Jig's or minner's,I have fri. off and plan on hitting pool in the a.m.,this will be the 1st time for me to try this and I was just wondering what the concensus is
Thank's and Merry HoHo

both will work but I have more confidence with minnows in deep water when trolling.
Good luck!

Spring/Summer = jigs, Fall/Winter = minnows

I can't speak with the experience of Duck Jerky or Chuck Rollins but our experience at Raybob is that minnows are the clear answer for Winter trolling and we've actually had more success with the smaller size minnows. I'd also encourage you to make sure you review all the other advice on the topic of spider trolling. Based on our experience, success is about 90% tied to boat control and the other 10% is equipment and plain old setting the hook. With that, the success of everyone in the boat will be linked to the skills of the guy on the trolling motor. The ability to plot and maintain a course that allows everyone to keep their lines at a consistent depth on a breakline is the key. It's especially important for the guy on the TM to maintain focus even when he is catching a fish, re-baiting or messing with lines. Once you lose your course (especially in wind) it takes a lot of work to get back on course and you end up with lines at 45 deg angles going out the back (not good). We know we've made a "good pass" when we can go 50 - 100 yards along an area with a 10-15' vertical drop and keep the lines within a constant depth that only differs by a foot or so. The only way to catch them successfully is to have your line going straight down at a 90 deg angle and 1-2 cranks of the bottom with slight bumps on the motor. We see people fishing an area and saying "they aren't in here" or "they aren't biting" and we are catching the heck out of them. Only difference is boat control and presentation. When you go with one of the guides, you almost take for granted how easy it is when in fact it is MUCH more difficult to do on your own. I can say that in my case it makes it a LOT easier with my Lund Pro V 1900 as it is very stable and doesn't rock much in the waves (you don't want your bait rocking up and down). Couple that with several good 10' rods, baitcaster reels, Bee Ready rod holders, a two person tandem seat setup, a good foot controlled trolling motor, a good front mounted fish/depth finder, a bunch of pre-made Capps and Coleman rigs and 6-8 doz minnows (for two guys) and you're set. Since my original "training session" with Paul and Jerry, I get better with practice and just keep working at it. I'm convinced that this is a "deadly" technique for winter crappie fishing when they are hanging in deep open water, but clearly requires some practice....especially when the winds pick up. Also, in our experience, for some reason the "keeper ratio" is about 80% or higher when we are spider rigging deep open water and we're already seeing a lot of big fat females with very developed egg sacks. Since Raybob usually experiences a late spawn, I guess it is surprising to see this already.

Great tips Dave, sent ya a pm.


Thanks

Marc

Thank's guy's for the tip's, I know presentation is everything with light wind's forcast for fri. morning I thought I would give it a try,with my little boat if it's windy she's rock'n and roll'n that's why I haven't really tryed the trolling thing. Went by and checked out the new bps and bought a drift anchor(x-mas present to self)well see how it goe's.
MERRY X-MAS

was out at joe pool on sunday because my fish aquarium broke and i didn't have any place for my exotic piranha so i had to dump them in joe pool. went looking for some crappie with my new boat while i was out there, this is my first time trolling for crappie, no luck, was fishing near the creek channel

O-S-D

I don't know Joe Pool at all, but looking at a map, if I were to try spider trolling I would be trying the deep water (35' - 40')points around the dam, the overlook and the park. Or that inside point that separates the two halves of the lake. Not knowing the lake, I don't know what kind of water depths are there.

MasterDave I have never tried spider fishing but would like to and would also like to as you some questions if you don�t mind. [1] Do you do this from the front of the boat? [2] Is there something that holds a certain amount of rods [5or6] for the front of the boat? [3] How do you rig the rods [swivels, leader, size of the weights and ect]? [4] How do you adjust the depth?
Thanks a lot [love this board]

they sell a map of joe pool at academy.

Jigpole,

Dave and most others on this forum use Bee Ready rod holders. You need to fish out the front but if you have more than 2 folks fishing, you can troll 2 more out the back.
Most of the fish we catch this time of year are near the bottom. I'll have a couple rods at 2 cranks up and a couple more at 4 cranks, etc. Once you find the depth, move them all to that depth.
We use the "Caps and Coleman"rig. Do a search and you'll find a pic. I have went to a single rig most of the time when the fish are biting good. Take a 1/2 ounce barrel weight and run your line through the weight about 5 times. This will "peg" the weight. Alot of people want to use a 3/4 ounce weight. This will allow them to move faster and keep their baits down. That is also why they don't catch many fish trolling in the winter. The 1/2 ounce will force you to go slow and that is the key. Leave 12" of tag line and tie a 1/0 light wire Crappie hook. Eagle Claw lazer Sharp with the offset are the sharpest I've found.

Trolling is easy, doing it right is hard and takes practice. Boat control is the key. If you can't go slow and stay under contol, your not gonna catch many fish.
Wind is your enemy!
Go with someone that knows how to troll and it will save you some time. You can't quite understand trolling until you see it done in person.

What Jerry said! Good info!