Page 5 - Crappie NOW | August 2015
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Stumps & Snags
for a bite in an area, he’ll use a 1/4-ounce to catch more fish. No need to fish the wood that
draw a reaction bite. doesn’t have fish.”
Everything might look the same when Brooks still recommends using
gazing across the water at a group or field of electronics. The deeper the fish the more
stumps and snags. However, there are many important it is to have a good sonar to find
differences including the sizes, types of woods drop-offs, underwater wood and fish.
and underwater depths and contours. Your job Slow Trolling
as a fisherman is to find the specific bottom There are a lot of stumps that allow
depths, strike zone and type of wood that the trolling. Reelfoot Lake is one place a lot of
crappie prefer. trolling is done immediately over the top of the
“Presentation depends upon the wood stumps. A few years ago the Crappie Masters
and aggressiveness of the fish,” says Brooks. Championship was won by slow trolling at
“Some trees have thick limbs. Drop straight Truman Lake. Snags and trees laying on
down in thick stuff. Other might be old with bottom was the winning structure. Finding
fewer limbs so pitching the jig and letting it submerged wood is the key although it’s okay
swing down to a stop can be good.” to have some of the wood sticking up.
“Fish will often use the outside edges, Slow trolling puts more baits in the water
isolated wood, or a long narrow patch like an and gives a wide area of coverage. Typical
old fencerow. There will usually be some place set-ups include long 12- or 14-foot poles with
that the crappie will gather in numbers. Once single jigs or double-hook rigs. Minnows are a
you find that you can stick to that pattern and
5 Crappie NOW August 2015
