By Jim Gronaw
Ken Smith, of Sharon , Pennsylvania, had a roomy cooler with a bag of ice. He told me that we would have no problem putting slab crappies in there. ‘We just gotta’ find them’ he said. We were fishing 13,000 acre Pymatuning Lake, a flood control, flatland reservoir that bordered Ohio and Pennsylvania in the Quaker States northwest corner. It was mid May of 2014 and the weather, and fishing, was about to heat up. Known as a premier musky and walleye fishery, ‘Pymie’ also boasted a population big, slab crappies that drew the crowds in the spring.
Ken introduced me to what he called ‘hang-gliding’…a simple form of wind drifting for pre-spawn crappies and not quite, but very similar to, spider rigging. We each had three rods out the lee side of the boat and were drifting through a huge shallow and wood filled portion of the lake where the pre-spawn fish were making a move. With air temperatures of 80 degrees predicted for the next several days, Ken anticipated a hot bite. A southerly wind would push us through the stumpfields and submerged laydowns and our rods would bow over to the waters edge as crappies, bluegills and yellow perch, big and small, would aggressively take our 1/16th ounce jigs.. His Garmin picked up fish near the bottom in 7 to 9 feet of water. In the course of a warm mid-May morning we would catch more than 50 panfish, with two-thirds of them being robust, nothern black crappies from 13 to 15 inches. Hang-gliding, spider-rigging, call it what you want…it works!
Throughout the south and parts of the mid-west, the technique of ‘spider-rigging’ for crappie has been an effective tactic for catching these tasty fish throughout the entire monthly calendar. This is not a new gig, as spider rigging has been popular for at least 15 years and has seen a lot of improvements. It is not only used by crappie tournament pros, but by many recreational panfishers as well. As this tactic continues to emerge and evolve it may serve upper midwest and Great Lakes area panfishers as well.
Here’s the basic spider-rig scoop…multiple rods are fished out of the bow of the boat with long, usually fiberglass spinning rods, presenting baits or lures at a variety of depths to locate the fish. Ideally, eight rods are deployed, four on either side of the bow and a pair of anglers sit side-by-side, assigned to the four rods on their side of the bow. Critical components for success are detailed sonar equipment to locate the schools of crappie and a sturdy and well distributed rod-holder system to spread the baits in an arc around the front of the boat. Toss in quality electric trolling units and GPS mapping for pinpoint fish location and you’re set. Just add minnows, jigs, and hopefully, a fillet knife for the cooler of slabs you will catch!
I was introduced to this ‘spider rigging’ tactic by Alabama crappie expert Dan Dannenmueller this past May on Pennsylvania’s’ Shenango Lake. A seasoned tournament crappie pro, Dannenmueller was the 2011 and 2012 Crappie Angler of the Year and has numerous tournament wins and lofty finishes on his resume. Along with us was David Baynard of Manning, South Carolina. Baynard customizes rod holders for all kinds of fishing applications. The Driftmaster rod holders that many of us currently use are his creations and they are, in my opinion, the premier American made rod holders today. I have several that I have used for big blue cats over the years and they are top-notch.
When we hit Shenango in May of 2014 the water was high but that didn’t keep Dan and David from locating the fish. With an arc-like setup at the bow of the boat, they put out eight rods with double jigs set at varying depths from two to eight feet. Often, springtime, and summer crappie as well, can be throughout the water column, hence the importance of quality sonar units that can accurately track the fish. They used 1/16-ounce jigs with Bobby Garland Baby Shad plastics and trolled in a methodical pattern to stay on fish throughout the morning. Productive colors were Blue Ice and Monkeys Milk from the BG collection.
Action was steady for most of the morning, as white crappies and the occasional black crappie would dip the long, 14-foot rod tips sometimes to the waters surface, signaling a strike. Some hits were a lot more tentative, barely moving the sensitive, hi-vis rod tips. Dannenmueller pointed out that you could run through the edges of a school of crappie several times before the fish would actively take the baits. Often, crappie pros use live minnows or Berkely Gulp! Minnows or Crappie Nibbles as a tipping agent on their jigs to temp lethargic crappie during a tough bite.
Most of our fish ran nine to 11 inches, with the larger fish being good quality eating fish. At one point a pole on Dan’s side took a sharp drop and it was clear that he was into a much nicer fish. After a nice tussle, I slipped the net under a fine, pre-spawn white crappie that taped nearly 15 inches and would push two pounds. It would be our best crappie of about 50 in a three-hour spider-rigging effort. Along the way, Dan landed a pair of hybrid stripers nearing 20 inches and a four-pound channel catfish on the long poles. Keep in mind that each pole had a small, but servicable baitcasting reel and quality 6 pound mono. So when bigger game came knocking, you had a chance to land them. Cool!
As southern crappie fishing tactics slowly head north, anglers should be able to realize the effectiveness of this multi-rod system. You are essentially ‘pushing’, not pulling the baits, as with most trolling applications. In my nearby Pennsylvania, waters, as well as in Maryland, an angler is permitted three rods, which could equate to a 6 rod effort for a pair of anglers or go with an eight-rod set if three are in the boat. For more information on spider rigging and other excellent year ‘round crappie fishing tools contact these manufactures and companies…
DRIFTMASTER ROD HOLDERS at www.driftmaster.com. Contact David Baynard, Black River Tools, 6509 Highwaym260, Manning, SC, phone 803-473-4927.
BOBBY GARLAND CRAPPIE BAITS at www.bobbygarlandcrappie.com. They make many colors and varieties of panfish soft plastics as well as bass and saltwater lures.
JOIN CRAPPIE.COM…Likely one of the top panfish/crappie fishing sites, with state-wide forums and info on all the latest techniques and hot bites.
