Crappie fishing at Barren River Lake

[jfw]

I don't fish Barren, but most Crappie guys I know of are Pushing/Pulling cranks over flats or along channel edges, wherever a high number of Shad schools are located. If that's not possible, then Pushing or Longline trolling jigs is a good alternative. When they are not found out in open water, then submerged timber in a deep creek would be a good choice.

If the Crappie at Barren are anything like those at Taylorsville .... early AM = fish on shaded banks with wood cover. Then when the shade is gone, move out to the open water and Push/Pull/Longline.

I am a trolling nut but what the heck is pushing a crankbait??

[crappiepappy]

I am a trolling nut but what the heck is pushing a crankbait??

"Pushing" is trolling out the front of the boat & using heavy weights to get the cranks down to where you want them, but without having to have so much line out.

Generally, when I Push jigs, I'm using 1oz weights above the jig (on a 2-3ft leader) and boat speed is around 1mph.

When Pushing cranks, generally it's with 2oz weights above the crank (on a 5ft leader) and boat speed is around 1.8mph.

Weights can be heavier or lighter, depending on speed of boat (& mood of fish) but generally if you're line is running at around a 45deg angle (from rod tip to water's surface) then every 5ft of line out equals 3ft of depth for your weight. Of course, jigs will run almost directly behind the weight, but cranks will run a little deeper (depending on type of crank & normal diving depth).

I use rods in lengths of 7-14ft long when Pushing. Picture is how my Pushing spread is set up. (sorry about the sideways pic, but it was taken with my phone and doesn't translate correctly on some websites)