Sometimes the silence on the water just gets heavy; you know what I mean. They quit biting so to speak. The jig goes out there.
You see it on the bottom. You throw it out again. It goes back down in exact same location.
You see those sonar marks under your boat, but the fish won’t open up and take it. That’s when you realy notice the quality of a good jig versus an average jig. I found that Bobby Garland crappie jigs does excel at this task.
After a year of use, we came to rely on them as our go-to option. I spent last twelve months fishing with them and honestly have been curious as to whether or not the hype could live up to the test. Did these lures just look good sitting on the shelves?
Or would they catch limits when the bite got tough? It became clear quickly. There’s a life to them that seems purposeful.
They do something with the water that others don’t. And if you’re sick of guessing with the fish, give ‘em a chance. You’ll like what these lures can do.
Bobby Garland Crappie Jig Review After One Season
The Importance of Jig Balance
Balance Garland jigs has a good balance. They’re not something where most of your weight are in one end of the plastic. It’s balanced well so they don’t tip over and drop down perfectly straight.
This is important because crappie is timid. If you give them a jig that tips over on the way down or doesn’t look natural on the fall, it will spook them. On those clear water days when the fish get tight, I tried it out and the straight drop was the difference maker.
You could get it back down through the strike zone without causing any extra disturbance. Cheaper jig are hard to match for that type of precision. Where they excel the most is in the baitfish designs.
Matching Baitfish Design and Size
Both the Shad series and the Minnow look just like their natural forage counterparts. From the detail right down to the placement of the eyes, these lures has an unfair amount of detail on them. That eye placement help give this bait the profile of a predator, which leads to a reaction strike.
When the fish were pressured, I found the smaller sizes from three to four inches did well. It made them look like something easy to eat. When I targeted bigger keepers or when the water was stained, the bigger ones at about six inches dominated.
With this much selection you can match the hatch without having to change up your whole presentation. There are dozens of choices available from Garland. That’s a blessing and a curse, as it can get overwhelming when you’re trying to choose color.
Choosing Colors for Water Conditions
I quickely found that I was able to narrow things down. Natural colors such as White Smoke or Silver Ghost always performed well on clear water; their presence wasn’t so obtrusive that fish noticed them until the final moment. For dirty water (green, tea-colored), I’d use higher-contrast colors.
Patterns with firetiger and chartreuse realy popped off the background. Don’t fall into the trap of running out and buying each new color release. Find several proven reliable tools for each set of conditions.
Durability and Quality Control
Toughness There’s something about being practical that we tend to overlook, durability. A jig that tears up on a single poor cast is just a waste of money because sooner or later, you’re going to hang it on a dock, tree or rock. I’ve dragged ’em across some gnarly submerged timber more times than I’d like to recall.
They held up quite nicely with regard to the paint, and the hook connections stayed secure. I lost a couple to some sharp rocks, but hey. That’s fishing, right?
This is where I feel there was some good quality control. It’s tough; don’t baby ’em. Fish ’em hard and don’t worry about tearing them to pieces.
Hook Sharpness and Rigging
A good catch starts with a good hook. These jigs come pre-rigged and the hooks are very sharp straight from the pack. They don’t require bending or pre-bending which is a plus for me.
The way they came off the line was fine. They penetrate cleanly and I didn’t lose as many fish due to a lack of hook sharpness. When you’re fishing around cover, more times than not, you get a fraction of a second to set the hook and let ‘er rip before the fish knows what hit ’em.
Having that sharp point in those few seconds make all the difference.
Retrieve Technique and Action
The action is good. This jig doesn’t realy dance around like some plastic baits, but the action is very subtle and will flitter back and forth as if the bait was injured or dying.
That slight, seductive motion entices the crappie to eat it. My most productive retrieves have been pretty simple; just lift-and-drop. Raise your rod tip about a foot and then lower it.
The bass bite on the fall. Keep your retrieve simple to let the lure work. Overworking it tend to kill the presentation.
Value and Cost Per Catch
Many anglers take price into consideration as well. They’re not bulk pack prices like you’d see at your local big box store, but it’s quality over quantity here. I purchased fewer jigs and I caught more fish on them, which reduced my cost per catch a lot.
Remember, a single good lure can produce enough memories to last a whole season. Invest in something you know will perform versus filling up your tackle drawer with junk you’ll never use. A little box of performing lures trumps that any day.
Building Confidence in Your Gear
“I learned to fish a lot differently around the lake using these baits. I no longer wondered if something was wrong with the bait or if I wasn’t doing something right. I just went looking for the fish and presented the bait properly.
There’s nothing more important than having confidence in your equipment. It removes all the pressure and allows you to go fishing and have fun. When you’re confident in what you’re throwing, it takes the stress out of the process.
These are a great place to begin if you’re wanting to step up your crappie game. Try ’em out in various situations. Experience the action and balance that can lead to more fish in boat for you.
Perhaps this is something you’ve been missing all along, not your technique but rather the tool you’ve had in your hands. The fish are going to hide and the water will always be present. But with the proper jig, maybe you’ll have the key to unlock those secrets after all.
