Crappie Trolling, Getting Setup

When you are preparing to start crappie trolling, be sure to have several poles on hand. You can decide how many, but I would recommend at least four for a good start. Have several different weights on hand, from 1/4 ounce up to 3/4 of an ounce. Make sure you have some good crappie jigs ready to go as well. I would recommend having lighter colors to start with like green or white, with a green or red jig head.

Once you have your equipment lined out, get a topographical map of the area you want to fish, and look for structure changes, break points, and areas of cover. These areas are the more likely to hold fish. Then, grab the boat and the gear, set different weights on different lines so that you can fish some deep, some shallow, and some in between, and start trolling the areas you have laid out.

The Crappie Trolling Key

So here’s the key. Once you catch a crappie, you need to stop the boat. It is extremely unlikely to find a crappie all alone. So take the one fish that you have caught, and hook him on the end of one of your lines by the tail. Then give him plenty of line, and attach a bobber many feet (maybe 10 to 15 feet) above him.

The crappie that you have caught will inevitably swim back to the school, and because you are tracking him, he will lead you right to the rest of the fish. Give him plenty of line, and as slowly as possible, troll up onto the school of crappie and go fishing.

Once you have fished out the area, then just go to another area, and begin the process all over again. Now, I’ll encourage you, if you want to really get successful at this over time, to mark the spots on your topographical map or in a computer or GPS system, and record the date, time, weather conditions and water temperature. If you build a steady library of these statistics over time, you can become a tremendous fisherman, who rarely goes out without catching fish.

If you want to know more, check out these 7 great crappie tips.

Crappie Rod Length

When you are thinking about the length of the crappie fishing rod you need, think long. When you are fishing crappie, you are usually going to be using a vertical jigging technique (often with crappie jigs) to attract the fish. So if you have a long, lightweight, sensitive rod then you can easily move the bait around as you are jigging. This will provide better action for your crappie lures, and give you a better chance at catching the fish.

I would consider at least a 6 foot rod, and possibly going all the way up to a 10 foot pole. This length of rod is going to get you out there where the fish hangout, under brush and cover in the water. Then you can commence jigging in a location that is much closer to where the fish are.

Types of Crappie Rods

There are 3 main types of rods to consider when looking for a crappie rod. Those 3 are the telescoping rod, the sectioned rod and the fixed rod.

The telescoping rod is very compact, and you can quite possibly get your entire rod and reel combination to fit within a tackle box or action packer. This is especially nice if you are taking the family or friends out, and need to haul a lot of fishing tackle. The disadvantage is if you are fishing, and the rod closes up accidentally on you.

The sectioned rod is the one most often seen in stores, and it can be broken down to help in transportation. This rod doesn’t have any problem folding up on you, but it may twist on you, depending on how aggresive you are fishing.

The last is the fixed rod, and it is the best for fishing. But the obvious downside is that because it doesn’t fold up in any way, hauling it around may be challenging. But once you get to your spot, it is nearly maintenance-free.

So the bottom line here is, when you are looking to go crappie fishing, and need a good crappie rod, think lightweight, long, and whether convenience of travel or ease of maintenance is more important to you. Once you have those points ironed out, then go shopping. My opinion still is that the Shakespeare Ugly Stik is the best rod out there, but Berkley’s Lightning rod is certainly good as well.

The Top Crappie Jigs Available

If you are just starting out, don’t buy anything else except Marabou Jigs, especially if you are on a budget. The marabou jig has produced more great crappie fishing than any other lure on the market today. Marabou jigs are comprised of a jig head, and a hair, chenille, tinsel, or feather body and tail. Start off using a 1/8 ounce or 1/16 ounce marabou in a white, yellow or green color. If need be, you may also get some in the 1/32 ounce size, just in case.

If water clarity is an issue, or if you just want to do some experimentation, consider using Rooster Tail Jigs. Rooster tail jigs are a modified version of the marabou jig. Basically, the rooster tail jig is a marabou jig with the addition of a straight shaft style spinner blade. As you might have already guessed, adding the blade to the rig can help you when there are low light levels or murky water.

Lastly, curly tail jigs can work as well. Curly tail jigs are small, soft plastic worms with a curled tail to provide action in the water. If your other jigs are not working, you might try out the curly tail. Stick with similar sizes and colors as with the marabou jigs.

Crappie Jig Colors

As aforementioned, if you are beginner, start with the basic offerings of crappie lures at your local outdoor store. White, yellow and green/chartreuse are excellent, proven colors to begin with. These colors tend to work the best with clear water, clear weather, and good lighting conditions.

If you are fishing a stained area of water, you might want to put on a darker colored jig. Consider using black, purple, or dark green or orange. This may be the time to put on the rooster tailed jig, just to get a little more reflectivity in the water.

The Crappie Jig “Technique”

The basic idea when using crappie jigs is to drop the bait straight down to an area denoted on the fish finder as having a school of fish, and jerk your rod up, and let it down slowly, bobbing the bait up and down in front of the fish. When you first hit the fishing spot, start by fishing deep, and then jig your way up toward the top of the surface, and note about what depth you were fishing when you got the strike.

Once you have determined about how deep the fish are, concentrate on that depth until the fishing slows down. Find out more crappie fishing information to give you a better chance at catching more fish.