Thread: Trolling for crappie

I was down there on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and saw several guys trolling from the back of the boat. Watched them catch several fish. My son and I were still spider rigging and catching them pretty good. I've never tried it myself, but in the open water of KY lake it's gotta be a good idea and looks like that in high winds would probably work better than spider rigging. I'm liable to try it myself just to experiment. Just FYI....KY lake is really turning on. I found water temp from 55 to 58 and the fish are hitting good. This cold front will probably stall things for a little bit.

Thanks. When we were down at Weiss last week and the water was just getting into the mid 50's and the fish were really turning on. They were on the main lake and moving into the creeks. I figured Ky wouldn't be far behind. I might try and get down in the next couple of weeks. I've never really fished Ky for crappie much, mostly bass. We tore them up on the long line trolling down there, which is about the only way they fish for them. Bryan

i went down to weiss last week aswell, launched from jr marina, i had never longline trolled before but that was the deal down their, really big fat fish, several 2 pounds. i think i will try doing that up here when the water temp comes up abit.

Originally Posted by crappie52

i went down to weiss last week aswell, launched from jr marina, i had never longline trolled before but that was the deal down their, really big fat fish, several 2 pounds. i think i will try doing that up here when the water temp comes up abit.

When you say longline trolling just what is that method. I'm guessing you are not talking about crankbait trolling but some other form. Can you describe it for me. Is it like the side pulling Gant does in TN.

Hey crappie52 we were staying at JR's on Tue. thru Thur. and went out with one of there guides on Wed. We were in a black Stratos. Those were definetly some fat fish. My Dad caught a few at Nolin this week and was complaining about how small a 10 inch fish was here. Steve, when we say long line trolling, we are using 1/32 or 1/16 oz jigs and will make a cast out from the boat and lock the bale and put them in rod holders and pull them behind the boat. We used different length poles to space out the rods so they didn't get tangled. The speed of the trolling motor determines how deep the jigs are. You have to figure out how fast the fish want them and how deep they are. It's pretty simple and it puts a lot of fish in the boat. Hope this explains it for you. Bryan

I would imagine when doing this you are using some type of curly tail or roadrunner or slider that has action. Not a typical tube. Is this correct?

Originally Posted by JTMavs

I would imagine when doing this you are using some type of curly tail or roadrunner or slider that has action. Not a typical tube. Is this correct?

Most people I know, that are long line trolling on Weiss ... are using marabou jigs. Slider grubs, Roadrunners, and curly tail plastics aren't all that popular, for trolling there. The major jig, with any type of plastic body, that's used down there ... is a Jiffy Jig, Hal Fly, or a custom made imitation of them.
That's been my observation, anyway. ............ cp

Hey Anyone.....When long line trolling with a jig, what happens when you have to stop to land a fish or get hung on one of the lines? Don't all your lines go to the bottom and hang up? I would like to start doing this and I need all the help I can get. Any help is appreciated.