Tag teaming crappie by Brad Wiegmann

When I was younger, I would love to watch WWE. It had everything from heroes to villains; including Andre the Giant to Hulk Hogan, but tag team matches were the best. The winning wrestling team also had something special that allowed them to win and much like today’s professional crappie tournament circuits fishing teams.


Before we dive into the subject of pro crappie teams lets apply the team theory to any two anglers out fishing. You see it doesn’t matter if you are trying to catch the biggest or the most. It’s more fun to catch fish then just go fishing.


Being successful starts before you get out on the water fishing. Fishing tackle has to be prepared and rigged. Usually, the person’s whom boat is being used is responsible for that task although some anglers will meet up before and do the rigging. Heading out to the water the boat may need to be gassed up and possibly a stop at the local fishing tackle retailer to buy lures or minnows. From there it’s time to launch the boat and go fishing. During the day the anglers may take turns catching a crappie, but rarely does one angler do all the fishing and other angler maintain tackle or other task.


While the majority of anglers would be classified as “fun to catch and eat” crappie anglers there is a select number of crappie anglers that love the competition of tournament angling. A challenge to see who can catch the biggest crappie and largest overall weight. Back in the day spider rigging ruled the tournament circuit, long lining or single poling to structure or cover with out the assistance of forward facing sonar; however, things have changed to where the majority of crappie tournaments revolve around forward facing sonar.


Today it’s not unusual for a team to consist of one angler that does most of the fishing while the team partner takes care of everything else like tackle maintenance, netting the fish, culling, giving advice on fishing techniques, location of crappie, and whatever else it takes to keep the other angler with a lure in the water fishing. For some it also means taking care of the minnows or baiting the angler’s hook. It’s an interesting dynamic as one must set aside their pride to work as a team to be the most efficient.



Recently, I had the opportunity to be in the boat with the successful pro crappie team of Jo Jo Walker and Clay Wilson during the National Crappie League Championship. Not only did they finish 4^th in the NCL Championship, but were awarded top angling team of the year for 2023. I will say the day I was in the boat with them was gnarly with 30 plus wind gust and chilly temperature, but that didn’t stop them from fishing.


Here's some insight into the how Jo Jo Walker and Clay Wison work together as a team to be so successful fishing crappie tournaments. First, it’s important to note that the relationship started when Clay booked a guided fishing trip with Jo Jo on Grenada Lake where he guides. The two hit it off and spurred the journey to become a crappie fishing team. Obviously, the chemistry works as Jo Jo does most of the actual fishing while Clay has multiple tasks to do to keep Jo Jo fishing.


It's important to note that Jo Jo has countless hours on the water crappie fishing and is an accomplished angler. His role in this team is to locate and catch the crappie, however, Jo Jo is wise enough to ask for input from his team partner. Both respect each other and skills.


Now, I’m not biased but I believe Clay’s role in the team makes or breaks the success of the team. The reason why is time. If an angler is fishing by themselves, they have to do all of the tasks that Clay is doing while Jo Jo is fishing. There is no break or stoppage during the tournament day. More time fishing equals more opportunity to catch the biggest crappie or limit of crappie.


Clay has his own tag! It’s simple “Minner Pimp”. Simple, but true Clay’s task is to have the best minnows and keep them alive. He even puts them on the hook for Jo Jo to speed up the process of hooking the minnow. Other tasks include rigging rods, culling crappie, landing crappie and in general keeping Jo Jo fishing.


Being a successful pro crappie team or just fishing with your buddy. One is not successful without the other is true and by working together make’s fishing fun.