TackleTour

Does anyone use crappie magnets for stream trout? I want to use a BFS combo but I'm not sure I'll be able to cast trout magnets. I'm more confident I'll be able to cast the 1/16 oz crappie magnets though.

Would depend on line, reel, spool, rod etc. With the right gear it's very doable if you don't have to cast far. I spent a lot of time throwing sub 1 gram baits but distance isn't important. I have a lot of friends who I BFS trout fish with and it seems around 1.5 grams is the weight where things start to get really easy.

I don't use Crappie Magnets, but I do use jig heads and small plastics. I like the Cultiva JH-85 jig heads, which come in 5 different weights from .7 grams up to 2.2 grams. If you use the tie in point at the front of the jig head rather than on top, they slide over rocks pretty well.



They do catch fish.

It's been many years since I stream fished for trout, but I was wondering....
Can you pitch those jig heads, or use that crappie sling shot technique to shoot them out? By that I mean, holding the jig in one hand, holding the line against the open spool lip, pull the jig back until the rod tip is loaded, and then using the limber tip of your rod to shoot the jig out. I've only seen it down with spinning gear, but the guy doing it was deadly accurate, and could shoot his crappie jigs out a long way.

I have pitched the little .7 gram jig head quite a lot. It works well with some decent distance on light tackle.

Regarding dock shooting, you need a rod that loads up well, then usually a plastic bait where you have something to grip and release away from the hook itself.

Some artificials "shoot" better than others and those that "skip" across the surface do the best I think. Getting the drawn line parallel to the surface of the water is very important for a good shooting distance.

*** I took a few hours off today, went to Texas Freshwater Fisheries in Athens, TX and caught about 8 stocker trout and 1 catfish. I used my G-Rod Trout rod (made of graphene) and tossed one of finesse-fishing.com's small silver spoons. With that rod, it casts a mile. I need to go back and try some other new lures.

Brad

Brad in Texas wrote:I have pitched the little .7 gram jig head quite a lot. It works well with some decent distance on light tackle.

Regarding dock shooting, you need a rod that loads up well, then usually a plastic bait where you have something to grip and release away from the hook itself.

Some artificials "shoot" better than others and those that "skip" across the surface do the best I think. Getting the drawn line parallel to the surface of the water is very important for a good shooting distance.

*** I took a few hours off today, went to Texas Freshwater Fisheries in Athens, TX and caught about 8 stocker trout and 1 catfish. I used my G-Rod Trout rod (made of graphene) and tossed one of finesse-fishing.com's small silver spoons. With that rod, it casts a mile. I need to go back and try some other new lures.

Brad

I had forgotten it was called dock shooting! A great description of how it is done. Thank you. It sounds like you have to hold the bait with the same care you do when you're pitching a crankbait into tight cover, or risk hooking a real large mouth.

I haven't used the heavier crappie magnets, only the lighter trout magnets and crappie jigs on spinning tackle. The crappie magnets should cast better on BFS than the trout magnets, as you suggested, and be easier to fish in deeper water and more current. I would think that they would work well. The trout worms work real well on small stream trout, and they are a lot bigger than the trout and crappie magnets.

I had forgotten it was called dock shooting! A great description of how it is done. Thank you. It sounds like you have to hold the bait with the same care you do when you're pitching a crankbait into tight cover, or risk hooking a real large mouth.

Mark, dock shooting is a hoot. It takes a few tries to get it down, a few days to perfect it. My first attempts ended up with a "plunk" in the water with no skipping back under the dock. I then realized how important it is to set the trajectory of the line parallel to the water, getting as low as possible helps, too.

Watch some of the videos on YouTube for some style pointers. Some of the crappie guys can literally flick their lures back in tight cracks, all sorts of places most "mortals" can't fish.

Brad

Brad in Texas wrote:I had forgotten it was called dock shooting! A great description of how it is done. Thank you. It sounds like you have to hold the bait with the same care you do when you're pitching a crankbait into tight cover, or risk hooking a real large mouth.

Mark, dock shooting is a hoot. It takes a few tries to get it down, a few days to perfect it. My first attempts ended up with a "plunk" in the water with no skipping back under the dock. I then realized how important it is to set the trajectory of the line parallel to the water, getting as low as possible helps, too.

Watch some of the videos on YouTube for some style pointers. Some of the crappie guys can literally flick their lures back in tight cracks, all sorts of places most "mortals" can't fish.

Brad

Brad,
I just rewatched the latest Wally Marshall dock shooting video. Man, that guy is good!

With dock shooting skills like that, a guy could drop the anchor and spend a whole hour around a boat house/dock/etc. just hitting all sorts of areas fish like, most anglers can't get close to.

Brad

Brad in Texas wrote:With dock shooting skills like that, a guy could drop the anchor and spend a whole hour around a boat house/dock/etc. just hitting all sorts of areas fish like, most anglers can't get close to.

Brad

Can it be done with heavier line and baits, like bass jigs?

The dock shooting I have seen has been primarily small stuff.

I don't see why someone with a light powered rod, a nice parabolic bend, couldn't step it up a bit and shoot something back a bit heavier. A lot of what works depends on the shape and characteristics of the lure/plastic. Lots of big baits skip well and almost all pro bass anglers can skip baits well back under docks and boathouses.

I saw one of the pro bass guys, best known for his prowess with frogs, cast a frog where he could actually "bend" the trajectory around a downed branch to hit a spot behind it where a bass might like to await a meal. In essence, this guy could throw the equivalent of a curve ball in baseball. Wow!

Brad

Brad in Texas wrote:The dock shooting I have seen has been primarily small stuff.

I don't see why someone with a light powered rod, a nice parabolic bend, couldn't step it up a bit and shoot something back a bit heavier. A lot of what works depends on the shape and characteristics of the lure/plastic. Lots of big baits skip well and almost all pro bass anglers can skip baits well back under docks and boathouses.

I saw one of the pro bass guys, best known for his prowess with frogs, cast a frog where he could actually "bend" the trajectory around a downed branch to hit a spot behind it where a bass might like to await a meal. In essence, this guy could throw the equivalent of a curve ball in baseball. Wow!

Brad

I think you're talking about Dean Rojas. I saw that video, too. Magic!

Yes! Dean Rojas . . . quite the frog angler and very skilled at maneuvering around obstacles to place his lure perfectly.

I need to revisit that video!

Brad