Trolling:
I just realized that everyone has different ways to troll.

There's slow trolling or spider rigging and then there is pulling like Roger Grant does on Pickwick Lake with Bill Dance in Bills Crappie Fishing DVD. Then there is trolling with long lines out behind the boat. These lines can be tied to crank baits or small baits. Then there are deep trolling using cannon balls and down riggers. Then there is a type of trolling that used planer board that take the baits out to the sides of the boat.

All these methods are called trolling by some people! So it's confusing to even those that have been around fishing for a long time. Each part of the country may have their own terminology. Some call a crappie a CROPPIE and others call them CRAAAPPIE. Some people in Louisiana call them Sac-a-laits. Some up North may call them White Perch. Down in Florida they may call them Specks.

So when I think of trolling these days I think of pulling crank baits behind my boat. That's why I gave the explanation of this method in the other post above.

If you want to go into the details of slow trolling with the trolling motor and having the poles out in the front of the boat using long rods and having the baits hang straight down from the tip of the poles then that's a different story.

In slow trolling a lot of guys setup the rods on the front of the boat with rod holders. Titeloc and Driftmaster both sell rod holders for this method. I think that Wally Marshall also has some plastic rod holders he sells though Bass Pro Shops. These consist of a base unit that mounts to the boat's deck or railings. Then a vertical 1/2" diameter to 3/8" diameter metal rod about 18" long is screwed into the base. Then a cross bar is mounted to the top of the metal pole. Rod holders are then attached to the cross bar to complete the setup. These rod holders let you put long rods 10', 12' 14' and maybe even 16' long rods in the rod holders. The rod holders can be adjusted in all planes so that the rod tips are just holding right above the water's surface. Knowing the depth of the cover you want to fish you can adjust the baits so that they stay right above the top of the cover or bottom. Each rod may have one or two or more baits on the line tied at different depths. The rods are spread out from the front of the boat and look sort of like the legs of a spider. They cover all angles off the front of the boat. Some states like IN only allow you to fish with three rods. Some states have more liberal rules and allow as many rod as you want. Check your local regulations before you use this method.

Some guys use heavy rod and other use more slower action type rods that are very sensitive. Most use the graphite rods that have a heavy duty butt or base section to help lift big fish out of the water and then the tips are slow action tips that show the slightest bite. As you move the fish will tend to hook themselves.

Boat speed and position is critical in any fishing but especially when slow trolling. You may want to follow the contours of a steep drop and keep the rods on one side of the boat in the shallow water at the top of the drop off while letting the rods on the other side of the boat stay in the deeper parts of the drop off. To do this requires accurate following of the depth contours. This is where a good topo map comes in handy along with a map view of those contours showing on your GPS map unit. Kentucky Hydrografx has some good maps for sections of KY and Barkley Lake. They can be used with a small computer or pda device and will show you the lay of the land on KY lake.

New side scanning Humminbird depth finders will also help you locate those hidden brush piles or hidden bottom structures. You can chris cross the lake or bay and mark the bottom structure and get it's UTM or Longitude and Latitude Map Coordinates even after you have pass the structure. Simply stop the depth finders display and then using the mouse device move the screen cursor over the structure that shows up on the display and save it as a way-point. Now you can go right back to that way point and fish over the top of the structure with your spider rig setup. The new Humminbird 797 C2 SI Units are on sale now for about 1 grand. If you guide then this unit is a must have device for finding new spots quickly. Now if you put out your own brush piles this unit won't be so necessary. But to those that don't have time to put out structure and want a quick way to find other's structures then you won't go wrong with this side scanning concept. I wish that Lowrance would get into the Side scanning retail business soon. Competition may help bring the prices down for the rest of us poor folks that can't afford 1000 dollars for a new depth finder right now. :(

Most people I fish with that spider rig use small thin wire gold hooks in various sizes tied to 6lb test stren or trilene or other lines. Line color depends on water clarity. In clear water use clear lines. In stained or muddy water you can use heavier lines and color won't matter too much. Some like to use bright colored lines to help them detect bites better. Some tie the hook to the end of the line and then add a spit shot or two about 6" to 12" above the hook. Some tie a weight to the bottom of the line and then using a loop knot about 18" above that they attach the hook or jig. You can use hooks with live minnows or small jigs that imitate bait. Minnow sized and types vary almost as the type and size of jigs that can be used when fishing the spider rig method. Remember to try to match the hatch. ie figure out what the fish (crappie) are feeding on for that time of the year in your particular lake and then fish with that type of bait or try to imitate that type of bait. For example in the cold water periods the fish may be hugging the bottom and feeding on blood worms. So a small red hook fished on the bottom may be the ticket. Since minnows are also on the bottom at this time of the year they too are feeding on the blood worms. So minnows should also work for catching crappie down on the bottom at this time of the year. Other times like in the hot summer months the crappie may suspend above the thermocline and feed on Shad that roam the lake. Find the shad and fish with something that resemble the looks and actions of gizzard or thread fin shad or Herring and that can be the ticket. Catching suspended crappie can be difficult at times. Sometimes suspended crappie are not hungry and are just resting and in a negative or neutral mood. You have to get the baits at the right dept and at the right speed to get the fish to bite. Sometimes you may have to hover right over the fish and hang the baits right in front of the fish's nose for a while before they will bite. You can do this while spider rigging.

If you find a brush pile you want to fish and the wind's blowing try to get up wind of the brush pile and throw out a marker buoy for a reference point. Let the wind carry your boat back over the brush pile and let the spider rig setup catch some fish. Just remember to adjust the bait depths to just miss the tops of the brush pile. If that does not catch fish then try hovering right over the brush pile and holding the rod and lowering the baits into the brush pile in different spots until you find the sweet spot. The fish will let you know if they are there and are hungry. I like to use weedless hooks at this time on my jigs. Oldham Jigs work good at times in thick brush. You may still hang up a jig once in a while but they are easier to get free if you put a weight on the line below the jig. Simply lower the rod tip when you get hung and the weight below the jig will normally pull the jig free. Since the hook caught on bottom of the wood limb the weight will put the hook down and that should free the jig's hooks. I have been able to fish deep into thick brush using this method to pull some nice crappie out of brush piles without loosing time and my jigs. You can make your own weedless jigs or buy them. I like to use 1/4 oz lead Weights. I get them from Bass Pro Shops. The style of weights I use are easy to attach to the tag end of my fishing line. And if I loose a weight I can attach a new one onto the line in just seconds. These are called Finesse Drop shot weights. Look for them in the BPS catalog. Of course any weight will work. But the finesse drop shot weights have a thin double wire loop attached to the top of the lead with a swivel. The line is feed though in between the two wires and then pulled up into the spot where the two wires run parallel with each other. The line is then held in place between the two wires. This allows you to slip the line on the weights wire holder and this keeps the weight attached to the line. I tied a small overhand knot on the tag end of the line to keep the line from sliding though the wires. Here is a link to these weights on the BPS online catalog web site:

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...=SearchResults

I put this link on here so that you can see a picture of what I am talking about here. These cost a bit more than regular weights so keep that in mind.

The long rods help keep the baits out away from the boats and thus will help prevent you from spooking those bigger slabs.

Sometimes I even cast out to the marked brush pile using slip bobbers set at a depth that's right above the top of the brush pile. This is a stealth way to fish waters that are pounded by spider rigging boats. Some guys even take to canoes to get into the back area where other boats can go and that's where they catch the super big slabs right up in the shallow water.

Then other guys like Wally Marshal will put on chest waders and wade fish for crappie in shallow water. just watch out for the snakes when you fish in and among the buck brush in these backwater areas. LOL



Regards,

Moose1am