Slow Trolling for Crappie

Slow trolling crappie has been one of the toughest techniques for me to learn.  I am still by no means any kind of master at it, but I have seen my success rate begin to climb to the point where I depend on it quite often.  I have had success with it in the spring time, and I have had success with it in the summer time and also in the early fall.  The very nature of having to go that slowly is against my nature in general because I tend to be full blast at every waking moment.  Even jigging and shooting docks there are only a few slow moments when I am reeling in after casting.  When I am making my kayak go the same speed the lure needs to move that took a while for me to get into. 

Equipment

After breaking several long trolling rods, I have ended up with a trolling set up that consists of one 12’ rod and one 9’ rod on one side of my kayak, and on the other I have a 10’ and 7’ rod.   I had a more consistent set up, but I have an even more consistent track record of breaking the most expensive rods and so I have whittled things down to where I have the cheapest that I can find, and like a stray dog that you can never seem to get rid of, they tend to last and hang on. 

Sinkers

I like to use a ¼ oz egg weight unless the wind is kicking hard or I needed to drop the depth quickly, which I wrap my line through 3-4 times to hold it in place about 12-18 inches above my lure.  I continue with my artificial lure trend with my trolling.  I tie on a 1/16 oz jig head again unless the wind plays havoc or I need the baits to get down faster, with a simple knot that allows the jig to ride in the water upright and to swing freely so it doesn’t swim at an awkward unnatural angle.  I sometimes use my depth finder when the fishing gets a little tougher.  Whatever depth I begin picking up fish is where I adjust my lure depth to, slightly higher by a few inches to a foot.  Crappie hunt upwards so having the lure above that depth increases the likelihood they will eat what I float in front of them.   The lakes I fish are deep and so not too many of the color charts and depth charts that I’ve seen online work. 

Lures

I generally don’t play around very much with colors in the conditions and locations I fish.  I have excellent luck with black and chartreuse and with white and chartreuse, sometimes I’ll throw in a red or blue, but I haven’t had much luck with variety.  On a sunny day I’ll throw in a clear or white lure with sparkles.  In the late spring and summer, sometimes I notice the fish and the bait fish are darker because they have gone shallower in the water and so the darker colors seem to work well.  In the early spring and later in the fall the fish seem to be lighter colored and the lighter colors seem to be what they want.  I try to match the fish coloration to some extent, and the light conditions. 

Hem Them In 

One lake that I fish built my confidence up a great deal in.  I waited until later in the winter when the lake levels were dropped drastically.  All the fish were concentrated down towards the dam, and I was able to really hone in on what depths and areas and colors the fish really wanted.  Having a kayak meant I had the entire lake to myself and I raked in a limit on several visits. 

Slow Pace

Patience is a virtue I’ve heard it say.  Crappie fishing is about a slow presentation more so than most other fishing.  Usually I can achieve this simply by reeling slower, so patience in paddling or pedaling depending on which kayak I am in has become a virtue that I’m still working on.  God supplied us with an adaptable nature like nothing else in the world seems to have.  He supplied me with a personality that borders on obsessive when it comes to something that interests me or something that I enjoy and wish to learn.  All the finer points of crappie fishing I do not yet know, but my obsessive nature is putting me ever closer to them, and I will continue fishing as long as the Good Lord blesses me with strength to go, and freedom to continue.  I always say I am a meat fishermen, as I’ve heard it said about folks before who hunt for food.  I don’t find that to be an insult as I believe the term was coined to imply.  I’m a firm believer that God put us here to have dominion over the animals and thus I am not a catch and release type fisherman. 

Matthew 4:18