Master All Methods of Crappie
Fishing for Success
by Steve Welch
March can be a good month to get out everything in the rod box and try many different patterns for
crappies.
March weather can throw many curveballs and this has a dramatic effect on the water temperature,
causing fish to move.
I have caught fish casting a cork over very shallow cover with a spinning outfit during one day
and the next day I am out on a main lake drop-off tight-lining over a brush pile 20 feet deep. For
tight-lining I use an eight-weight, custom-made crappie rod between nine and 10 feet long.
I have also been known to use a 12-foot rod for my pendulum pattern on standing wood in deep
water. I simply let out about 10 feet of line and swing it past a standing tree, letting the lure
swim back to me about four feet deep.
The sun or lack of it has everything to do with my pattern for the day. If we have two or three
days of full sun and the shallows are warming, I always check the fixed or slip-cork pattern.
Big fish get in on this pattern especially early. I put a 1/16-ounce jig under the cork with a
tube or slider grub attached.
The sun will also make fish suspend out in the bays or the mouths of deep coves that contain lots
of standing wood. This is where I use my pendulum pattern with the 12-foot rod. It is easier to
pendulum your jig on the longer rod. I use this technique the majority of the time through the spawn.
All fish do not move to the bank at the same time. There are always fish backed off on the first
drop, ready to move in later. If we have a nasty cold spell, I back off and tight line over deep
brush on drop-offs.
Spider rigging this early can miss a lot of bites so I opt to hold my jig pole in my hand and put
no action on it at all. I keep my baits small and always use scent. I like a custom-made, nine-foot
rod for this technique and it must be very sensitive to feel a 1/16-ounce jig in deep water. It also
must be stiffer than the long rods that I use for shallow fishing because you need to set the hook in
these deep fish and get them out of the brush quickly.
Spider rigging is a method that you need to master. It consists of setting six to eight 10- 16-foot
rods in a rod holding system. You then troll very slowly with your trolling motor and target suspended
fish. Having this many hooks in the water can be very deadly. You must check state and local laws
for the number of poles you can use per angler. I mostly use this technique when I go south, since
they are very liberal on pole limits.
Another very good pattern, especially during April, is to target suspended fish near standing
trees. Set aside the cork and the 12-foot rod and pick up a six-foot spinning outfit.
Cast a Charlie Brewer Slider grub on a 1/16- ounce jig and try to fish about four feet deep. Fish
will chase a swimming bait in April since the water is warmer. The biggest reason to cast is that
fish can be spooky and even the 12-foot rod won't get you far enough away to catch anything other
than small fish.
I cast about thirty feet and work the lure through standing wood or just above brush. This takes
a very good feel and a quality outfit, but don't use an ultra light that is for bluegill fishing. You
need a medium action, six to six and one-half foot rod with a solid butt and fast tip.
I use a quality spinning reel with at least nine bearings. They are a lot smoother than the less
expensive ones. Always remember the drag setting must be smooth to fish this light jig through cover.
The spinning rod and reel is in my hand most of the year and that is all I use when fishing for
crappies during the summer. This is also my method to fish when I go to Kentucky Lake. You simply
cast past the cover, count down, and reel. The water is very clear down there and hovering over
the fish can spook them.
Try to master all these techniques and have at least three rods per angler for these patterns.
Remember to get a 12-foot rod to pendulum and dabble over shallow brush, a nine-foot, high
quality rod to hover over deep brush, and a six-foot spinning rod to cast either a cork and jig
or just a jig. Now take that times three and you can see how many rods I carry in my boat.
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