Page 10 - Crappie NOW | April 2016

By Tim Huffman

C rappie often move from
shallow spawning areas out to flats
and along mid-depth channels for their
post-spawn pattern. When the fish
suspend and chase shad it’s a great
time to use trolling tactics to catch
them. One tactic gaining popularity
for crappie fishing is planer board
longlining.

Set-Up
This article features going
after suspended fish with planer
boards so starting out by rigging
right is important. The first piece of
equipment is electronics. No surprise
here because electronics can be an
important tool for reducing search
time. Ability to quickly learn fish
depths, find schools of shad and the
fish themselves, and time reduce
wasted trolling unproductive water all
lead to more caught fish.
An autopilot-style trolling motor
is important so the boat will maintain
a set course even when a fisherman
get busy catching fish or handling
boards. Loss of boat control for
several seconds can lead to disastrous
tangles. Some fishermen use a kicker Trolling shallow flats can produce good crappie.
motor or the big motor with a trolling A planer board allows a fisherman to hit shallow
plate giving all-day use without worry water without running over the fish with the boat.
about batteries going down. The
disadvantage of an outboard is added
noise.
motor. A very basic/econo four pole setup
Heavy-duty trolling racks, strong will start at $600 and include a set of poles,
poles, and planer boards complete the line-counter reels, a rack/holder setup,
set-up and will be discussed more in planer boards and a few crankbaits. An
detail. eight pole setup with quality products will
Buying everything from scratch can likely be $1800-$2400. Any equipment
be expensive. We will assume you’re already in use and that can double-duty
using your current electronics and trolling

10 Crappie NOW April 2016