Thread: Longlining Questions?

There is a great long lining article on the Magnolia Crappie Club website by long time long liner Bernard Williams from Mussissippi. It gives approximate weight, speed, and depth charts at the end of the article. It's a good read.
http://www.magnoliacrappieclub.com/a...LongLining.pdf

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That's a pretty good read. Although I would not encourage fisherman to have their rods setup like they were in the pic. Most have their rod tips as close to the water as possible. The lower the rod tip, the deeper your jigs will run and the less tangles you will have. Trolling on a windy day with your rods sticking up in the air will blow your lines all around and just make things aggravating IMO.

great article. thanks for sharing. Im going to figure out how to get it done with the same length rods lol

I First want to say by far the best thread I have ever read on cdc.....BAR NONE.....Could be because I find myself in the exact state the S-town is in.........great support from everyone....I must admit I have been a sleeper here for a while but this brought me out the bushes.....LOL!!! I too would like to fish more tourneys and as stated most are won pulling.........Another reason for my interest is UNIL RECENT it dosen't seem to rain like it use too and the lakes stay clear....thus in my opinion making it tougher to catch fish tightlining....... dunno just something else to throw out there what do you all think??

As with all crappie fishing techniques, long line trolling is just one way to catch them. I do not feel that tight lining is any less effective now, than since its inception into the crappie fishing world some years ago. Water clarity does play a major factor in ones approach. So much depends are where the fish are located in the water column. If the fish are up in clear water, long line trolling becomes less effective due to to the boat spooking the fish before the baits get to them. If this is the case, the longer outside rods will catch most, if not all of the fish. Long lining works best in stained water, I think most that are proficient at this technique will agree. Tight lining remains the number 1 tournament proven technique for the following reasons, precise bait -depth presentation and your ability to stay right over the top of the fish with limited movement. This does not mean that other techniques are not worthy of learning, it simply means if tournament angling is something you wish to pursue, you best master the are of tight lining if you wish to be a consistent top angler.

You make very good points inkdabber....that is my utmost concern with learning to long line.....not knowing exactly how deep my baits are running......yea nothing left to do but get my butt out on a flat and experiment. S-Town not trying to hyjack your thread just threw my 2 cents in.

The guys I know that fish tournaments may longline most of the year but usually tightline the tournaments. Tournaments aint about how many you can catch but catching the right 7 fish...so I'm told. From what I understand those 7 fish are sought after at strategic locations and downlines can present the baits at exact depths. Although that being said, I have heard of some tournaments being won from longliners. Guess it mostly depends on the water conditions along with the time of the year (pre-spawn and spawn) as to which is the best method for any tournament.

Glad to see you made it to the forum BOCOON. Like all other styles of crappie fishing there are different setups to longlining and not everyone always agrees witch one is best but they all catch fish. I don't and never have liked running my rod tips close to the water, I like my rods parallel to the water/boat.

FYI - Once a thread has become a sticky it becomes an open thread for decision on the subject that the thread was started, you don't have to worry about hijacking the thread.