Fishing for crappie from the shore or bank is actually quite easy to do during the spring and summer months. While many crappie fisherman use live bait, others prefer to use artificial bait called jigs to fish for crappie from the bank.
How To Jig For Crappie From The Bank
What Is A Jig
A jig is a type of fishing lure that consists of a lead sinker with a hook molded into it covered wit a soft fish-like body. Many crappie fishermen and fisherwomen use a double jig when fishing for their crappie.
The Best Time To Fish For Crappie
If you are fishing for crappie from the shore, then spring and summer is the best time to fish for these fish.
Because crappies spawn at the same time every year and during the spawning season crappies can often be found near the shore since they spawn in about 8 inches of water. During the summer months crappies tend to move further from shore, but can still be caught using a Jig and fishing from a bank.
The best time of day to fish crappie is during the afternoon and the evening.
What You Need For Bank Fishing For Crappie
When jigging for crappie from shore there are a few tools that you will want to bring with you. Here is the basic equipment you will need.
- Long fishing rod
- Jigs- jigs heads that are around 1/16 inches with 1.5-2 inch plastic body are well suited to fishing for crappies. (You want to bring along several jigs in case you need to replace them.)
- Fish Basket- or line to keep the fish that you catch in. Those wire fish baskets that you can sit in the water to keep the fish alive work great for any type of fishing.
- You may also want waterproof footwear in case you need to wade into the water to bring your fish ashore. (rocky areas often result in your fish and line getting struck)
Finding The Crappie
Once you have everything you need to go crappie fishing, then you just did need to locate an area where large schools of crappie gather. Crappies are easily found during the spring in small lakes and rivers and sometimes ponds.
Look for areas with a very little current that doesn’t get a lot of wind because of crappies like calm waters especially during spawning season. You’ll also want to find that offer cover for fish such as downed trees, coves, and near bridge pilings.
Jigging For Crappies
Once you’ve found a spot where crappies are abundant then all you have to do is fish. If you are fishing during the spawning season, then begin by standing back from the shore when casting, since often times crappies can be found within a foot of the bank during spawning season.
If you don’t get any bites, move closer and closer to the shore before casting just a step or two at time. As the water gets deeper, cast out your jig, let it sink for a second before slowly reeling in the line.
Try to cast near coverings since that is the most likely place to find crappie, but be careful to not get tangled up in the brush.
During the summer months, the crappie is likely to further from shore, but the same jigging technique should work.
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