Page 7 - Crappie NOW | April 2016

Pontoon Fishing for Crappie

with the new technology Fishing vertical over brushpiles is one of the
where the trolling motor easiest methods he can use to put fishermen
locks you in place there’s on the fish with the fewest number of hang-
no need to drop an
anchor,” said Thompson. ups.
When it comes to overtop of them that shallow,” said
fishing from a pontoon Thompson.
Thompson likes to keep Maybe the biggest selling point is
it simple. “Instead of cost compared to other styles of boats.
casting, I have found just A rigged out 20’ bass boat being used
dipping or dropping the for crappie fishing can cost more than
lure or minnow straight $50,000 compared to a 24’ pontoon
down works best.” costing around $26,000. Johnboats are
One other thing another option, but they don’t offer the
he does is use a short same seating, floor space or stability a
6’ fishing rod to keep pontoon offers.
clients from tangling “You won’t get any more comfortable
lines or hooking each than in a pontoon boat. Clients in my
other. Since his clients pontoon have space to move around,
aren’t casting it’s vital for cover from the elements like rain or sun
Thompson to keep the and of course music,” said Thompson.
pontoon in the correct After twenty years of guiding for crappie
location. To do this he on Toledo Bend out of pontoon boat
relies on a trolling motor controlled by Thompson knows all the advantages and
the GPS receiver and and using a hand- disadvantages.
held remote. This allows Thompson to
help out his clients, bait hooks or tie - Brad Wiegmann
on lures instead of having to constantly
operate the trolling motor.
When it comes to where to fish,
Thompson uses his electronics, past
experience and season patterns to help
him decide. It should come as no surprise
to learn he uses down imaging to locate
crappie before fishing. However, it’s
brush piles located around Toledo Bend
in key areas that are his favorite fishing
spots.
“Brush piles are really important
for my style of fishing from a pontoon
boat. You can’t just run up and down the
lake in a pontoon checking every spot. I
have put brush piles in locations where
crappie migrates to in the summer, fall,
winter and spring,” said Thompson.
Depending on the time of year,
Thompson may have his pontoon in 15-
to 50-foot of water overtop a brush pile.
“I normally don’t fish in less than fifteen
foot or less of water. It seems like they
get real skittish whenever you try fishing

7 Crappie NOW April 2016