Just Getting Started

[drake01]

Yeah so I'm taking the big leap from crappie fishing with my little ultra lite to rigging up the pontoon with a spider rig setup.... Ordered SCR143 rods and Lews Mr.Crappie reels to go with them.... That's gonna cover my side of the boat, my father n law is looking at going with scr12 on the other corner.... Excited to put this rig out on Kentucky Lake and start catching some slabs....
So having not fished this setup and not used to handling rods of this length, am I in for a serious time getting used to this, especially the 14' rods? I'm a little worried about how netting fish will go too, I'm guessing I'll pull and slide the fish across the water into my net, no problemo...
Any suggestions for a greenhorn would be greatly appreciated!!!

[CrappiePappy]

I wondered about that, too, when going from 5-7' rods & casting ... to 10' rods spider rigging ... then to 14' rods spider rigging & pushing jigs/cranks. Well, I didn't have as much of a problem as I first thought I would. And even though I'm basically just starting to use the 14' rods, and only use 3 at a time, it's saved me from getting skunked on a few trips.

I've basically just swung the fish into the boat with the rods, even the near 2lb fish ... but, I did have a 8' long net aboard, that I could have used. I suggest having such a net (or a longer one) for use on a pontoon, seeing as how you're a bit higher off the water than I am in my ProCraft 16Bass. And getting one with a rubber coated netting is probably the best way to go ... especially if you intend to use double hook rigs, or cranks. Otherwise, the hooks do have a tendency to stick into the nylon fiber nets. That takes time to untangle, and can either damage your netting or cause you to have to cut the hook (or mash the barb down) to extract it.

And you should also "test" the net to see if it floats !! If it doesn't ... some sections of a "pool noodle" and some zip ties can be added to make it float. The "unused" portions of that pool noodle can also be used to wrap some pre-tied leaders around, making them handy to replace broken ones.

1/2 - 3/4oz trolling weights or barrel sinkers can be placed on your main line to keep your lines vertical at spider rigging speeds, & a duo-lock snap or barrel swivel tied on the end will allow you to quick change your rigs. I also like to place a plastic bead on the main line, between the snap/swivel and a barrel sinker (like I use). I use the larger beads so that the hole in the bead is big enough to slide over the knot. This keeps the weight from doing any damage to the knot.

A buddy of mine uses the torpedo shaped trolling weights ... and rigs his leaders with the trolling weight attached. He has a swivel on the main line, and attaches the leader rig to that. He also uses pool noodle sections to store his leader rigs, trolling weight & all. What he does is slice open the noodle down one side, to the middle hole of the noodle. Then he puts zip ties around it & cinches it back down to where the noodle is fairly taught. Then he inserts the trolling weight into the slit he cut, and wraps the leader around the noodle & sticks the hook into it to secure the wrap. He uses the trolling weights from Crawdads, which have ring eyes on each end. There are other brands that have a swivel on one or both ends. And I think one of our members makes/sells one with a swivel on one end.

Hope some of this helps, or at least gives you some ideas on how to make your spider rig setup work to your advantage. Luck2ya !!

[drake01]

Wow, thanks for such a detailed response.... You brought up a lot I haven't really put much thought into.... I do utilize noodles in storing my trotline and a bucket for my leaders and place my limb lines in a bucket as well.... Sounds like using a noodle for the leaders is a easy way to store them.....

I guess I've got a long way to go, but definitely excited to get started, thanks again!

[NIMROD]

Some use special long handle nets specifically for spider rigging