Schools out for the summer really? Not really as the water temperature rises crappie typically start to move out on to the flats or old river channels chasing schools of shad wherever they are located. One of the most effective ways of catching them is trolling crankbaits.
Pulling crankbaits is old school fishing. Beaver Lake fishing guide Lance Hughey renowned minnow spider rigger switches from minnow pushing to pulling crankbaits once the bite slows up on minnows. “I love to spider rig, but there comes a time when pulling crankbaits is more effective for catching crappie and it’s also just a lot of fun for my clients,” Hughey continued, “I’m able to get 8 rods out and fan them out to cover lots of water while trolling around 1.7mph.
Hughey uses two rod holders in the corners of the back deck of his boat and mirror the set up on each side using one 8-foot, one 12-foot, one 16-foot and one 20-foot B’n’M Pole Pro Trolling Rod to extend the rods away from the boat. His 8-foot rod has 55 feet of fishing line out to the crankbait, then 45 feet on the 12-foot rod, 35 feet on the 16-foot rod and 25 feet on his 20-foot rod. This keeps his crankbaits from tangling and makes it easier to land a crappie once they get on.
“I keep the set up simple when trolling crankbaits,” Hughey continued, “I use PICO Lures Vanguard Tackle 10 pound test ForceFlex monofilament line tied to their Snap Dual Lock rigged up with a PICO Lures INT deep diving crankbait. I use the snap because it allows me to change crankbaits out to different colors easier.” Hughey will fish the ledge where the river channel and flats meet to start with figuring out where the crappie are located and then focus on that area, however, crappie he noted may move shallower or deeper throughout the day and Hughey will move with them.
“Trolling PICO crankbaits gives me a break from spider rigging minnows throughout the cooler months,” Hughey went on, “However; I still use my live scope just like spider rigging to see what depth the crappie are located. Earlier in the day crappie tend to be shallower and move deeper throughout the day. You can see that on the graph and adjust the length of line out to get the crankbaits out shallower or deeper.”
When picking what color PICO crankbaits Hughey says, “PICO Lures has 42 different color patterns in the deep diver, but I always have a Blue Boogie on at least one pole. Lately it’s been Sexy Shad, White Splatterback, Wonder Bread, Simply Awsum and Bone Orange.”
Mitch Glenn owner of PICO Lures noted that early in the summer when most anglers start trolling crankbaits the crappie are not as spooky as they are later on in the summer. “I often have PICO crankbaits literally in the wake of the boat and crappie biting crankbaits,” Glenn continued, “Things change after everyone has pulled PICO crankbaits over top of them all summer long and get spooky with boat traffic.”
