Its time for the Crappie to be biting. That would be if it wasn't this years weather pattern. While I do believe this will be the case in about two weeks, today we just got another two inches of snow. That is odd in Virginia, as March is when "nature's oven" starts to heat up a bit, allowing chances for fishing out at the lake. While the ski resorts close by appreciate this, I'm starting to get a bit antsy, and want to be going after my favorite pan fish. They are not only beautiful, but delicious, and for their size offer quite a battle.

Jig balls with double eye hooks from Eagle Claw, can be useful in bringing in this species. Crappie are sometimes a bit fickle, and can challenge even the most experienced of anglers. Weather conditions don't seem to matter with them, but what does is having the right set up, along with the best bait. That would be minnows, and if you can't get those, then nightcrawlers will offer you the next best chance to fill up your bucket. Yet the jig ball is useful, because it catches their attention. At the same time, it also doesn't weight much, and it is easy to tie weights on the line to send it down to medium range depths.

I use them with great frequency, and the Eagle Claw brand ones are good. The black 1/32 ounce version is of fine quality, in that just one will last a long time. Of course, that depends on snags, but you can re-use these for a season easily. I like how they are easy to attach to any size of line, and how the hooks work well with live bait. Unfortunately this weight is a bit too light, for most of my crappie and other panfish species fishing trips. True, I can put on more sinker weights, but that is time consuming. These can also be a pain, if you use the squeeze type. That means less fishing, and as anyone knows, that means less chances of pulling in fish for lunch.

These are okay, but I'm not fond of this weight. Yes they work with the durability of the other ones, but the 1/32 ounce size, is too light. If you don't have the sinkers, expect to be right on the surface of the water. You might catch a few, but only the most brave of fish, and due to their wariness you will probably come home empty handed. If you can get these for $2 for a ten piece pack, its worth having them, and I will give them an average rating. This is because they are made in the USA, do handle water and being thrown around with good strength of materials, and they will catch you fish. Its my suggestion that you go with a heavier one, but if this is all you have, these give you a chance to pull in some "paper mouths." 

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