Ever catch a crappie casting one direction and your boat moves resulting in casting at a different angle where you can’t get a bite? I know this happens to anglers everywhere. The result is crappie will only bite if the lure is positioned one way either towards the crappie or casted over the back and brought over without spooking them, but still in the strike zone allowing them to see it and come up and strike it.
Before forward facing sonar crappie anglers just assumed what direction the crappie were facing and casting towards or past structure or cover bringing the lure back or letting it set in the strike zone. Now crappie anglers with forward facing sonar are dialed in to what direction the crappie is facing and what lure presentation is best to get a strike.
“Back before Livescope was popular lure presentation wasn’t as important as it is now,” Oklahoma crappie guide and CrappieMaster Champion Crappie Cowboy Craig Nichols continued, “I used a short 10 foot rod and you could get right on top of the crappie and not spook them. Now the crappie are educated and if you don’t have the presentation, it will spook the crappie. It seems like making a cast from behind the crappie and coming over the back will spook them most of the time. I think that’s because when crappie were young and small everything was trying to eat them.”
How do you know what direction a fish is positioned and looking? “After you have fished with Livescope for a while you can tell what position and direction a crappie is swimming,” Nichols went on, “Now, I mostly drop down to a crappie or drop the lure down and move the lures to the crappie so I don’t spook them. I can control the speed and boat direction with the trolling motor and Power Brakes on the transom of the boat. Total boat control is key to having the right presentation. My Power Brakes has a 2-way stomp switch that can stop the boat, move it backwards or even nudge it forward that allows me to get the lure in the strike zone. I think that’s important because it keeps prop wash or trolling motor noise to a minimal.”
Nichols will either dead stick or cast to a crappie depending on the situation and what strike zone the crappie is in. When casting he will use a 6.5- or 7-foot rod if the crappie are aggressively chasing a lure or switch to a 13 foot when pitching or 15 foot rod when dead sticking. Using the right length rod is key to making the correct presentation.
Attachment 502313
“Crappie can feel the boat,” Nichols went on, “They know you are there! It’s like a game of cat and mouse to get the lure in front of the fish without scaring them. I can tell you these crappie are educated on lures and boats.”
“When dead sticking I will get my lure ready to drop, but not so close to spook them,” Nichols continued, “Then I will bump the trolling motor allowing the lure to drop down to them while gliding over to them looking at it controlling the speed with the trolling motor. I almost always come towards them with the lure facing the fish not the tail.”
Wait, what about standing timber? “Crappie are adjacent to standing timber so I cast past the timber and bring the lure to it where the crappie will be looking or facing the lure,” Nichols continued, “I’m keeping the lure up high and dropping it into the strike zone once it gets closer. Usually, I’m fishing a jig with no weight when fishing standing timber.”
While lures and lure color patterns can be important, Nichols noted if you spook off the crappie before he even sees it; it doesn’t matter what color or size it is. Presentation and keeping the lure in its face is key.
