Page 6 - Crappie NOW - March 2019

WADING FOR SLABS

the backwaters of Santee Cooper. He likes to
use a B’n’M Uncle Buck’s 10- or 11-foot jig pole
rigged with a Bucks Best Ultra Lite crappie reel
spooled with 10-pound test Slime Line. The
reason he likes this setup is that it will float
when he must use both hands for to stringer
fish or tying on another bait. Matt’s bait of
choice is a Pro Built 1/6th ounce jig with either
a crappie magnet or Mid-South tube. During
late winter, early spring much of the rising
water is usually stained to muddy due to rain,
so he recommends black/chartreuse color.
As the water starts to clear, pink/chartreuse is
preferred and in clear water white/chartreuse
is the choice. He likes to drop his jig into
some type of cover and lightly jig it, pause and
repeat. He does like to leave his jig in a place
for no longer than 30 seconds and then jig in
another spot.

Several more tips for catching crappie
while wading that John and Matt offer are:
• Be quiet, no splashing around; slide
your feet in the water to lessen splashing
• Move slowly while wading to prevent
spooking the fish
• If using a boat, enter area and park
away from the area you will be fishing John Harrison has been wade fishing
• Fish the heaviest cover you can find by for decades. Mississippi lakes offer ideal
first dropping your bait on the outside edge of situations, but other lakes, especially during
cover then moving towards the middle part of high water, offers opportunities to get into
it the shallow wood and brush.
• When fishing cypress trees, start nearest
to the tree and move out to cover, possible Be safe, have fun and you are subject to catch
cypress knees, that will hold fish some of the biggest crappie of the year as they
• Start with upper end of lakes during late move shallow to spawn.
winter as this is typically where warmer water
will be and move towards lake as the weather - Ron Wong
starts to warm
• Be aware of snakes not only in the water
but in the trees. After the weather gets around
60 degrees, they like to get in trees to sun
while it is still a little cool

A couple of tips we offer are: 1) if unsure of
water depth where you are wading, carefully
use your rod tip to determine depth and 2)
if going out to wade fish, let someone know
where you will be. In today’s world, everyone
carries a cell phone, put it into a zip lock bag.

6 Crappie NOW March 2019