Long-Line
Slabs
Bob
Bohland
Spring
crappie fishing is some of the easiest fishing most anglers will ever
experience. Crappies move shallow and are more than willing to bite
any offering that comes within reach. Yet, when the spawn comes to an
end a large majority of anglers have no clue how to target them once
they move off of their shallow beds and spread out in the water
column.
As
the spawn wraps up, the crappies will push out onto mid-depth flats
and spread out. They have expended a lot of energy and need to rest
and regain the calories they have burned. Luckily, the end of their
breeding activities coincides with many bug hatches. So they can
suspend along these flats and gorge themselves on insects and the
baitfish that also come to feed. Finding areas that are holding these
fish is fairly simple with today's electronics, cruise around flats
adjacent to spawning areas and look for balls of bait and scattered
marks.
Early
in the season, a slow non-aggressive approach is best, as these slabs
are simply looking for an easy meal. Later in the season, crankbaits
and stickbaits can work wonders, however, before Mid-July I prefer a
large plastic such
as a Lindy Watsit Grub on a 1/32 or 1/48 ounce jig. The movement this
seemingly oversized plastic gives with it's six
small insect-like arms on the sides and a thin tail that ripples and
undulates in the water
just demands crappies attack it.
Trolling at speeds from .25 to .75 MPH seems to work best, but don't
be afraid to experiment with speeds and turns. If you are getting
bites on a rod on the inside of every turn, that means you should
slow down your presentation. Conversely, if you are getting a bite
from the outside rod on turns, speed your boat up a bit.
One
of, if not the most important aspect of this type of fishing
is the action of your rod. A fast action rod, will cause you to lose
a lot of fish. They are called “Papermouths” for a reason, and if
your rod doesn't offer enough give, hooks will rip right out of the
fish's mouth as you are reeling them in. While I prefer a longer rod
(up to 11 feet), a six footer is plenty as long as it has almost the
same action as a wet spaghetti noodle.
Most
of the bites you get from crappies while trolling in this manner will
not feel like a bite. There will just all of a sudden be weight as
the rod bends back. At this point, you don't even have to set the
hook, just simply start reeling the fish in. By using underwater
cameras in clear water, we have been able to watch how the fish bite,
and all they do is speed up a little to catch the bait, open their
mouths and stop to look for the next easy meal to happen upon their
location.
Color
selection is generally
based on water clarity. If the water you are fishing in is clear, go
with more natural colors such as brown and orange or black and
chartreuse. If your water is dirty or bog-stained you are going to
want a color that attracts attention such as pink and white. Contrast
of colors can also make a big difference, so I will tend to use a
different color jighead that is different than the color of the
Watsit Grub I am using. As a general rule, most of the crappies that
you catch in this manner will be larger. It isn't very often that
smaller fish will suspend on these flats due to the predators that
will also inhabit these areas. The smaller fish tend to stick near
the safety of the weed edges.
Now
is the time to get out and explore those mid-depth flats. The larger
crappies will hang out in these areas until the end of August, so get
out there and establish your pattern for these big, lazy fish.
Trolling for crappies means the difference between sorting through
smaller fish for a meal and showing off photos of slabs to everyone
back at the landing.
