Shootin' Boat Docks for Big Crappie with Capt. Chuck Rollins and Joe Ewing
How
To Articles
Catching
Crappie under docks
Catching crappie under docks can be some of the fastest and
easiest way to catch crappie once you understand how to do
it. You'll think your taking candy from a baby after you
discover how easy it is to load the boat with crappie,
shooting docks. First of all you must understand that
crappie can be found in large numbers under docks. They like
docks because of the shade and cover it gives them. Docks
also attract food for crappie the same way bridges do. The
best way to catch crappie under these docks from a boat is
to use a technique called shooting. First you need a Wally
Marshall Mr Crappie 5.2– 6.5ft light action rod with a
closed faced or spinning reel rigged with 4-10 lb Mr Crappie
Hi-vis line and a 1/16 or 1/32 oz jig. Then you put out
about 3-4 ft of line and use your free hand to grab the head
of the jig. Only use two fingers and grab the head with the
hook facing outwards. Now by pulling on the head of the jig
pull till the pole bends a little bit, aim towards your
target and release the jig head. Now this is of course going
to be tough at first but if you can master this, you can put
that jig up in the darkest places under that dock. I can
also assure you most fishermen can't do this therefore that
puts you at a huge advantage. When you get good at this you
can shoot a 1/16 oz jig and place it with accuracy under any
dock, yes even the ones with only 4-6 inches of clearance.
Another way I get my jig under docks is skipping it. Just
like you skip a rock, all you do is cast with a little force
and keep the angle as flat as possible. Learning these two
techniques can make the difference between catching none and
catching your limit of nice slabs! Good luck!
Catching Crappie from bridges
Catching crappie from bridges is generally an easy thing to
do year around. The crappie holds to the area for several
reasons. The bridge offers the fish cover, shade, food
supply, and year around comfort on deeper bridges. The
average angler will just tie up to one set of pillars on the
bridge and set back with a couple of rods rigged with
minnows and just wait till they bite. That’s fine for just
relaxing but if you really want to catch some fish you’ve
got to move around. I have found the best and most
productive way is to use my trolling motor and work around
each and every pillar, by the time I’ve fished 2-3 sets of
pillars I know if the fish are biting there or not. The
season determines where you start fishing on a long bridge
with lots of pillars. Here in
Texas
it’s not uncommon for the bridges to be ¼ - ½ mile long
with pillars every 30 ft. or so deciding where to start can
be very important. If you know the depth the crappie are at
that time of year just start at that depth. Otherwise fish
the bridge in sections. Let’s say its mid winter so you
may want to start on the deeper pillars. Fish 2-3 sets and
then move down to a different depth and try there and so on.
Just remember deep bridges hold fish year around so unless
the bite is just no good at the time your there you should
catch some crappie. Remember also bridges are just one of
many spots to catch crappie. So if you really want to be
able to catch crappie all the time you’ve got to have more
tricks up your sleeve.
Trolling
What
is Slow Trolling/ Spider Rigging
The slow-trolling method
known as spider rigging has been used for years. It will
work on nearly all bodies of water. Using long crappie
poles, the idea is to cover as much water as possible to
find the elusive crappie.
Loading up six to eight rods on the front of the boat allows
me to cover a wide path and have a more stable boat while
trolling. With two people sitting in the front of the boat,
the added weight pushes the boat deeper into the water,
stabilizing it. This prevents waves from constantly bouncing
my poles and making my bait bounce up and down. Unlike white
bass fishing or hybrid fishing most crappie will not hit
your bait if it's moving fast.
I also have my transducer on my trolling motor and the graph
is up front so I can position my boat over the break lines
of a creek channel by keeping a constant look at my
electronics and making constant adjustments with my trolling
motor. In most cases I am fishing the sides of these drop
offs and by watching my graph I am able to keep my boat
directly over this area.
Gear & technique
I troll with six to eight 10 foot Mr Crappie poles, mounted
on a Bee-Ready rod-holder system. I usually rig my rods with
two hooks by tying on a swivel and two leader lines of
12-pound test. The first leader is about 6 inches long. I
run a bottom leader (dropper) of about 24- 30 for catching
suspended fish. my rigs are weighted with an egg sinker
attached to the 24-inch dropper, between the swivel and the
bottom hook or lure. I secures the sinker by running the
long leader through the weight 4 times then attaching it to
the swivel. I favor a 1/2-ounce slip sinker, although I will
switch to a 3/4-ounce on windy days or if I am fishing
deeper than 35-40ft.
Winter
is when I spider rig the most, because crappies hold deeper,
and on the edge of the channels, relating to a break line.
Since crappies can be scattered anywhere along a break line,
I think my chances are better when spider rigging with
multiple poles rather than trying to vertically jig with one
rod. When spider rigging an open bank I will use the
trolling motor to pull the boat at a speed at which my lines
are less than a 15 degree angle I watch my lines carefully
checking them at any hint of movement. I will lift my pole
as soon as I detect anything unusual on my pole. Crappie can
hit extremely lightly and if you don't lift your line you
are probably missing fish. During the other seasons I don't
troll much because I am able to catch crappie faster on the
many lake docks and man made brush piles.
I will always troll against the wind, I can maintain much
better boat control that way. If I get hung on something I
can let the wind just push me back and I wont have to
retrieve all my lines and turn the boat around. Good luck if
you try this technique and be patient. At first it can be
frustrating keeping that many poles going at the same time.
IT'S OFFICIAL !
NEW JR ANGLER STATE RECORD & WATER BODY RECORD-
Caught while fishing with guide Chuck Rollins on Cedar Creek
Lake on a calm May morning.
Bigcrappie.com
is now responsible for the current lake record white
crappie, Jr Angler State record, Jr Angler lake record for
both white & black crappie. A total of 4 new records on
Cedar Creel Lake.
NEW
RECORD!
11-25-08
Emily Campbell of Plano caught this 25.25 inch long Hybrid
Striper that weighed 7.66lbs. The fish was caught on
11-25-08 using 6lb line and a crappie jig while crappie
fishing
Below
is a picture of Guide Chuck Rollins and Emily with her record
fish!
LAST
RECORD!
Five
year old Michael Stroud from Van, Tx caught this 6.49lb
Hybrid Striper while fishing with www.BigCrappie.com
Guide Service. The Hybrid Striper is an official new
Jr Angler Lake Record. It was a whopping 24.25 inches long and
weighed in at 6.49 lbs. It
was caught on a 3/4 ounce spoon in 20 ft of water on
8-27-08 Michael
hooked and reeled in the fish on an Abu Garcia spinning reel &
an Ugly Stick rod spooled with 15lb test line. The fish fought
5 year old Micheal about 5 minutes being landed. This
picture is courtesy of www.BigCrappie.com
Guide Service. To learn more about catching big fish give
them a call at 903-288-5798.
Below
is a picture of Michael Stroud holding up the fish.
Behind
him is guide Chuck Rollins of BigCrappie.com Guide Service.
Click
HERE
to view the TP&WD web site listing the new record.