Besides this vertical approach, Tryon also pitches a jig to the front or sides of a pile, so it slowly falls to the bottom in pendulum fashion, at times allowing the jig to swing across the top of the brush and periodically ricochet off a branch.
Spring crappies often favor shallow piles where they may also spawn. To probe such thickets that may lie in just a couple feet of water, Tryon switches to an Outlaw IM-7 model 1102 Crappie Rod with a Shimano Sedona 500 FA spinning reel and 6-pound mono. He notes this 11-footer has more backbone than the Heaton model, and this power helps to rapidly extract feisty spawning fish from the quagmire of limbs.
Throughout the year, he fishes brushpiles from 2 feet down to 22 feet. To ply deep brush or when the wind is testy, he switches to heavier jigs, either a 3/32-ounce jig or two 1/16-ouncers spread 20 inches apart.
Crappies sometimes vacate the brushpiles and move to riprap or boulder-strewn areas. When that occurs, Tryon maintains his vertical approach, allowing the jig to graze bottom and occasionally bounce off rocks, by easing along with his bow-mounted electric. At times, however, he pitches the jig and allows it to slowly swing back to the boat, as it travels along the bottom and glances off rocks.
Outside the Spawn Period, however, crappies often are widely scattered along these rocky environs, and you must cover a lot of terrain at a variety of depths to find them. He says it’s essential to maintain a methodical, unhurried approach.
One advantage of a long rod is in keeping shadows and boat noise away from the quiet spots he fishes. By adroitly manipulating his trolling motor and long rod, Tryon remains about 8 feet from the fish he’s trying to tempt. In his eyes, it’s the stealthiest way to vertically present jigs at various depths in snag-infested lairs.
The Hibdons’ Dock Tactics
Kehde: About 170 miles east of the waters Tryon fishes lies Lake of the Ozarks. In late fall, its crappies tend to gather under some of the countless floating docks that clutter this waterway’s 1,150 miles of shoreline. During this season, noted Missouri bass pros Guido and Dion Hibdon, father and son, are home from the bass tournament circuits to enjoy many autumn days fishing for crappies under these structures.
To lure fish holding under docks, the Hibdons use 10-foot spinning rods to reach around boats and over elements of boat lifts. Spooling with 10-pound-test Spiderwire Stealth and using a 1/32-ounce jig, they deftly pitch to corners of the boat slip and swim the jigs a foot or so under the dock floats.
Dion Hibdon notes that a 1/16-ounce jig sinks too fast, making it difficult to slowly swim it just a foot or two under the docks, where crappie like to hold in late fall. He finds that the long pole allows the 1/32-ounce jig to virtually float as it moves beneath the dock, offering a similar appeal as a jig-and-bobber combination.
If they don’t contact crappies under dock floats, the Hibdons may check brushpiles that often are dropped into corners and along the sides of docks. They prefer to slowly swim or swing the jigs past the brush, but if crappies seem tentative they experiment with a vertical presentation, lowering a jig to hover motionless next to or slightly inside a pile.
Bamboozling Crappies at Lake Greeson
Farther south in Arkansas, the guide team of Darryl Morris and Jerry Blake use long poles to probe artificial cover on Lake Greeson, clear-cut by the Corps of Engineers prior to impoundment 50 years ago. “And for some reason, underwater vegetation doesn’t grow here either,” Blake notes.
