This is a re submit with a few extra paragraphs.

Spider Rigging 101

For those of you interested in starting to Spider Rig, there are several ways to go. My best advise is to buy the RIGHT equipment first. Don't go cheap and move up. That will cost you twice the money in the long run. Buy the best your budget will allow.

I'll try to give you some options on starting, as there is no right or wrong way to do it. What's good for one guy, may not be for others.

We'll start off buy looking at the basic equipment needed to start.

ROD RACK
You will need a rack of some sort to hold your trolling poles while fishing. There are lots of choices out there. Pick the ones that YOU like best. They all work very well. Tite Lok, Spider Lok, Hi Tech, Cumberland, Perotti, and Driftmaster are some of the most common and popular brands. Lots of guys even make their own racks if they have that capacity. Just remember to buy or use the one YOU like best. Your buddy may have different needs than you do.


RODS
You next will need some Rods or as most spider riggers say, Poles. Again there are lots of choices. Length, price range, and style are something to consider. I suggest something that you can use for other types of fishing, or what I call an all around rod. A rod you could Spider Rig, Pull Cranks, Power Troll, and Long Line with if you choose to without buying another set of rods. You can get a more specialized rod for each style of fishing AFTER you decide whether or not Spider Rigging is for you. BnM, Southern Crappie Rods, Pinnacle, Ozark, Crappiemaxx, and several others should have what you need. Each company makes a good all around model. The BnM PST, the Ozark Trolling pole are both good choices as are the Southern Crappie trolling poles. Buy the rod that gives you the most bang for your budget.

Most spider riggers use 12 to 16' rods. I think the 14' is by far the most popular. As with all of your equipment choices, choose the one that fits YOU best.


REELS
The next choice you will make is the type of reel you want. You can choose either spinning or bait casting reels, and your choice should take into consideration what else you will do with your poles besides spider rig. Both style reels work well, and buy the best you can afford of whichever one you choose. A quality, but inexpensive spinning reel is all you really need to hold your line unless you plan on expanding your trolling into Crankbaits, or Long Lining. If this is the case, buy a reel that will allow you to expand your fishing techniques when you get ready to do that.

LINE
This will be your next decision to make, and even tho there are different brand choices, I suggest a Hi Viz mono in 8-12lb test. You'll SEE the light biters moving the line better with a Hi Viz line, and will help you with less line tangles (which are normal). You'll learn to overcome most of the tangles after a few trips on the water. Use less poles to start until you get comfortable with your equipment and you'll have a more positive experience and catch more fish.

RIGS
This is an easy one, but very confusing for some. You can buy a nice pre tied rig from BnM (The Capps and Coleman rig), or you can get a really nice pre made rig at Grizzly Jig. You will want to buy a rig with a 3/8 to 1oz. weight on it. I use a 1/2oz rig in winter, and a 1oz rig when it gets warmer. Use smaller weight for colder seasons when the key word is SLOW (.1 to .4 mph), and a little larger weight during warmer seasons when you can speed up (.4 to .8 mph) to create a reaction bite. Some guys choose to use one size year round however. After you master the spider rigging technique, or should I say get comfortable with it, you then may want to start tying your own rigs the way you choose.

TROLLING MOTORS and ELECTRONICS
You are going to need a trolling motor and a fish/depth finder. You DO NOT need the best you can buy to start, what you have now will work just fine. As you progress in your trolling, you can upgrade your equipment as you see fit. GPS, Side and Down Imaging, Remote Control Trolling Motors and the like are nice, and a lot of guys use them, but we are talking about getting started here. Don't go sell the farm before you know this style of fishing is for YOU!!!

TECHNIQUE
In the colder months as Fall starts to take over before Winter, as mentioned above, usually the key word is SLOW. Fish are cold blooded creatures and their metabolism slows way down as the water cools. I did say usually because even in the cooler months of the year, a warm front may trigger a bit faster presentation to get a reaction bite from the fish.

In the spring, as the water begins to warm, a little faster presentation may be more productive because of the fishes, and more importantly the Bait Fishes metabolism is becoming faster and speeding up your presentation just a few 10th's will be look more natural for the crappie. Again, a reaction bite may be the key to success.

POWER TROLLING and PUSHING CRANKS
These two methods are both forms of spider rigging, and the only difference is speed, weight size, and bait selection.

(A) Power Trolling (Fast Spider Rigging)
About the time the crappie begin to leave the bank after the spawn, the best technique is to speed it on up to around 1mph with big jigs and/or minnows. The fish are stressed from the spawn and with the water temps moving up to the 75-80 degree mark, the fish will move out to the secondary points and ledges off the bank. At this time of the year, the bait fish are scattered and so are the crappie. By speeding up your presentation you cover more water while the crappie are in that scattered pattern.

I use the same spider rigging technique as I've done all year, but I use a 2-3oz weight to keep the baits down at that 1 mph speed. Nothing else changes except the weight size and the speed of my presentation. That's why I mentioned an all around pole in the pole section. You will need a pole with a spine that can handle up to a 4oz weight, but still be sensitive enough at the tip when going slower so you can see the lite bites with less weight.

(B) Pushing Cranks (Faster Spider Rigging)
As the fish move to open water and the water temps start staying above 80 degrees, most guys start their summer pattern of pushing and pulling crank baits. Pushing cranks is also a form of spider rigging, and as with Power Trolling, the only difference is the speed, and the weight, but this time we'll be using a different style bait as well.

When spider rigging crank baits, the key is Speed. You will now be pushing the cranks at 1.5-2 mph as a rule, even though a slower presentation around the 1 mph range does work at times also. I use a 3 or 4oz weight for this form of spider rigging depending on how deep the fish are, and I use a 3 to 4' leader off the end of my weight to attach the crank. At these speeds, a little math will help with figuring how deep the weight and bait are actually running, but trial and error work just about as well. Hey, just let out line till ya catch em. DO NOT OVER THINK THIS TECHNIQUE. Lots of guys get confused here and try to make it more difficult than it is. Just put a bigger weight on and a crank bait and go fish. You'll teach yourself what to do in a trip to the lake or two. Just remember that you are now fishing a little deeper and going faster so be careful to not let your front lines get in the trolling. Yeah, yeah, I've done it to many times. Just be aware of that issue and you'll be fine.


In closing let me say that on Crappie.Com, you will find lots of Good People willing to help you out. If you have not tried spider rigging before, I'm sure you can find someone here that will be more than happy to take you out and let you see how things work. It will definitely help you make some of your decisions about what gear you prefer, and it will help you "Get A Feel" for for it.

Thank You,
BRM