Tommy Skarlis tells all...

The following excerpts were taken from an online interview with Tommy Skarlis by the members of Crappie.com on 3/28/2018.

Tommy, how did you go from 14th to 6th place at Grenada this last weekend

We heard it was tough fishing. And heck, we seen that from how many didn't even get to weigh in 7 fish each day.


We stuck to our program, partner Mike Baker and I also tried to stay out of the wind. We had 10 bites and put just seven fish in the boat the last day! We tight-lined double jig rigs - DIY From Do-It molds and also Pro-Built T-Rex jigs tipped with Muddy Water Baits. Big key was our good luck hats from Honey Hole Tackle!!!

What size trolling motor? for a '92 bass tracker pro 17?

I would at least go with a 24-volt and strongly suggest the biggest Optima Batteries you can get. I have an 18-foot aluminum Ranger "Jon Boat" and I have a 36-volt system in it so I can troll at up to 1.8 mph all day.

Tommy any tips on boat control in the wind ?

Power Poles with Drift paddles is a must - we are still learning how to adjust the drift paddles to keep the boat going straight - every situation seems to be different! Also - fishing with stiffer poles that don't flop around in the wind helped.

Color What's your go to colors in muddy and clear water for jigs

Muddy Water: Orange, Black, Pink, Purple, Dark Blue
Clear water: Chartreuse, Lime green, White, Silver, Gold, Clear

Boards I know your brand but what model of the Off Shore planer boards would you suggest for some one just getting in pulling cranks/jigs with boards?

And whats your favorite tackle shop on Truman lake with all your Do-It molds and accessories.
Ummmm - Everharts - of course!
For getting started - I would suggest the OR-38 Awesome Crappie Planer Board - Economical, easy to convert from right to left side of boat, and easy to read and detect small fish!!! I use both the big OR-12's with the tattle flag as well as the minis!

Cranks How slow and fast have you trolled and caught fish.I usually stay 1.5-2mph.One time we trolled at 1.2mph,our catch rate went down but caught alot better fish.Im usually using bandits also.

I have trolled cranks from .7 to 3 mph. Every situation is different - key is to go as fast as you can until the bite starts to diminish - in other words - the more fish you can put your baits in front of - the better.
I use a lot of different cranks for crappies - Flicker Shads, Bandits, Rebels, Shad Raps, Rapalas, Thundersticks, bombers - I think I have a problem? Nah - not really!

Crank baits I wan't to fish crank baits at Lake of the Ozarks in the summer. What should I be looking for on my Navionics maps to target crappie?

Flats - or flatter areas. Also drive around until you mark fish - or schools of shad. I would highly suggest watching "Mike Baker Videos" on Youtube as well - he has done a bunch of really great and informative videos trolling cranks on LOTA

What is the weirdest, most far fetched, technique you've ever used to catch big'uns - I've heard a lot of stories over the years about pro fishermen doing different things to catch big crappie. What's the most unconventional technique or combination of techniques you've used.

Trolling a jig and a crank combo may seem weird to some - but there are a lot of anglers that have been doing that for years and keeping it quiet.
Trolling jigs, flies, crankbaits or stick baits with Off Shore Taddlepoles (diving weight apparatus) gets some peoples attention. We've caught crappie as deep as 60 feet down with Tadpoles

Water temp What water temp do you start pulling crankbaits?

I guess I would pull them if I could cut a slice in the ice and sit on a snowmobile? I have caught them on cranks in 47 degree water - I would prefer to one pole them out of the brush at that temp though!

Rising water crappie Tommie. I was catching crappie last week in 5’ of water. The lake has come up 2 feet in the last 24 hours. Will the crappie stay where I was catching them. Females where close to spawn. WT was 62.

They might. sometimes a little more water covers their head - in this early part of the game - they might move higher in the water column to stay in the warm water - or move to find the ideal conditions. If they are looking to spawn and water temps don't change too drastically - they should stay close to where they were.
This is lake eufaula in OK. It will muddy up some so does that change pattern or location?
From what I understand - it takes crappies a little while to adjust to REALLY MUDDY water - especially if it is cold. I don't know much yet about how the mud changes the pattern - but I do know that I would follow the clean water if I could?

pulling jigs with boards What is your typical setup for pulling jigs with mini planner boards, rod medium, heavy, or stiff, jig size, type of bait

The great thing about using the Awesome Crappie planer board is that you can use any rod with them - I prefer using St. Croix's crankbait rod - I also will use the 8-foot or 7'6" MLXF EYECON Spinning rod. 8 to 10 pound test mono. jigs 1/32 to 1/4 and minnows to "match the hatch"

Fishing a lake for the first time. Describe how you approach and thought process when fishing a lake for the first time

Man - tough question! I first gather as much relevant info as possible - crappie.com, articles, etc. The game and fish dept's know alot too! Then I try to apply what I know according to what type of body of water it is - reservoir, natural, etc. I always follow the old reliable In-Fisherman model of Fish+location+presentation=success.

The biggest key is to "unlock" the patterns!

What’s your favorite body of water to fish ? Out of all of them.

That would be like showing favoritism to one of my children! LOL But if I had to choose - it would be Darbonne

Scents What's your opinion on usage of scents and what is your preferred brand if you use them?

I think that scents do help - I like the ones from Berkley - especially powerbait formulas. Heard a lot of good things about Bobby Garland scent, Bang - Muddy Water Baits are highly successful because of the garlic scent they apply!

Braided super lines Tommy : Are you using braided lines much ?

Yes - I use them when jigging standing timber - stake beds, etc. Only time I use mono when jigging is when I don't want to pull the cover off of the bottom and ruin a good brush pile. Trying some new braid from Courtland, I will let you all know what I think of it.

Tommy With regular sonar and or DI (no side imaging) mounted to the stern. What is the best method to accurately locate and mark with bouys a specific structure or cover that you want to fish when considering the variance in diameter of the sonar cone?

I would throw out a marker when you first start to go over the brush pile - throw it behind the boat so that the weight places the marker about 5 feet from the brush and then throw one on the other side as you pull over and off of it - then use the buoys as a reference - along with coords. Doesn't hurt to throw more than two buoys either - paint them black so that you don't get too many uninvited visitors.

Alabama weather Here in Alabama we can have huge swings in temps from day-to-day.....How do these big swings affect the fish during pre-spawn/spawn?

Again - I am still learning, have never fish Alabama - but would imagine that the warmer the water gets - the closer to the bank and shallow spawning cover they will get - and sometimes the cold water comes in and pushes them out back to deeper water - or they go down deeper into the cover. I am learning that they are a lot like walleye - in the sense that when Length of Day, Water temp, Moon phase and everything else come together - they do their "business"!!!


Thanks Tommy! Really appreciate your time and coming on here to answer questions!!


Photo taken in Feb 2015 at Florida Crappie Masters event on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Tommy came in second after being in 14th place on day one. A great comeback.