What is dock shooting and why is it deadly?
Shooting means using the jig like a slingshot: grip the jighead, load the rod into a bow, and release so the lure skips low and flat into the shaded cave under a dock or pontoon that no overhead cast can reach. It is deadly for one mechanical reason — the biggest daytime crappie in summer hold in exactly those deep-shade pockets, and a 0.9 g (1/32 oz) jig that lands softly back in the dark falls through the whole school on slack line. Watch the line where it enters the water; most shooting bites are a twitch or a fall that stops, not a pull.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about What this means for fishing
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- What is spider rigging?
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- How have modern electronics changed crappie fishing?
- How many crappie should I keep, and what size?
- What does the crappie year look like at my latitude?
- How do I unhook and release crappie so they survive, especially in summer?
- Are crankbaits any good for crappie?
- Beyond the basic jig, which other lures catch crappie?
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Same topic, other species
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- What rod, reel, and line does muskie fishing take? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
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- Which leader material should I actually use? — Northern Pike
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