Here's a post I did many years ago and this new forum is a good place to keep it for future discussion ...
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If you don't mind can you explain what you are meaning when you say contour lines? Some of the beginners might not know.
Contour lines are the lines showing on mapping card Chart views ...
These contours lines show a consistent depth along the line...regardless of how far from the bank the specific contour line runs...
Crappie are a depth oriented fish species ... Following contour lines until a pattern develops allows targeting this aspect of crappie habits ...
http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...psho71omap.png
Rickie
Awesome explanation. Thanks. All that will definitely help someone in there learning experience. If anyone else can add some details or anything new please do. There's alot of people asking about how to everything and anything on finding crappie.
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Question for the OP: Are you using iPilot link follow contour feature while spider rigging and if so can you stay on course at slower speeds? I have iPilot link and find that following contours at slow speeds doesn't work to well. I have high sided deep V so it gets pushed around in wind. Anyhow, just curious.
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Good information in this thread. My first spring for spider rigging. It has been a learning experience for sure.
I certainly understand the concept of fishing in varying depths of water, but how do you decide if you are running the jig at the right depth under the surface, which introduces another variable? Are you marking fish before you decide to follow that contour, to determine that they are there?
The way I spider rig on contour lines I might mark fish at a spot and troll 20 minutes before I mark again. If fish are at say 15 ft I will put all 8 lines from 10 to 15 ft. When I get 2-3 fish at the same depth I will put all them to that depth. Crappie feed looking up, so you do not want your bait under them. That's how I have done it for 15 yrs and all ways works for me. Hope it helps u understand Lil better.
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I will generally run baits 2-3ft of bottom ...until I get to a Brushpile ...Then I will raise the baits to pass just barely over the brush ...
And this also applies when I'm riggin ledge contours ...
If the top of the ledge is 10ft and the bottom of the ledge is 15ft = shallow side baits are ran at 7-8ft ...and deep side baits are ran at 12-13ft ...
And this is the "search" part of riggin contour lines ...
Once the fish start hitting at a certain depth = I put the boat on that depth contour and set all baits to coincide with that contour ...
Rickie
https://youtu.be/vzy5YrRJah8
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Are you keeping your motor down?
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