When should I fish a float, and when tight-line?
They solve different problems. A float — especially a slip float — locks the jig at one exact depth forever, which is perfect when fish hold at a known level, when wind drift can do the moving for you, and for the up-bite itself: a bobber that pops up or lies flat is the clearest strike indicator ever invented. Tight-lining (vertical jigging, counting down a cast) covers depth changes faster and telegraphs the "weightless" bite straight to your hand, so it wins when schools are deep, scattered through the column, or you are chasing marks on sonar. Many good crappie anglers carry both rigged.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about How it strikes
- Why does my line go slack instead of thumping when a crappie bites?
- Why a sweep set instead of a bass-style hookset?
- Why do I keep missing fish when I lift the jig?
- Why does a slow-falling jig out-fish a fast one?
- What does a crappie do once hooked, and why do so many come off near the boat?
- If a crappie misses my jig, will it come back — and do they ever hit at the surface or under the hole?
Same topic, other species
- Why do largemouth follow my lure and then refuse it? — Largemouth Bass
- Do I need a wire leader for muskie, or is fluorocarbon enough? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- When exactly should I swing? — Yellow Perch
- I missed a strike — will the pike come back? — Northern Pike
- Do smallmouth strike out of aggression or hunger? — Smallmouth Bass
- Why do trout takes feel like a tap — or like nothing at all? — Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake)
- Circle hook or octopus hook for live-bait walleye rigs? — Walleye