What tips can you tell a beginner about crappie jig fishing?

Jig fishing for Crappies can be a productive and extremely fun sport. There are good and bad ways to go about this endeavor though. The use of proper techniques is instrumental is maximizing your success on the water. Jig color selection can be very important when fishing for Crappie. In my estimation there are two colors that out perform all other for Crappie over the long run. Bright pink is without a doubt the best color to use. The Crappie jigs have been called “pinkies” for many years because of this feature. As a change of pace you can also use chartreuse, preferably in the florescent variety. When jig fishing for Crappie remember to always fish near wood of some kind. Crappie are attracted to wood like sharks are to blood. Whether it is standing trees or fallen timber it does not matter. Even man made wooden structures will hold crappies. Fish your jig at a variety of different depths before you declare an area of water to not hold fish. Crappies will often feed at only specific water depths. If for intake they are not feed at the five foot depth you should slowly increase your depth a foot at a time until you locate the fish. Keep your retrieve speed slow. The biggest mistake I see Crappie anglers make is a retrieve speed that is much too fast. Jigs are designed to be fished slowly; In addition crappies are not a fast moving species and prefer to feed slowly.