Need help

[JUNGLEJIM1]

It's been so hot lately that when I do fish it's been in the evening.Last night I got out just before 8pm. I was throwing a spinnerbait and caught one dink bass. Around 9:15 is when the fun started. Between then and 10:30 using a Charlie Brewer slider head rigged texposed with a 4.9 inch REACTION INNOVATIONS Flirt worm I caught 5 really nice bass between 2 1/2 and the largest was over 6lbs,could have been pushing 7. Missed two more and lost another. No camera this time. This was my best day ever bass fishing,all fish were released. This is the fist time I really just bass fished,usually switching to catfish around 9. Here is where I need help.. I caught my two biggest crappie in the last year on the worm,one about 14 inches and the bigger one was pushing 16. They both inhaled the worm,luckily no bleeding so I got them back in the water fast. I need suggestions on crappie fishing at night. What would you suggest throwing,crankbait,grubs,jig,plastic worms?? Glow jigs have crossed my mind. Average depth of the lake is only 3-4 feet with a 6 foot max. All fish were caught dragging worm super slow on the bottom. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated including and especially color and size. What works best for you nightime crappie fishermen or women?

 

[Jiggin Joe]

sounds like you found what to use. 2 great size crappies on that worm would make me use it again.

but my favorite night bait is a good old minnow on a glow jighead

 

[slipbobber]

mine is charteruse yellow rapala minnow floating smallest i can find....and exactly what jj said sounds like you found what to use.

 

[papaperch]

Are you fishing in a boat or on shore ? My favorite style of fishing is night fishing or I should say 2nd. Ice fishing is my overall favorite.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Some years back, I also used a slider type jig head,less than 1/20 oz, and a 3" Charlie Brewer straight worm for big crappies -worked great in the evenings and into darkness. I tied the jighead with rather thickly stacked calf tail hair to form a very effective weedguard,without ever costing me hookups with tender mouthed crappies(nowadays my "weedguards" are skunk or moose fibers ;thanks to LRB!). I fished these jigs slow & steady around weeds and just over rocky structures.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I'm bank fishing a small 5 acre city park lake that has very little snags,no weeds. Fish were caught dragging finesse worm super slow along bottom. Crappie sucked baits right off the bottom. I'm going back tonight,my son wants to try as well.

 

[slipbobber]

take a camera jjj

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Sometimes I take it ,other days I don't. Sure wish I would have that night. I took it tonight and posted a couple photos.Fish was caught a little over an hour ago. I'm bad with cameras,dropped the nikon in the river twice,trying to take pics while holding fish don't work very well with me. My SON TOOK THE PICS TONIGHT. He's good for something,wouldn't grab it for me though,said it's your fish.

 

[Ron Don]

He's good for something,wouldn't grab it for me though,said it's your fish.

HaHa!

 

[slipbobber]

lol haha

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Heading back out in about an hour,hope I find a few more. Gonna try a wacky worm for a little bit,something different for me.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Here's a little secret for jig n wormin' that is especially good for big crappies (but bass & trout love this too!). One of the first producers of rabbit strips for jig tying taught me this trick with the "hare rind" (pork like strips made of rabbit hair/hide) that he produced(even raised his own rabbits and called his company "the bunny Brothel"!). I cut 1/8" strips from thin skinned rabbit hides ,about 3 or 4" in length (not necessarily straight!), and remove most of the fur- I just have a fuzzy & colored hide left ,that resembles a rather skinny nightcrawler. Looks like a leech in water with its very slinky action. Attach this to the back of any lightweight jig and it's way better than any plastic trailer. This can also be hooked in the center or "wacky rigged" for twin tail, killer action! The other day, after this discussion started, I rigged one of my Boolie jigs with a 3" "shaved bunny" red worm trailer and got some of my best crappies in a short time in a completely untested stream hole!

 

[AtticaFish]

For night fishing, i generaly use a larger size profile than i would during the day. If you got them on a worm style bait, i would definetly try out a long zonker strip out the back end of a jig. A fat bucktail jig with the hair left as long as possible may produce as well.

For jig weight - I have a small 25 acre reservoir i fish that sounds very similar in that it is only around 8' deep at most and you are only aloud to fish from shore. To get long casts and a bigger profile jig, i use alot of 1/8th and 1/4th jigs. I found you can peg a very small cheater float (ice fishing bobbers also work) with a toothpick about a foot or two up the line and if the float is small enough, the jig will sink the bobber very slowly. You can get the fall rate of a much lighter jig this way and retrieve very slowly even with a heavy jighead over shallow water. It had been working for me..... till my small town decided to let the weeds grow in this lake when they built a new reservoir. Have only been able to find any crappie in there this year early spring before the weeds took over.

Lots of good info in this thread. :exclamation:

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Thanks everyone,some great information and some ideas I'll try for sure. Last night was too windy for the wacky,tried but didn't feel a thing. Had a rod rigged with braided line and Chompers Sink worm,texas rigged,no weight. Just before 10pm a big bass whacked it,with braid you can really feel the strikes.I tried to get to the bank to fast instead of wearing him down and then working her around the dock to the bank.On the second jump it threw the worm. I learn from my mistakes. Hooked 4 fish last night.3 on braid and one on mono. Only bass landed was on the mono. Braid has no stretch,all three fish threw bait on a jump. Mono fish jumped as well but didn't throw the bait. I see a pattern developing,think I'll have to stick with mono.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Interesting - braid has advantages - casts further, is way more sensitive, hooksets quicker, greater load bearing capacity, & more direct feel fighting a fish. Aerial hook throws on top of wind knots definitely detracts.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

With braid I could feel it going through the guides,definitely better hooksets,maybe too good.It's possible I'm setting too hard as I'm used to mono creating a bigger hole where the hook point enters. I'm fishing from a dock about 18 inches above the water so it's tough to keep them from jumping when you are above them. It's also dark so you can't see the fish coming up when they are getting ready to jump. During daylight hours I can keep them from jumping so much but the night bite is way better right now with it being so hot.

 

[AtticaFish]

Forgot to mention.... you gotta throw on a topwater at some point if you are focusing on the bass!!! Talk about a thrill when you can't see a thing but only hear a HUGE crash on your bait out in the water. Zara Spooks are a favorite of mine as long as there are no weeds. Get into the weeds and i would fish a topwater weedless frog or large (10" or so) weedless worm with no weight reeled across the surface. Makes a nice snake mimic.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

The ducks are a real pain in the a** at this lake.They follow you around thinking you are going to feed them.Even at night when you make a cast they race to the spot where the splash was so these stupid things would probably eat a topwater if I threw one. No weeds at this lake,it's literally a cement pond. Concrete sidewalk about 6 feet wide all around the lake. Hopefully one day they'll leave me alone. One of my favorite topwaters is a baby torpedo in the bullfrog color. That little propeller on the back drives them crazy.

 

[AtticaFish]

Duck for dinner ain't all that bad either! You're fishing after dark, no one will ever have to know...... Puts a new meaning to your 'duck' jigs!!!! Get a few free feathers as well.

I have some smaller torpedos that i use in the river on some of the deeper holes when the rest of the river is low and slow. The smallies love to crash them. The silver back/white belly is one of my favorites but also have the frog color too. i use either zara spooks or zara puppies more on flat-lake waters for some reason though...