While many outdoorsmen are busy shooting ducks this time of year, Capt. Jerry Neeley busies himself by “shooting docks.” “Shooting docks” is a fishing technique that Neeley has used for years, and proves particularly effective for catching winter crappie at Lake Wylie.
Neeley, who operates his own guide service (www.carolinasfishing.com, 704-629-9288), uses a homemade 3-foot-long rod-and-reel combo to do the “shooting.”
“I hold the jig and bend the rod tip back and fire it up under docks and piers,” he said. “You can really get into the nooks and crannies that way.”
The technique enables Neeley to reach otherwise difficult-to-catch crappie that are hiding out under shoreline structures. His favorite lure is a 1/32nd-ounce hair jig.
“It falls slowly, and you want a gentle fall,” said Neeley, who has fished the waters of the 12,000-acre reservoir along the North Carolina-South Carolina border for more than 40 years.
Neeley has several preferred color combinations, including “anything with chartreuse in it.”
Other personal favorites are a white jig with green head, chartreuse/black and yellow hair with white wings on a red head.
This time of year, Neeley focuses his efforts on areas just below Duke Power’s Allen Steam Station, where warm-water discharge raises the water temperature for a few miles downstream and lures crappies in to the docks.
“If they’re pulling water, those crappie will get into position under docks,” he said. “You may have 48-degree water on the Catawba (River) and it can be 55 or 60 degrees on the South Fork (of the Catawba). That’s what you’re looking for.”
These elevated temperatures can be found down to Mill Creek. On a typical day, Neeley can catch 20 to 40 crappie or more, with most fish in the 1/2- to 1-pound range. Fish will strike on the drop, usually in 6 to 10 feet of water.
“Every once in a while you’ll get a 1 1/2-pound fish,” Neeley said. “The important thing to remember is that it’s a slow thing — you’ve got to take your time.”
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