tightlining?

[fowlguy]

I bought a BNM whatever crappie pole 10'. I am now the redicule of the wife watching me not able to net the fishing I catch with it. She laughs and says the 6'er was a better fit.

I need to learn this tightling technique so I at least have a reason to own this long of a pole.

Let me get this right you vertically suspend your bait the length of your rod from your boat working shore line brush etc.? I was out today and tried it for a bit (hooked a nice bass) but no crappie. Also the crappies are sitting on there beds and they are down there in the weeds. Anyone have any tips or pointers to make me look a little smother with the big stick?

Doesnt the minn kota spook the fish???

[CrappiePappy]

that the longer poles are just for that purpose .... getting the jig/bait out away from the boat/troll motor.
Trolling motors & their prop-wash may spook some fish, sometimes ... but, I've caught Crappie in water of less than 4ft deep - while running the trolling motor, and even prop washing the area where the bait was.

I used a 10' & 12' fiberglass "collapsable/extendable" pole - when fishing "buck brush" at Barkley Lake, Ky. The water was less than 4ft deep, and I had to "thread" the minnow/float down thru the branches of the "buck bush" to the open pockets of water around them. When the float went under, I set the hook ... and lift/swung Crappie of close to 3lbs, into my waiting hands or into the floor of the boat. I used Cortland braid as a main line, with a mono leader for the hook/sinker. I weighed a lot of the fish I caught ... many of them going 2.5lbs (+/-). I could lift the fish out of the brush, then hold my rod straight up over my head, and swing the fish towards me. I would then catch the line and bring the fish into the boat. My line, from rod tip to hook, was no more than a foot longer than the length of the rod. I found that length to be sufficient to lift Crappie of that weight, out of the water and into the boat. With my height & reach, plus the length of the rod & its bend, the no-stretch properties of the braid, and standing on the raised deck of my boat .... I was able to lift & swing Crappie, of up to 2.75lbs, into the boat. I was, however, not successful in trying to bring in a Crappie that would have gone over 3lbs ... even standing on my tiptoes :rolleyes: - I hooked and lost a fish of that size, twice in two consecutive days, from the same area of buck bushes. I estimated it at 3lbs or more, due to the fact that I had to stand on my tiptoes to get the fish clear of the branches and swinging towards me. It was my fault, entirely, that I lost this (these?) fish ... simply because I got excited and swung the fish too hard towards the boat. I miscalculated on the first occurrence, and sent the fish across the boat (out of reach of my "catch" hand) and into the lake on the other side ... the fish came unhooked upon splashdown. Day two's occurrence was slightly different - I was mentally prepared for a fish of that size, and intended to swing the fish into the boat and let it drop to the floor, rather than try and catch the incoming line. As luck would have it ... I stuck a fish of that size, again - but failed to take into account the length of the rod/line vs the length of my boat (15ft). I bounced the fish off the top of the motor and lost it (again?).
I told this to make a point .... test your rod's bend/line's stretch - BEFOREHAND !! Take a weight of the approx largest sized Crappie you can expect to catch ... tie it on the end of your line ... and slowly lift it off the ground. See how much "distance" is added and adjust your length of line accordingly.
Either that, or get the wife to stop laughing and net the fish for you ....LOL!! .......luck2ya....cp

[whizkids]

Spider rigging 101 by Richard William (aka 1wheezer)
Tight lining with multiple poles.
http://www.crappiestuff.com/spider_rigging_101.html

[Bruce Carp]

I try to have my partner net my fish and I net his as we drag the fish across the top of the water to the othe person in the front or back of the boat. keep tension on the line and keeps partner involved on every catch and you don't have to lift the fish. my two cents.

[waxworm]

The most important point was made a couple of posts ago. The biggest error I see in handling a long pole is too much line off the end of the rod. Youshould only have the line you need to get down to your desired depth. For example - if I am fishing 3 feet deep in 5 feet of water I will have about 3 feet and a couple of inches of line from the tip of my rod to the jig. Lower the jig in the spot until the rod almost touches the water, give it a shake and lift it up. When you catch one lift him straight up until he gets to the surface and if he is big drag him across the top into a net (don't let him get out of the water or his own weight will rip the lip and shake the hook), or if small just wing him into the boat.

I like to aim for the back of my partners head with this technique.