Thread: Spider Rigging - How-to - good references?

Hello crappie gurus! I'm a new guy here. I'm a long time bass tournament guy from Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. With 3 kids now, I've basically gotten away from bass tournament fishing the last 4 or 5 years and have resorted more to just going after whatever is biting best for fun. I usually spend the spring following the bass spawn cycle, the summer trolling for white bass and sauger and occasionally running trotlines for catfish, and then the fall I deer hunt and then spend the winter duck hunting. Crappie fishing is one thing that's missing from my activities, and I'd like to change that. In the past I just couldn't ever put the bass rod down and switch over to crappie, I'm trying to change that now.

Doug Wynn gave a great seminar this past weekend in Murray, I'm definitely going to try some of the things he does with regard to longlining, planer boards, and trolling cranks for crappie once the water gets a little warmer.

In the meantime, I want to try and tackle spider rigging. I tried it once, got highly tangled up multiple times, and very frustrated, and haven't tried it since. I'm going to try it again, with that being said are there some good go-to instructional articles, or videos, or old posts on this website that would help out a newbie? I'd like to know the basic strategies to use, how to deal with wind, and the most common riggings for live bait and artificial for spider rigging.

With bass fishing, water temp was pretty much the baseline for what you used and where you started looking for bass, are crappie the same way? For crappie is it like 40-50 degrees you spider rig, 50-60 you longline, and 60+ you troll?

I have spider-rigged for more years than I care to count and love to fish that way. Sure, I fish just about any way you can catch a crappie, but spider-rigging is my number one way. I have had the chance to teach spider-rigging to several folks and here are some things that I always point out. First, it works best with a variable speed trolling motor. Being able to adjust your speed in minute degrees is important. It also works best with rods no shorter than 12 ft. I know some folks do it with 10 ft and even shorter, but a minimum rod length of 12 ft allows you to space your rod tips farther apart, thereby lessening the chance of tangles when you hook a fish. I prefer 14 ft rods as an all-around length, though I have a set of 16's I use in the Spring when the fish are shallow (the longer rods seem to spook fish less by getting that extra space between hook and boat). Lots of fishermen pair their rods with spinning reels, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I, myself, prefer baitcasting reels of the low-profile variety. I prefer them for two reasons: 1) They have a quick line retrieve which makes a difference when fishing deep, and 2) when a fish is hooked, I can easily depress the thumbar and control the way I let out line. This is especially helpful when fishing shallow with 16 ft rods. Guys who use spinning reels do the same by pulling line out against the drag, but I just find the baitcaster works easier for me. I load my baitcasters with 20lb to 30lb high-vis yellow braided line, at the end of which I tie a small snap swivel. I make my trolling rigs by taking a 4 ft piece of 6lb P-line fluorocarbon (my preference). At one end I tie a very small swivel, which will connect to the snap swivel. About 10 inches up from the other end of the leader, I usually place a 1/2 oz barrel weight ( I run the line through it 3 times so it doesn't slide). Then I tie a #1 duro-lock to the end, which allows me to easily change jigs or hooks. I keep a number of these rigged and in my boat. This set up also allows me to quickly change leaders without having to stop and tie everything while on the water. I know some guys fish with two hooks or jigs on the line, and I do, too, if fishing a tournament, but if you are just learning to spider-rig, believe me when I say it is much easier to learn with one hook on a line. In fact, I fish with one hook or jig per line myself most of the time when pleasure fishing. One other thing I'll add that is worth a try. I have learned when rigging my main line, before tying on the snap swivel, to place a small plastic bead on the line between two of the line guides on the rod (I usually put it about a foot and a half back down from the end of the pole.) THen, when a fish bites, you'll hear the bead click against the rod, which is extremely helpful when you are trying to watch several poles at once. I cant tell you how many times hearing that little "click" has helped me catch a fish.

What I shared is my basic set up for "slow" trolling. That's what I think of when I hear the term "spider-rigging." I do other types of trolling as well....pushing jigs, pushing cranks, etc. These are just my ideas on spider-rigging. They've served me well for years of fishing, both in tournaments and pleasure fishing. Other people have other ideas. But one thing is for sure, spider-rigging is a GREAT way to fish!