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Deep Water Crappie #11212273 11/08/15 01:35 PM
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Spiderman Offline OP
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So the game is beginning to change and the crappie will go one of two ways. Either up a creek for temporary relief of the water cooling or deep water to feed on schools of threadfins roaming the lake.

I usually target the crappie over cover in deeper water.

When you are fishing tops that are 7' tall in 25' of water. What brand & length of rod, and setup are you using?

Assuming you are targeting 18' water and then will slowly fish done into the tops from there.


The Truth is six of the seven Dwarfs are not Happy!
Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212277 11/08/15 01:40 PM
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papamark Offline
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I usually start deep and come shallow, but it depends on the sun, Higher the sun, the deeper in the tree top I go. 9 ft rod, 10 lb braid and Thermocline lures - Black Emerald Shiner, Ice Shad, Natural Shad and purple passion on a 1/16 ozz head but if windy, 1/8 oz head, usually pink in color

Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212291 11/08/15 01:50 PM
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Gamblinman Offline
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I fish a 7' rod most of the time for fishing trees or brush. 12' rods for spider rigging. 10' rods for spring shallow water fishing.


Gman

Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212293 11/08/15 01:51 PM
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Spiderman Offline OP
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Thanks Papamark, I catch thousands of crappie during the spring, summer, and fall but for me winter time everything kinda grinds to a halt.

I need to do something different so I don't have the same results.


The Truth is six of the seven Dwarfs are not Happy!
Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212298 11/08/15 02:00 PM
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Spiderman Offline OP
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Gamblinman, is spider rigging the most effective way to catch crappie over deep water in winter time?

What brand 12' rods do you use? I tried the B&M rods at Academy but they felt pretty "wimpy" to me. It's a pretty good investment for the rod holders & rods and I would like to make the right choice?


The Truth is six of the seven Dwarfs are not Happy!
Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212307 11/08/15 02:09 PM
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papamark Offline
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Spider man, clean out your pm;s

Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212516 11/08/15 04:22 PM
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Tony from Oak Point Offline
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Lately for water 15' or deeper I've been using a Pflueger Razor Tip IM-8 Graphite Rod 5'6" Light Action rod, a cheap / light Shakespeare plastic baitcasting reel with 6lb yellow Tuf-line braid, and a 6-10 fluoro leader. If there are obstructions I'll use one jig, fairly clear 2 jigs, or if the crappie are spread out on the graph 3 jigs, with a heavier jig on the bottom. I'll fish two rods at once with an identical setup if the bite is really slow and/or I need to figure out what color of jig they are hitting. The baitcast rig is a lot easier to fish deeper as I can adjust the brake to let the jig fall at just the rate I need and I can set the hook by simply reeling in quickly given the high gear ratio. I mark the line every 5 feet with a sharpie before I go out so I can easily count off the depth without having to drop to the bottom and reel up every time.

You can go with the longer rods and keep a sharp eye with the rod tip but if you plan to feel a thump for a bite that deep you will miss a lot of bites. If you are using a baitcaster and thinner braid you need to use some sort of coated / fused braid or plan for headaches. If the bait is really really light like during the dead of winter I might go to an unltralight spinning setup with 5 or 6 lb fluoro with line conditioner and a short ultralight rod, sometimes even an ice fishing rod.

Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212536 11/08/15 04:33 PM
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Spiderman Offline OP
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Thanks for replying, Allot of good info there.

I use 20lb power pro braid on deeper set ups so marking the line at 5' intervals should be pretty easy. I know with crappie depth is #1 factor to catching fish.


The Truth is six of the seven Dwarfs are not Happy!
Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212558 11/08/15 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted By: Spiderman
Gamblinman, is spider rigging the most effective way to catch crappie over deep water in winter time?

What brand 12' rods do you use? I tried the B&M rods at Academy but they felt pretty "wimpy" to me. It's a pretty good investment for the rod holders & rods and I would like to make the right choice?




Spider rigging can be used very effectively to target schools of fish in deep water in the winter time. There's no doubt there is a lot of work involved, but it can be rewarding. I use some older Wally Marshall rods for my spider rigging set-up. They have served me well. I don't see many spider rigging specific rods on display at the major box stores...Bass Pro may have some. Most of the rods I have seen are specific to jigging and do not have the proper action for spider rigging.

Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212628 11/08/15 05:49 PM
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For 12' rods, I like the Pro Angler. They've got plenty of backbone for hook set (not wimpy) and for using 5/8 or 3/4 oz weights. Also, the longer rod helps when moving so the baits don't tangle down at 25-35 ft. If you want to one pole or two pole so you can feel the bite, then the 7-8' rods work well.
For rod holders, hard to beat the BeeReadys.


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Re: Deep Water Crappie [Re: Spiderman] #11212772 11/08/15 07:24 PM
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tboxfish Offline
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I need to get my BeeReadys mounted on my boat.
I have 6-14" Pro Anglers to use for spider rigging. I still need to get a telescoping net, but I do want to play around with this method this winter and early spring thumb


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