How to Match Crappie Fishing Tactics with B’n’M Products (Part 2)

March 22, 2018

How to Match Crappie Fishing Tactics with B’n’M Products (Part 2)

Phillip Gentry

In part 1 of this two part series, we profiled the tactics and gear needed to engage in multiple rod tactics to fish for crappie while making some recommendations of B’n’M products that would help get the job done.

This article will continue that series, discussing single pole crappie tactics, how and when they work and also making some important gear recommendations.

Many crappie poles predate the time when placing multiple rods in rod holders and incorporating the boat into the strategy of placing or propelling the baits where they would appeal to crappie.

To many anglers, single pole tactics provide the most excitement when crappie fishing because the angler imparts the action to the bait and in return gets to feel the bite, alerting the angler when to set the hook. We’ll start the profile of single pole tactics with one of the newer ones, which actually uses the rod to propel the bait into the fishing area. It’s called Dock Shooting.

Shooting docks is one of the newer single pole tactics and the B’n’M pros have designed the best rod on the market for this tactic.

 

Dock Shooting is an immensely popular single pole tactic using a limber rod and spinning reel to slingshot a lightweight crappie jig, skipping it into tight spaces beneath boat docks. Crappie love boat docks year round, but particularly in lakes that are otherwise void of suitable cover.

A few years ago, B’n’M’s pro staffers collectively designed the Sharp Shooter 6, a rod specially crafted for shooting docks. With its one piece blank of 98% graphite, specially designed guides and cork handles, the Sharp Shooter 6 is the best dock shooting rod on the market.

Crappie can’t resist the sight of a small, buoyant jig that the jig sinks slowly beneath a dock to entice a strike. The bite is detected by watching the line. Another option is using a bobber with a slip cork, the jig and cork remain together as the bait is shot under overhead cover. The cork then suspends the jig as the desired depth and the cork alerts the angler to the bite.

Whether using a cork or just a crappie jig, B’n’M poles have the sensitivity and the backbone to get the job done.

 

Casting a jig or any other bait for crappie is pretty universal with casting baits to any fish. Crappie jigs are the preferred artificial bait for crappie and are still quite effective for targeting spawning fish or fish holding on structure. Pairing live minnows under a cork and casting the rig off of a dock or over structure hasn’t changed since you were a kid and still accounts for a lot of crappie fish frys. B’n’M offers several high quality casting rods including Buck’s Graphite Casting rods, Duck Commander Ultralite Crappie rod, and the Float & Fly.

Single Pole Jigging, also referred to as Dipping or Finessing, is using a single rod to fish vertically over or around cover. The jig pole is the basis of all crappie fishing. Ideally you’ll want a sensitive rod to detect light bites with enough backbone to horse a large fish out away from cover. Most jig poles use a reel only for storing line, all of the fight comes against the flexibility of the rod.

Jig poles make up a large portion of B’n’M’s crappie rod stable with the Sam’s Super Sensitive, Buck’s Best Ultralite Pole with Bottom Seat and Touch System, and the original Buck’s Graphite Jig Pole being some of our most popular selections.

 B’n’M offers the only specially designed crappie finesse rod called the Slabtail Jig rod. The Slabtail was designed to present very small jigs on extremely light line during cold weather when crappie are at their most picky. In extremely cold weather, these tactics, and this rod, are hard to beat around deep docks and bridge overpasses.

Cold water and finesse fishing go hand in hand with the Slabtail jig rod.

 

During the spawn, anglers don waders and walk the shallows, especially when fishing hard bottomed shallow areas with ample shallow water cover to jig fish for crappie. While many jig poles will fit the bill for type of hand-to-hand combat, B’n’M has two selections – the Capps and Coleman wading rod and the Santee Elite jig pole that are specifically designed by members of our pro-staff for going into the bush and pulling out slab crappie.

Next time you’re in the market for high quality crappie gear that fits every need for putting slabs in the boat, visit bnmpoles.com and check out our huge selection of quality fishing products.

 

---

Also in Weekly Tips and Techniques