Finding The Crappies.

Any time the ice is off the lakes crappies can get spread out. Sure there are going to be pockets of active aggressive fish in the shallows, but there are many more opportunities to be had. One of my favorite techniques is trolling for crappies.

After the spawn has come and gone crappies become a little harder to target. Often times you will find them along weed-line's or in the weeds and they are easy enough to catch. But how do you find the right weed-lines to fish?

I like small crank-baits. a Pin's Minnow being my favorite, but I have had a lot of success using Heddon bumblebee's and grasshoppers as well a an assortment of other baits. I will start by using the trolling motor to troll just outside the weed-line. I also like to target weed flats and run cranks right over the top of the weeds. Often times you will find fish relating to a certain type of weed, bottom content, or depth. Once you have located some fish trolling you can come back and slow your presentation down with a jig and plastic or minnow.

This is also an overlooked technique for lakes with a lot of recreational boating pressure. Many times the fish will move away from the weeds and suspend during midday when the boating pressure is high. I have caught a lot of nice crappies in the middle of the afternoon with skiers, tubers, and jet ski's coming and going.

Now i just have to get my boat up and going again to get out there after opener and get some of these crappies, they are one of my favorite fish to catch and eat.