Thread: Active night after the rain, 9-24

Thank you for taking the time to put that excellent post together! How far behind the boat do you generally run your jigs? I tried trolling earlier this year using small crank baits but I only caught bass and rainbows. I will definitely try it your way the next time I’m out in daylight.

The area around me in Southwest VT has quite a few lakes and ponds with crappies. I’m not sure about the rest of the state but we definitely have a lot of trout lakes and ponds. Southern Lake Champlain has good numbers of both black and white crappie but the water is always colored up and it requires a bait put right on their nose. Most of the lakes also have yellow perch which are probably the most popular ice fishing quarry. I’ve been ice fishing for crappies for awhile but I bought a boat this spring and I’m just learning the open water game.

I've never trolled crank baits, only jig heads with plastics threaded on. As far as how far behind, I just cast them out as far as I can and call it good. I do catch a variety of fish on them, it's not just the panfish that bite them.

For the stained water, try using a bait that has a lot of flutter, like a curly tail or spinner head; something to make a bit of a fuss that they can sense rather than simply see. The Bobby Garland Stroll'r and Swimm'r have worked well recently, as well as the Southern Pro 2" curly tail grub. But most any brand should provide the same actions.