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Oct CrappieNOW - Advanced Seasonal Structure by Tim Huffman
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Alex Johnson swings a fish into the boat. It’s the reward for finding a spot and making a good
presentation.
Many fishermen are comfortable dropping a bait into stained or dingy waters full of
snags, stumps and logs. The same fisherman may be uncomfortable fishing clear water
with lots of rocks and boulders. There are challenges but the hard cover can produce
quality crappie if the right tactics are used.
Alex Johnson competes in tournaments with the Central Alabama Crappie Club and
Crappie Masters. He calls home waters the Alabama River and Lake Jordan. The two
places require different tactics with Jordan providing deeper, clearer water with big
boulder opportunities. Similarities include current and structure providing current breaks.
“There are times when we spider rig and times when we long line,” says Johnson.
“Like most fishermen, I prefer to feel the thump of the bite so I’ll be using one pole when
possible. The one pole fishing is more conducive to Lake Jordan because much of the
time the boat traffic is very heavy on the lake. Casting is one of our most productive
methods.”
Johnson says casting is more efficient. Bottom, cover and bites can be felt when
concentrating on one bait and having direct contact with it. Vertical jigging is great too,
but he prefers to cast unless the cover is too dense, like a thick brushpile.
Casting has disadvantages too. He says it may take 15 casts to get oriented correctly
to the cover. How the fish are facing, the depth, and other variables can cause exact
location of a specific piece of cover to be difficult to find.
“Casting is so much different than spider rigging,” says Johnson. “Casting also
changes with current and wind. Spider rigging might take more fish in a quick period of
time but we can have several casts made in the time it takes to rig up, bait and get poles
out for spider rigging. We can have it tested, a couple fish in the boat, or be gone in the
amount of time it takes to get set up for spider rigging.”
Johnson says a key factor to any cover is shade. He tries to make the first
presentations to the shady side. And, the presentations are from the direction that looks
the most natural with the current.
“If fish are active casting is efficient and the crappie will hit immediately. If the fish
are reluctant, the first thing to try is presenting the jig from different angles. We usually
use a buoy to mark the non-visible cover. Experience helps a fisherman know which
structures are most likely to produce but sometimes only by fishing can you know for
sure if a spot does or doesn’t have crappie.
“A lot of our scouting, finding and elimination cover, like boulders, is with Side
Scanning. A look at side imaging, down imaging and sonar from different angles is
important to make sure we see crappie if they are there. Down imaging really help
pinpoint things.”
Johnson says he and his partner, often his wife Jenni, like to pick spots with lots of
fish when they are fishing for fun. He says tournaments are different because instead of
looking for spots with a hundred fish they want covers with only three or four fish on
them because they are likely to be better crappie. This is especially true on the river.
“It’s difficult passing spots with lots of fish in search of bigger fish like we do during
tournaments. The exception to the rule is when the bite is tough and then we have better
odds with larger schools.”
Presentation
“We start by using our electronics, pinpointing a spot and then using a marker. We
position the boat based upon the wind. I would rather have a 10 mph wind than a 5 mph
that is shifting. A shifting wind makes maintaining boat setup difficult because we
position and then circle the cover casting from different angles and covering all sides.
“Something we use a lot is the spotlock on our Ultrex. You can set it anywhere you
need it and fish from there.”
Johnson has recently made a switch from monofilament to braided line. The 8-pound
test braided line has small diameter and limpness needed. The huge advantage is better
sensitivity. He says being able to feel the bottom, cover, distinguishing a bluegill bite and
other advantages of better sensitivity has made the move worthwhile. Presentations are
more productive because of the feel.
Another presentation ‘game changer’ has been a Quick-Set jighead in 1/16 and 1/8-
ounce. He says cover can be fished with the weedless head in places a regular jig would
hang-up immediately. A hang-up with a regular jig usually ends the catching at that spot.
Johnson prefers a pink or unpainted head with some type of Bobby Garland body.
The colors vary with water clarity. His wife Jenni likes the Garland Baby Shad with lots
of glitter. “I’m a woman. I like anything that sparkles so I like a sparkle body on a pink
head.”
Final tip: “Crappie like a little current but not a lot. I believe they get behind big rocks
or other cover so they can ambush bait when it floats by. So look for a current break and
present your bait where it looks natural.
For more tips from Johnson and articles/tips for catching more fish right now, check out
the free October 2017 issue of CrappieNow Digital Magazine at www.crappienow.com
.
