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Trolling Love It Or Leave It!

I have heard strong arguments on both sides of this issue. Some make more sense than others. I do my best not to argue with other fishermen, period. After all it is our diversity and imaginations that keep things interesting and competitive. Who the heck am I to tell you how to fish!

Mark Gromlovits
The Crappie Killa'

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Discovering a way to catch more fish than the other guy is just plain fun if you ask me. Trying to prove you can do it is the premise behind today's tournaments, isn't it? My hat is off to the guy who decided to tie on a few jigs and troll for Crappies. I'll bet his buddies looked at him a little sideways the first time they saw him doing it. But like myself, I'm sure they quickly stopped criticizing and started paying attention.

In my opinion trolling is the most effective way to catch large numbers of Crappies. Nothing says you have to keep all of them. A responsible angler will keep only what he needs. As a guide, catching a lot of fish was my job. As a responsible angler, father and promoter of this great sport, it was my duty to keep only what was allowed by law or common sense. If you lack in either of these disciplines, trolling probably isn't for you.

Recently the NACA chose to add a division specifically for multi pole artificial only fishing. This was a bold move for an organization originally founded on the "one pole pro" philosophy. By providing an opportunity for this group of fishermen to compete, will in my opinion result in overall growth for the organization.

With that said I'll share with you a few tips for early season trolling.

As soon as the main lake water temperature rises just a few degrees, start looking for schools of fish at the mouths of the creeks and coves. Most lakes in the Southern US get down to about 34 or 38 degrees in the dead of winter. By the middle of February the water will start to warm ever so slightly. A few degrees are all it takes. A change from 38 to 42 or 44 will get the fish moving. They are easy to see on your depth finder. In most cases the fish will be suspended from 5' down to 18' or so in water 20' - 25' deep. They will, on occasion, be flat on the bottom. But when they get up in the water column, usually in the middle part of the day, you can put up the Kentucky rig and start trolling.

One of the most effective techniques you can use to locate and catch schooling Crappies at this time of year is trolling with a Crank bait Jig combination. This is controlled depth fishing. Crank baits are predictable and generally consistent when it comes to the depth they run. The better you can control the depth of your bait, the more successful your day on the water will be. I use Bill Norman Deep Little N's. This bait will consistently run 17' - 18' deep on 6 lb test line.

Depending on the depth of the fish, tie a 20lb test clear mono leader with a 1/32 oz jig attached on to the main line some distance above the Crank bait. If the fish are at 12 - 14 feet, slide the jig up the line 4' - 6'. Remove the belly hook from the Crank bait. This is the hook that gets hung the most when trolling around structure. If you are trolling around heavy cover, remove both hooks or change the rear hook to a single 2/0 hook.

Let the Crank bait back and make sure it is running perfectly straight. This is critical, as the Crank bait will not reach maximum depth if it is not running true. Watch the action that swimming Crank bait puts on that little 1/32 oz jig! It drives Crappies wild! The rattling Crank baits will draw them in even better.

Some may argue that using a large weight on the end of the line is the way to get the jig down to the fish. This will work. However, you can cover a lot more water with the Crank bait jig setup and you are not as handicapped by the wind. Once you locate a school of fish, go back and tear 'em up with a tight line technique or vertical jigging. But to cover a lot of water and catch a lot of fish early in the year the Crank bait jig combination can't be beat.

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