This one thing will change crappie fishing forever - Brad Wiegmann

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If you guessed forward facing sonar you are right, but now there is something that is even more important for anglers utilizing forward facing sonar. It’s the ability to control the speed or even stop their boats. Boats don’t come with brakes, but now you can have them installed and it makes a significant difference in presenting a lure or bait when fishing.


Although just a small percentage of crappie anglers have brakes installed on their boats the number is growing according to the availability. As if the fishing world needed another shortage of products it’s a short list of fabricators that make the finished boat brakes product. Crappie Brakes is a fabrication company in Mississippi and you can bet the list is growing as I write this article; in fact while I was typing this article another company SeeLite announced SeeBrakes. Doing a search on the internet I found several anglers that had fabricated different brake systems including some that didn’t require shallow water anchor systems to attach to the trolling motors.


Boat brake systems normally consist of two trolling motors attached to the bracket of a shallow water anchor systems like Power-Pole or two trolling motors that have been attached to the boat’s jackplate. When the shallow water anchor system is deployed or attached trolling motors on the jackplate are submerged under water the attached trolling motors are then turned on or off by an angler in the bow of the boat with a foot power switch. These attached trolling motors face away from the bow of the boat and when engaged create a backwards thrust braking the boat similar to an airplane using reverse thrust to brake.



Several anglers have been creative when it comes to installing boat brakes on their boats. YouTuber Catchin Kevin Hawkins is one of them. Apparently he had someone fabricate brackets for his boat’s jackplate and then installed the wiring along with hand controlled trolling motors. The biggest difference is with shallow water anchors you don’t have to raise and lower the boat brake attached to his jackplate. “My custom made boat brakes allow me to have precise boat control,” Hawkins continued, “I can run my trolling motor at a fast speed and stop to fish that crappie without drifting over the fish. Plus paddle and shallow water anchors are way more expensive and not nearly as effective.”


Recently, I have been in the boat with several crappie anglers that have boat brakes installed on their boat. On the Hook TV host Jeremy Mattingly was one of them. Mattingly exalted Crappie Brakes when live sonar fishing for crappie. In fact, Mattingly was able to easily show how his crappie brakes worked by stopping just within casting distance without spooking a crappie and then casting to it.


On the boat with Grenada Lake, Enid Lake and Sardis Lake crappie fishing guide Dalton Thomas with Reel Crappie Guides, I was able to see how boat brakes allow anglers to catch fish, but also how a crappie fishing guide can use it with a client in the boat. “I had PTG Outdoors in Grenada, Mississippi, install boat brakes utilizing two 35-pound thrust trolling motors on my 21 foot Bass Cat Power Minn Kota Raptor’s about 3 months ago,” Thomas continued, “I knew that boat brakes were going to be vital for live scoping, but it turns out that I have found using boat brakes when spider rigging can load the livewell up with crappie fast.”


Thomas explained that when spider rigging he goes up wind and allow the wind to blow him through the area with crappie, but if his boat starts going to fast he turns on his boat brakes to slow up depending on the speed he wants to be spider rigging. “Boat brakes allow for total boat control and that’s vital for catching crappie when spider rigging,” said Thomas.
Thomas’ clients when single poling live scope fishing use 16 foot poles to reach out to crappie after he has stopped the boat within casting distance. “It’s all about boat control,” Thomas continued, “You can literally have a client cast to a crappie before it even knows you are there. Plus having boat brakes allows me to fish faster than without as you can go at a pretty fast pace than put on the brakes when you see a crappie on sonar allowing the client to cast to it in a controlled stop.”


Sonar technology is forcing anglers to develop new and creative ways to control their boats. Boat control has always been important; however, with forward facing sonar it has made the difference in catching or not catching crappie.