Casting for Crappie with Jeremy Lawyer
When it comes to crappie fishing, there are 3 main types of rods: standard spinning, jigging, and trolling. At Denali, our Pryme Series crappie rods range from 4-foot 6-inches all the way up to an 18-foot trolling rod. When casting for crappie, standard spinning rods are typically the most common, and there is a wide variety of lengths that an angler can choose from based on his or her preferences.
Our spinning rods range from 4-foot 6-inches to 7-foot 6-inches. A shorter rod might be better when shooting docks and to use when sitting under low bridges to prevent from hitting the bridge with your rod. A longer rod can be beneficial for making longer casts with light crappie lures and to have more control over the fish. All our Pryme Series spinning rods are medium light power rated for 4-to-12-pound test lines and 1/64-to-1/4-ounce lures.
The introduction of forward sonar units from Garmin, Lowrance and Humminbird has revolutionized crappie fishing in recent years. Casting and vertical jigging techniques have grown in popularity over traditional trolling and live bait. Rod choices have also changed with these techniques for anglers of all skill levels. Forward sonar has proven very effective for catching more crappies, good practice for other species and very enjoyable for many.
Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour angler and Denali pro Jeremy Lawyer loves to catch crappie when he is not competing in his bass tournaments, and he chases them year around for fun and for food.
Lawyer’s preferred crappie setup is a 7-foot Pryme Series spinning rod paired with 2000 series spinning reel, spooled with 11-pound Sunline Almight sinking braid tied to a 6-8-foot long 5 or 6-pound test Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon leader depending on how heavy the cover is that he is fishing. The 7-foot rod is a great all-around length for crappie fishing, and it has plenty of backbone to pull big crappie out of heavy cover. It’s medium light power and fast action allows for working the bait effectively and preventing the angler from pulling the bait away from the fish. Try this setup next time you’re out on the water trying to catch some slabs!