Dave,

Where do you get your long rods? I am new to the long rod scene as of last year and absolutely love it! I’m currently running a Frabill Jiggler, but I know there has to be better equipment out there!

I like the pink/white body or glow/pink body for crappie.

I believe the “Mini Maki” by Maki Plastics is supposed to resemble a bluegill fry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43cqQLEkTEE

Make sure to watch parts 2 and 3 as well.

Language Caution!!!

I pulled my first of the year today as well. Gotta love the almighty Gill! First time posting a photo…hopefully it works…

Fish Tales is right in Fox Lake off of 33. I stopped in there a few weeks ago (just moved to the area) and the two gentlemen in the shop were great.

If you don’t have the money to throw at a custom, I think the quick tip rods are awesome. I own a 27 inch and a 22 inch and they see a lot of time on the ice while the other rods sit in the rod case.

Are there better out there…absolutely. But for the price, they are great.

I had the most success on a glow diamond jig and a purple whip. Also, I did pretty well with a black/glow dot tungsten jig with an orange whip.

All the fish that hit absolutely CRUSHED the jig!

You guys are great. I put a bunch of your ideas into practice today and had an awesome day with gills and crappies. While the overall size of the fish was lacking, I definitely caught the most “big” fish in my group. I definitely got lucky and hit the right combo of jig/plastic early on, but I can definitely say that I took a step in the right direction with my confidence levels. I know there is still much to learn…but success is success!

Thanks again!

Thank you all for your advice. I’m headed to a backwater area tomorrow where we’ve done well with gills and crappies in the past. I’ll put some of your ideas to use for sure!

Thanks again!