Mini Mert and Little Cecil questions.

Last week I ordered a bunch of the Merts and Cecils and will get a chance to use them tomorrow. I tried them a couple times already and the MErts seem to work well enough. But I wonder, do most people tip the bug slightly through the tail or impale it covering the hook? I used a couple strands from a Super Doo as suggested here and, while the fish were active, it worked well.

My biggest question is for the Cecils. How does a guy fish this type of lure? I purchased them for crappie or gills but am not sure of their exact intended purpose. I’ve never succeeded in catching fish on this type of lure but in fairness I usually don’t use them because I guess I don’t know how to. Do people tip them with bugs or plastic? Jig them agressively?

I’ll get a chance to try them this weekend while watching them on my new Marcum VX1. So I hope to catch some fish and not get caught up playing with the new toys too much, lol. I’m taking my Zercom Clearwater along just in case, I know it doesn’t let me down. On that note I’ll also have some purest and Genz worms along too. Dang I can’t sleep already!

I use the Cecils quite a bit for all panfish
Most of the time I do not tip them. The technique I use is to lift them up a little and let them drop.Sometimes on a tight line and other times just free fall. These little jigs have a ton of action to them. They are nice and light but have a lot of flash and flutter. If the bite is tough, I will tip them with a waxie or spike on one barb of the hook.

Koonce showed me how to fish the Lil’ Cecils a couple years ago. Before he showed me how it was done I can promise you I would have misused this bait had I tried it without his instructions.

In shallow water on the river Dave told me to start right below the hole and SLOWLY start jigging it down towards bottom with tiny little twitches. Followed by a pause. Twitch – Twitch. Pause. Then a little deeper. Twitch- Twitch. Pause. And a little deeper. If there’s a ‘gill around they’d usually hit it before it got anywhere near the bottom and we’ve caught endless numbers of crappies that were swimming around right under the ice by starting high in the water column. I’ve never fished livebait on the Lil’ Cecils but I imagine they would work… but whenever I’ve used them it wasn’t needed.

Thanks guys! This is exactly what I needed. James is right, I think many people skip the upper half of the water they are in and bullet right to the bottom. I know I used to. The last couple years I slowed down and was amazed at what is right under the ice or several feet off the bottom. I’ve even seen fish take off from the bottom and scoot up 6-7 feet to inhale my offering. I tell you what, that is the hardest 4-5 seconds waiting for the hit as you watch the line on the locator.

I can’t wait to use the tips on the cecils, James. This type of lure has always escaped my line because I didn’t know where to start with them so I’d do what I knew. Tomorrow that will change.

If it works… the thanks go to Koonce. He’s a bluegill fishing machine.

Those two baits complement themselves wonderfully. When the fish are active, the Cecils are the ticket. If they slow down then the Merts, tipped with livebait, get the nod.

One of the things I like the best about the Cecils is the treble hook vs. a #8 or #10 single. Raise your hand if you’ve lost a BUNCH of big slab crappies at the bottom of the hole when you hook them up on those little single hooks. With the small treble that is on the Cecils the crappies are often hooked with multiple barbs right in the corner of the mouth where they’re just not getting loose.

SOME PERFORM BETTER THAN OTHERS,I LIKE TO ALWAYS MAKE A VISUAL ON TOP TO SEE WHAT GIVES THE BLADE THE BEST FLUTTER THEN IMITATE THAT “BOUNCE” FROM THE TOP DOWN ,A SURE FIRE CRAPPIE SLAYER FOR SURE SLOWLY TAKING UP AS MUCH ROOM IN THE JIG BOXES AS THE THE GO TO REMBRANT

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Koonce showed me how to fish the Lil’ Cecils a couple years ago. Before he showed me how it was done I can promise you I would have misused this bait had I tried it without his instructions.

In shallow water on the river Dave told me to start right below the hole and SLOWLY start jigging it down towards bottom with tiny little twitches. Followed by a pause. Twitch – Twitch. Pause. Then a little deeper. Twitch- Twitch. Pause. And a little deeper. If there’s a ‘gill around they’d usually hit it before it got anywhere near the bottom and we’ve caught endless numbers of crappies that were swimming around right under the ice by starting high in the water column. I’ve never fished livebait on the Lil’ Cecils but I imagine they would work… but whenever I’ve used them it wasn’t needed.

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This is a great technique James! I use this technique with all my jigs, and even over 30′ of water, it works. you just have to let more line out once you get to the hole with the tip of your ice rod

Little cecils are great. I haven’t used them yet this year, but I caught some of my biggest crappies thru the ice with them last year, and Some huge bluegills for that matter. I always had bait on mine though. just never had confidence without a waxie on there!