Thread: Vertical Slow Trolling 101

Well it’s about to start getting colder and like it or not the slabs are going to start stacking up in deeper waters. Being that I am just a hair shy of lost trying to catch shallow water slabs this turn of the seasons really gets me excited about crappie fishing. I know they are often deep in the summer and in fall they sometimes go shallow before heading back to stage in the channels but by in large deep water fishing pays off more in the colder months... And my favorite way to catch them is slow trolling/spider rigging/vertical trolling.

One of the crappie.com members sent me a PM and asked for tips on just this tactic and I worked up a quick list of tips I use when slow trolling. I thought I would share it with everyone incase any of it would help someone trying this tactic out for the first time this year...

Anyway here are a few tips I worked up from what I have learned slow trolling for crappies over the last few winters....

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Area Selection
First I find a good area to troll by using my Lowrance fish finders to locate fish holding near some kind of creek channel, brush pile, point, drop-off, or other deep-water structure. I find that vertical trolling (slow trolling) works better in depths of 8 feet or more. But in some cases you can troll shallows such as a cove during the spawn but you need to use much smaller weights and other tactics such as float and fly or casting out produce trolling as they are less likely to spook the fish.

Boat Control
The next most important thing after locating the school of fish is boat control... You need a good trolling motor and must be able to use it to keep the boat moving slowly despite any current or wind. You want to go between 1 and 3 mph... and a primarily straight course will keep lines from tangling. I do make wide circles around or hover over key areas. If the wind is up and I am working a large open body of water I use drift socks to slow my boat and troll in "stripes" across the lake letting the wind take me across key areas... If you pick some up on the drift throw out marker buoys to mark those areas for the next drift. Also use marker buoys to mark brush.

Rod Setup
Now for rod setup... I have two tite-lok black widow rod holders mounted on the bow and two on the stern of my boat. Each is a 4-bank holder. I use 10-12 ft crappie wizard poles and small spinning reels. Spooled with 4-8lb test depending on water clarity. I position the rods off the bow pointing straight out as much as possible. The more parallel to the boat the less bouncing with the waves the rod tips do. The worst possible angle for rods off the boat in wave action is 90-degree right angle. They bounce up and down allot positioned like that. I think it must be because the boat tends to rock more drastically side to side then bow to stern when encountering waves from wind or boat wakes.

Example of my 12 rod setup:



Rigs
Then for the rigs... I use a number of them. Both with jigs and crappie hooks. A store bought "crappie rig" is a good start but I tie my own. I do not think the heavy line allows the minnow to swim freely enough. Simply put most my rigs are some sort of weight on the bottom of the rig followed by a series of dropper loops or leaders up the main line with jigs or crappie hooks tied to them. I like about 6-8 inch leaders off the main line. I use either a dropper loop or a three-way swivel. Swivel provides more breaking strength but tends to tangle more then the dropper loops. I rarely tie more then 4 hooks on one rig. Usually my 4 hook rigs are just an egg sinker at the bottom with small crappie hooks spaced about 12-14" apart up the line but I also use 1/16 oz jigs in the place of the hooks. (learned this from Slab Hunter) These I use different colors and commonly tip them with minnows. I also fish a rig with a 1/4th to 1/2oz jig at the bottom as the weight with drop leaders staggered above it off the main line. This basically makes your "egg sinker" into a lure you can pick up a few of the deeper holding fish with. But weather you use an actual weight or a jig as the "anchor" for your rig just be sure you use something heavy enough to hold the line vertical while in motion under the current water conditions. Depending on wind, current, speed and depth you could be using anything from 1/4th oz to 2 ozes or more just remember you want the least amount of weight that will keep the line angle virtually straight up and down. You do not want the lines sweeping up under the boat or out behind it. That would be long lining... :p

Lure
Ok now on to bait/lure/color... I use chartreuse more then any other color. I like it combined with black or red. But straight chartreuse is commonly the ticket for crappie. Only in very clear water will I occasionally go to more natural colors like white, grey, sparkle ect... but even then chartreuse commonly out performs the others. (for me!...) As for bait I use minnows. I tend to prefer Rosie Red minnows (also called toughies or fatheads) because the live longer and are more lively. Use small ones to tip jigs... I also use shinners but usually fish them alone on a crappie hook.

Presentation
Now for presentation... Just mark the depth of the fish arches and baitfish/shad with your fish finder. Then drop your rigs to the desired depth (foot or so above where the fish are holding) and start slowly trolling. If you cannot find the fish on the sonar a safe bet is to set your rigs as various depths until you catch a couple then set all the rigs to that depth. It helps if you have sonar on the front of your boat mounted on your trolling motor. With my up front unit I can actually see my rigs being dropped down and stop them just above the depth just below bait fish or where I see fish arches... Sometimes the fish are holding right on the bottom. In that case I just drop to the bottom and reel up between one and three turns, depending on how close the bottom they are holding.

And I guess those are the basics of my slow/vertical trolling tactics. Be sure to go slow... A good measure of speed is the angle of the lines... They should be almost straight from rod tip to the waters surface... just a very slight angle.

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This is prolly old news to yall but figured I would share it just incase it might help with anyone’s winter crappie fishing this year. Can you tell I am pumped about Larto?

~Fishin' Magician~

Alot of good info. for me. The lake I fish ( and attempt to troll ) is usually not very clear. ( If you can see down 8 inches, thats clear ). The set-ups I have been trying are very close to what all ya'll guys seem to have sucess with, it 's probly just my luck. Hopefully at our next tourny. on the 21st I'll be able to take what has been posted about trolling, and put it to good fishing. We have had a few fronts come through, but down here that just means the temp. drops from 96 degrees to 94, so it'll take a few more before our fish will go deep.
Thanks Malusch