1/2-inch in thickness. Handle to be smooth and shaped, with a1/4-inch hole in end for attaching 3 feet of 10-pound cord. Knife must be ableto float. Blade to be guarded with a water-proofed paper tube 5 1/4 -incheslong by 5/8-inch inside diameter.

1package containing the following items:

1sinker, egg-shaped, with 7/64-inch hole in center, weight 2 ounces, with 3 feetof 10-pound cord attached to wooden handle containing the abrasive stone.

1dozen pork rinds, dehydrated strips 4 inches long, 1/2-inch wide, ends taperedto approximately 1/8-inch, and rounded, one end to have two hook-holds cut3/8-inch and 7/8-inch from end respectively.

1No. 1/0 O’Shaughnessy hook, attached to 6 inches of No. 9 stainless steelwire, other end attached to a No. 5 barrel swivel.

1No. 3/0 O’Shaughnessy hook attached to 6 inches of No. 9 stainless steelwire, other end attached to a No. 5 barrel swivel.

1No. 7/0 O’Shaughnessy hook attached to 6 inches of No. 9 stainless steelwire, other end attached to a No. 2 barrel swivel.

1No. 2 O’Shaughnessy hook attached to 6 inches of No. 5 stainless steelwire, other end attached to a No. 5 barrel swivel.

1No. 6 O’Shaughnessy hook equipped with 3 inches of No. 5 stainless steelwire, other end attached to a No. 5 barrel swivel.

1abrasive stone, size 3/4-inch by 1 7/8-inch by 1/4-inch, firmly cemented withwaterproof cement into a wooden handle of sufficient size to make the unitbuoyant. A 1/4-inch hole shall be in the end of the wooden handle, with 3 feetof 10-pound cord attached.

NOTE:All of the hooks in this package shall be firmly attached to a piece of taperedcork, 1 inch by 3/4-inch diameter maximum and attached to the wooden handlecontaining the abrasive stone.

1set of instructions shall be printed on PAR-A-PAR paper.

1dip net, 12 inches deep by approximately 16 inches across the top and bottomwhen folded flat. Cotton mosquito netting mounted on 12 gage galvanized marketwire. Ends of wire to be securely fastened in a round wooden handle 4 incheslong by 1 inch in diameter, tapered both ends. Over-all length of net foldednot over 16 inches, to be folded once to approximate packing length of 8inches.

3feet of 10-pound cord to be attached to the handle and the front end of net.

1fishing rig No. 1, 36-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, containing 100feet of Ashaway 15-pound nylon line or equivalent; 1 No. 6 O’Shaughnessyhook rigged with 3-inch No. 5 stainless steel wire and a No. 5 barrel swivelattached. A split buck shot mounted on line about 6 inches above hook.

1fishing rig No. 2, 1/8-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, with 100 feetof No. 12 Ashaway white cotton shore line, or equivalent. Equipped with astubbed mackerel squid jig mounted on a 1/0 O’Shaughnessy hook equippedwith 6 inches of No. 5 stainless steel wire with a No. 5 barrel swivelattached. (NOTE: Hook on this lineshould be light colored.)

1fishing rig No. 3, 1/8-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, with 100 feetof No. 24 Ashaway white shore line, or equivalent. Equipped with a 1-ouncefeather jig with white rubber skirts, chrome plated head, rigged with a 3/0O’Shaughnessy hook with 24 inches of No. 9 stainless steel wire leaderand a No. 5 barrel swivel attached.

1fishing rig No. 4, 1/8-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, with 100 feetof No. 24 Ashaway white cotton shore line, or equivalent; equipped with a No.1/0 O’Shaughnessy hook on 5 inches of No. 9 stainless steel wire with aNo. 5 barrel swivel attached. A 2-ounce egg-shaped lead sinker with a 7/64-inchhole mounted on a line about 18 inches above hook with knots tied above andbelow lead.

1fishing rig No. 5, 1/8-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, with 100 feetof No. 24 Ashaway white cotton shore line, or equivalent, equipped with a No.7/0 gang hook and a 1-ounce egg-shaped sinker, with 7/64-inch hole, mounted onthe line so that this sinker lies directly under the hooks.

1fishing rig No. 6, 1/8-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, with 100 feetNo. 48 Ashaway white cotton shore line, or equivalent, equipped with 11/2-ounce feather jig rigged with a 6/0 O’Shaughnessy hook on 2 feet ofNo. 9 stainless steel wire and No. 2 barrel swivel.

1fishing rig No. 7, 1/8-inch winder, pressed wood or equivalent, with 100 feetof No. 48 Ashaway white cotton shore line, or equivalent. Equipped with aspecially constructed spear of approximately 7 inches over-all in length, specialconstructed barb on one end with an open eye on the other end, and a U -shapedattachment brazed to the side of the spear to accommodate blade of oar orpaddle. This item should be constructed of a good grade of commercial steel,the barb to be rounded at the end and back to be concave; protected with awaterproofed paper tube to be 4 3/4-inches long and 5/8-inch inside diameter.

1bib, width across bottom 28 inches, width from end of flap to end of flap, 36inches. Width across the top 30 inches. Length from top of bib to bottom, 15inches. Bib shall contain 12 pockets in which each of the items shall beinserted. All of the edges shall be hemmed and double stitched. Fastened to theend of the left-hand flap shall be a rayon tape 18 inches long by 1/8-inch,securely sewn. Fastened to the right-hand flap shall be 2 rayon tapes, 18inches long by 1/8-inch, securely sewn. 7 1/2-inches from each corner of thetop of the .bib shall be firmly sewn a rayon tape 24 inches long by 1/8-inch.The bib shall be made of olive drab cotton cloth, herring-bone twill, weightper square yard 8.5, minimum thread count per inch in warp 72, in filling 46;breaking strength in warp 125 pounds, in filling 85, pounds. The test to bemade by 1 by 1 by 3 Grab Method.

Allmaterial shall be packed in a metal waterproof key opening can. A 3/4-inch ringwhich shall hinge back flat shall be soldered on the bottom of the container.

NOTE: Each rig shall be marked with sawcuts onboth sides of winder for identification. All hooks and swivels to be attachedwith at least 6 turns of the wire. All lines attached to wivels with asurfman’s hitch with three wraps. All fishing hooks to be bound to rigswith scotch tape. (Approximate weight of kit, packed 3 1/2-pounds.)

Thecontainer shall bear the manufacturer’s name or trademark, together withthe following inscription:

 

[bombora]

Here's a link to a collector showing on video a us ww11 survival kit complete with jigs, in the strange canvas apron all the kit was packed into and which would be worn by the crew as they abandoned ship:

 

[jiggerjohn]

Bombora, Very interesting stuff concerning those WW2 kits! Tho that clunky ole jig was NOT an Upperman jig, which were much more refined& almost "modern" looking!!

However this discussion brought to mind another bit of local jigging history that may be of interest. Here in Pennsylvania we have vast sections of mountains & forests that are famous for white tailed deer,and hunting. So it was natural as jigs started showing up in the early 50s that many Pa. outdoorsmen starting building their own "bucktails" , using homemade jighead molds, and often with lead melted in and poured from old tuna fish cans! My Uncle Dick ( a really great guy,who just passed away this past week at 87),who lived in the prime mountain/forest/river area taught me fishing back then, and his brother-in-law, Bill Graham (also considered an uncle!) was an avid deer hunter.After one outing big Bill presented me with a box of his bucktail jigs (not too surprisingly with bullet shaped leadheads!) that were surprisingly well formed & tied- except for being a bit heavy,would be just as useful today!

About this time I began to frequent tackle shops,especially when visiting that northern forest area. And I began seeing walls full of cards,featuring one style & color (white,of course!) of a big bucktail jig, called "Tionesta jigs" ,named for the small town where they were produced,just south of my uncle's home.During one trip with a buddy,we actually fished the Tionesta waters and stopped in to a small,musty, out-of-the-way bait shop beside the Allegheny river. The kindly old owner had the usual supplies and tons of bait, but every available wall space was stacked with those Tionesta Jigs -every size (even some light ones that would go well with panfish today) and even some colored bucktails! I can't even recall any other lures in that shop, but as Redman states,we old timers forget some details!! So I asked the owner if any black bucktail jigs were available? He laughed and said I must be going on a trip to Canada for muskies,but said he'd take me to the jigmaker upstairs! Turned out this small shop was the HOME of Tionesta jigs! And upstairs,in his living quarters was his wife, Grace, who spent all her days lovingly tying bucktail jigs while watching soap operas on TV !! I'll never forget that sight in their little cottage living room - drying jigs hanging off clothes lines EVERYWHERE!! Must have been several hundred hanging just that day alone (in the kitchen,dining room, living room, and probably the bathroom!)- a jig fisherman's dream scene!! And,yes, ole Grace,bless her, smilingly agreed to special make me a bunch of black ones (tying was simple& quick, 'cause Grace used no vice & employed mono as tying thread!) if I'd return later in the day!

But soon after that

 

[AtticaFish]

But soon after that......

Oh man John - you left it a cliff hanger!!!!!!!!!!! Tune in later - same jiggin' time, same jiggin' channel.......

:jig: :bigfish:

 

[JSC]

Uppermans Jigs .. a light went on ... I think that was one of the first jigs that I can remember seeing & I think that was in the 40's ... could be wrong about when .. course "Feather Dusters" have been used in salt water for many years ... The Bill Uppermans jig was a Bucktail ... Wish I could get all that old "Stuuf" straight in the "Dimly Lit Memory" The more this good thread continues the more liittle "Tid Bits" appear out of the "Mist" in my mind .... Kinda "Spooky" Keep it up guys ..