“Fall Fishing with Shane Anderson and Brad Whitehead and the Mister Mino at Pickwick, Bear Creek and Wilson Lakes”

Part 1: Fishing Fall Crappie with Shane Anderson

Editor’s Note: Shane Anderson of Corinth, Mississippi, guides and fishes on Pickwick Lake on the Mississippi/Tennessee/Alabama border.

Question: Shane, how do you fish the Mister Twister Mister Mino during late summer and early fall to catch crappie?

Anderson: My favorite tactic is shooting docks. The people who fish with me want to catch numbers of fish. Although we’re targeting crappie, my customers are happy to catch bass, bluegills and white bass. I like using the Mister Mino because it’s a productive lure for catching all these species. That bait seems to catch any kind of fish that swims. During the summer months, docks hold more fish than any other structure on the lake. I refer to the Mister Mino as the no-action bait because the least amount of action you give it, the better the fish will take it.

Using a slow, steady retrieve produces the most fish for my customers. I call this easy fishing. You shoot the jig under the dock and then slowly retrieve the Mister Mino. I prefer to use a pink-colored 1/16-ounce jighead and the white Mister Mino with a clear tail. We fish the Mister Mino on 6-pound-test line and catch everything under the dock, including bluegills, largemouths, spotted bass, catfish, crappie and white bass. My clients prefer to catch numbers of fish.

Question: What rod and reel do you use for dock shooting?

Anderson: I’ll use the 5-foot, 5-inch B’n’M SharpShooter rod with a B’n’M reel and 6-pound-test clear-blue line and fish from one dock to the next. I’ve found that the docks holding closest to the river or the creek channels produce the most fish.

Question: How do you shoot a jig?

Anderson: If you’re right-handed, hold the rod in your right hand, and leave 10 inches of line from the tip of the rod to the jig. With your left hand, take hold of the jighead, with the hook pointed away from you, and pull the jighead back to get a bow in your rod. Now, turn the rod sideways, so it looks like a question mark, and you hold it parallel to the water. Aim the jig toward the back of the dock, and release the jig to shoot the jig under the dock.

To get the Mister Mino to swim properly, don’t tie the line directly to the eye of the jig. Instead, run the line through the eye of the jig, and tie a loop in the line. Then the jig can swing freely on that loop rather than being tied directly to the line. This way, when the jig hits the water, the Mister Mino looks much-more lifelike.

I like to shoot to the back of the dock and then retrieve the Mister Mino to the front of the dock. Then if you hit a pier piling or cover and get hung-up, you don’t spook the fish on the front end or the deepest side of the dock where the best fish tend to hold.I’ve found that from the middle to the end of the dock is where I’ll locate the most fish. So, I don’t want to spook fish in this section.

Question: Shane, what if there’s brush under the dock?

Anderson: If there’s brush under the dock, and there usually is, you may get hung in that brush, and/or you may catch a nice fish out of that brush. So, I’m usually hoping there’s brush under the dock. Too, I like to shoot a jig under pontoon boats tied up to docks or inside boathouses because crappie, bass and other species will suspend under those pontoons, looking out to the open water for baitfish moving along the edges of the boats.

To be successful at shooting docks and catching fish, spend a good amount of time practicing at home in the backyard. You can take a jighead and shoot it across the backyard to become proficient at shooting jigs. Shooting docks is a technique you can use to catch fish year-round because crappie, bass, bluegills and catfish hold under docks all year. So, if you’re getting your bait out to where the fish are holding, you’ll catch them. Shooting the Mister Mino under docks is as effective, if not more effective, during cold months as it is at the end of summer. The Mister Mino has a gliding action, and the fish don’t have to chase the bait down to eat it or expend much energy. During winter months, fish don’t want to chase a bait.