For targeting some of the larger panfish, spoon type baits that are tipped with a plastic, are a good combination. A bait that has been working well when fished in these schooling pods of crappie or bluegill is the Eye-Dropper Spoon.
The uniqueness is the flash that is given off when jigging this bait and this is attributed to the prisms that are in the colors of the spoon. The spoon is also weighted, this allows the bait to quickly getting back into the feeding zone, so that you are able to catch fish more quickly.
For drawing fish in from a distance, vertical jig with an erratic motion until you start seeing them on the electronics screen. Then start slowing down the motion, but keeping the rhythm the same as this drew them in and finesse them into biting the bait.
At this point, the plastic trailer starts becoming the key factor for sealing the deal and the enticing actions being worked with the rod tip will do this. So paying attention to how the fish are reacting on the electronics screen will show you if you need a finesse plastic trailer or something that is more radical.
By having the Eye-Dropper with some flash, this bait is another great option for when the fish are inside of the weeds. What is meant by this, is that instead of the fish cruising the weed edges or barren flats, they are actually swimming or stationary inside the stalks of the weeds, in a sense of burying themselves.
This is an area that many anglers miss out on as their flasher screen, when over weeds, is filled and they can’t see anything if there are fish present. Many electronics now have a low power feature that reduces the power being sent down and in turn allows you to be able to see through the weeds and actually pinpoint the fish and how they are reacting to your baits presentation.
This keeps you catching fish on those high pressured lakes or also when the weather changes are happening that is pushing the fish into these weeds. This does take some practice to understanding what you are looking at, but once you have that figured out, you just opened a whole new area for catching fish.
So with the Eye-Dropper, you are able to attract fish from a distance, then finesse them into biting. You are able to go into the weeds, where many others aren’t, and offer those fish this flash presentation which they are fairly un-pressured. With the blade being weighted, it allows you to quickly getting your bait back into the fish and this in turn keeps them in the area longer before they move on.
By Kevin Dahlke