Search Fishin.com

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 12 of 13
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    BG
    Posts
    156
    Post Thanks / Like

    Ohio River Crappie

    I'm looking for some advice on what types of jigheads and trailers work best for crappie in the Ohio River tributaries. Up until this point my father and I have only used a 2/0 gold hook with a minnow and then a bobber 2-3 feet above that. Granted it is with good success, but the availability of minnows goes down every year it seems. A lot of people seem to be transitioning to crappie jigs, but so far we haven't had much luck. I'd greatly appreciate it if anybody could provide some insight on this presentation!

    TK

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Andyville,KY
    Posts
    160
    Post Thanks / Like
    We normally use 1.5 and 2 inch crappie tubes under slip bobbers. We prefer black and chartreuse they seem to work best for us. Most of the time we catch crappie in the creeks fairly shallow, I have never had much luck on the main river.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Louisville ky.
    Posts
    364
    Post Thanks / Like
    I believe tim farmer has a video on crappie fishing on the river. Look it up on YouTube. If it's not him I know there's a good video on it. I'd like to try to crappie fish the river myself.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    218
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by King31 View Post
    I'm looking for some advice on what types of jigheads and trailers work best for crappie in the Ohio River tributaries. Up until this point my father and I have only used a 2/0 gold hook with a minnow and then a bobber 2-3 feet above that. Granted it is with good success, but the availability of minnows goes down every year it seems. A lot of people seem to be transitioning to crappie jigs, but so far we haven't had much luck. I'd greatly appreciate it if anybody could provide some insight on this presentation!

    TK
    I've gone away from minnows almost entirely. BG baby shad and tootie fruity jigs from strike king have worked well for me. I like the bobby garland jig heads because of the larger hook

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    BG
    Posts
    156
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by toomanycasts View Post
    I've gone away from minnows almost entirely. BG baby shad and tootie fruity jigs from strike king have worked well for me. I like the bobby garland jig heads because of the larger hook
    Thanks for the replies! Minnows will always be king until I start having some success with jigs. I've looked into jigheads and a couple of the different trailers from Bobby Garland. A lot of crappie masters tournaments are won with those. They are a little more pricey than usual for crappie, but I planned on picking some up the next time I was at BPS or somewhere. Is there or preference on color?
    Likes roadrunner liked this post

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2000
    Location
    Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
    Posts
    1,016
    Post Thanks / Like
    You sure you weren't using a #2 Aberdeen hook ?? I don't even use a 2/0 hook for plastics when I'm Bass fishing ... LOL !!

    Personally speaking ... I use a 1/32 or 1/16oz ball head jig head (unpainted) ... both with a #2 Aberdeen hook & a Y-guard or the fiber brush style weedguard. I have them custom made by P&S Custom Tackle (Vicco, KY). My plastics of choice has changed over the years ... going from BPS Squirmin Squirt hollow tubes to CrappiePro solid body tubes to Bass Assassin Panfish Assassin Tiny Shad to custom poured plastic minnow shaped bodies. They've all caught fish. I prefer to cast jigs for Crappie, so a weedless jighead & plastic trailer is what I use ... so I can get my jig down into/around/over the cover and still expect to get it back 95% of the time.

    I don't use floats when casting jigs, and I don't do much vertical jigging. But ... either one of them can/does work. My preferred way of fishing jigs/plastics is to cast and slowly swim the bait back, with a retrieve speed that keeps a slight bow in the line from the rod tip to the water's surface. ANY movement in the line, that I didn't cause (or the wind) ... and I set the hook, hard & fast.

    Color preferences are personal choices ... but I like greens & blues with chartreuse tails, solid chartreuse, and solid pink. The Crappie seem to like them, too !! LOL !! I've caught Crappie on a lot of different colors & combinations of colors, but those 4 have been my most productive over the years. I've used those colors on different bodies of water in 3 states, and they've worked in all cases.

    ... pappy
    Likes Tyme2fish, riverrat12 liked this post

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    BG
    Posts
    156
    Post Thanks / Like
    #2 Aberdeen gold hook. HAHA thanks for the correction and also the advice! A lot of the crappie fishing we do is trolling from stumps to treetops and repeat. (you know the strategy) I would assume this is more of vertical jigging presentation but I could be wrong. Plastic canepoles are commonly used with the occasional rod and reel trips when needed. I've used the squirmin squirts without much luck, but going to have to try some different ones for sure.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    19
    Post Thanks / Like
    I love minnow fishing too but as you said, they are such a pain because you never know when you can get them. I recently started using Lake Fork Baby Shad and have been doing really well with them just vertical jigging. The Bobby Garland Baby Shad are almost the same bait but the Lake Fork have a Garlic scent added. Not sure if that makes a difference at all, but I seem to do really well with these. I think I have said goodbye to the hollow-body tubes for now. The other artificial I love to use, particularly in the spring and warmer months is the Charlie Brewer Slider. You can google that and buy from the site. You can fish these weedless and the crappie really seem to love the action and color Junebug Chartreuse.
    Likes riverrat12 liked this post

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2000
    Location
    Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
    Posts
    1,016
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by mbk View Post
    .... and the crappie really seem to love the action and color Junebug Chartreuse.

    Shhhh, mbk .... don't tell ALL the secrets !! LOL !!!

    ... pappy

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 1969
    Location
    .
    Posts
    474
    Post Thanks / Like
    Maribou for cold water under a bobber. Just for grins tie on a maribou jig and try to hold it in the water so the tail doesn't move.

    I like black/chartreuse for cloudy water. I like black/cahrtreuse for muddy water. I like black/chartreuse for clear water.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    BG
    Posts
    156
    Post Thanks / Like

    Cabelas in BG

    Quote Originally Posted by mbk View Post
    I love minnow fishing too but as you said, they are such a pain because you never know when you can get them. I recently started using Lake Fork Baby Shad and have been doing really well with them just vertical jigging. The Bobby Garland Baby Shad are almost the same bait but the Lake Fork have a Garlic scent added. Not sure if that makes a difference at all, but I seem to do really well with these. I think I have said goodbye to the hollow-body tubes for now. The other artificial I love to use, particularly in the spring and warmer months is the Charlie Brewer Slider. You can google that and buy from the site. You can fish these weedless and the crappie really seem to love the action and color Junebug Chartreuse.
    Stopped in today at Cabelas and picked up a pack of Bobby Garland Baby Shad and Slab Slay'r. Also bought some chartreuse and pink jig heads. Rigged a few up when I got home and got me even more excited to hit the creeks once this ice melts! The Charlie Brewer Sliders that you were talking about were in stock and plan on getting a pack or two of those sometime. Thanks everyone for the replies and hopefully the advice will pay off this spring.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    218
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by King31 View Post

    Stopped in today at Cabelas and picked up a pack of Bobby Garland Baby Shad and Slab Slay'r. Also bought some chartreuse and pink jig heads. Rigged a few up when I got home and got me even more excited to hit the creeks once this ice melts! The Charlie Brewer Sliders that you were talking about were in stock and plan on getting a pack or two of those sometime. Thanks everyone for the replies and hopefully the advice will pay off this spring.
    I would also suggest quality slip floats. I really like the thill pro series with the brass insert. They're a little pricey, buy you can almost always get them back. I don't do a lot of casting in the creeks. I generally flip or make short accurate casts. I use a b&m 8ft double tap rod. Flip it right next to a stump and fish it out a little, then repeat. I like to cover water, and try not to linger on one spot. Water color in those creeks let u get away with that.

Similar Threads

  1. How many would eat Ohio River crappie?
    By artcarney_agr in forum Kentucky Discussion Board
    Replies: 57
    Last Post: 03-11-2015, 11:58 AM
  2. Ohio River Crappie
    By Aquaman in forum Kentucky Discussion Board
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-13-2014, 12:05 PM
  3. mouth of the salt river and the ohio river
    By usmc_0311_hunter in forum Kentucky Discussion Board
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-05-2012, 08:07 AM
  4. Crappie Fishin Ohio River Oxbows
    By RICHYD4U in forum Kentucky Discussion Board
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 01-22-2008, 04:20 PM
  5. Ohio River Creek Crappie is HOT!
    By Bassky in forum Kentucky Discussion Board
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-30-2006, 08:43 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •