When you think about crappie fishing, most people think about the spring spawn, gold hooks, a minnow, and a floater. Then when the spawn is over, they put the poles up and wait for the next spring spawn to chase those paper mouths again. Multiple pole spider rigging is a great way to put crappie in the live well year around.
What is spider rigging? What equipment do I need? How do I get started spider rigging with out having to spending a fortune? These are just some of the questions people ask after they see how productive this type of fishing can be.
Spider rigging is fishing with multiple poles sticking out of the front or back of the boat. Some one who has never seen this type of fishing, would think the boat looks like a big spider with all the long poles sticking out of it. Equipment needed, is three or four 10-foot poles, and a set of rod holders to hold the poles. There are several types of poles and price ranges to choose from. I use the 10-foot graphite that you can get on CrappieStuff.com in the Innovations Area. These are very good poles at a reasonable price. I also use the Black Widow Spider Rigging System that is also available in CrappieStuff.com's Innovations Area for a very reasonable price. Rig the poles with an inexpensive spinning reel and 6 pound test line. Mount the rod holders in front of where you will be sitting. Mount them far enough away so they won’t be in your way, but close enough to reach the poles easily.
Every one has their own way to set up the poles and how they put the baits on the line. I use a 3/32oz TeeZur Hot Head jig tied on the end of the line with a 1/4oz split shot attached to the line around 16 inches above the jig. I also use minnows on a #2 Eagle Claw Aberdeen hook tied on the end of the line with a 1/4oz split shot around 16 inches above the hook. I also paint chartreuse or an orange color on the first 6 inches of the tip of the poles to make it easier to see when a fish hits the bait.
Just as an example, we will start out fishing on the topside of a ledge that is 10 feet deep on the top and is 15 feet at the bottom. Set the bait from one pole about a foot off the bottom. Set the next pole around two feet off the bottom. The next pole about 3 feet off the bottom. And the last pole about four feet off the bottom. Set the poles in the rod holders with the tip of the pole around 12 inches above the surface of the water. Now you are fishing in several different depths of water. This is a very useful way of locating what depth the fish are holding in. When you catch a fish, pay attention to which pole the fish is caught on. That way you can set the pole back to the same depth. If you start catching more fish on one pole than the others, set another pole at that same depth. Now you know what depth the fish are biting. You can also have two baits on the same line around 24 inches apart. This will allow you cover a wider range of depths. Once all the poles are in the water, start slowly moving around the topside of the ledge. Stay close to the edge of the ledge and cross over to the deeper side then back to the shallow side. The is an excellent way to catch fish hiding just below the edge waiting for baitfish to swim by. Do this several times with each time moving a little further away from the edge of the ledge until you find where the fish are located.
When landing a fish while spider rigging, there are two things that you must remember.
#1. The biggest mistake people make when hooking a fish, is dropping the rod tip while taking the pole out of the rod holder. If you drop the tip of the pole, 9 times out of 10 the fish will get off. Once you set the hook, hold pressure on the rod until you can get your hand on the reel. Stand up if you have to, but don't drop the rod tip.
#2. The second biggest mistake people make while spider rigging with long poles is, reeling up too much line while trying to land a fish. If you reel all the line in, there is no way to grab the fish at the end of a long pole. You must leave enough line in the water so you can swing the fish into the boat. It is best to use a dip net on the larger fish to keep from breaking the line while trying to bring them in the boat.
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