# Trolling The Fog – Crappie Report – 12/10/2012



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

For the past couple of years, Thingfish has been regularly posting reports about trolling for crappie and every time he does I tell myself that I want to try that. So, this weekend I spent a couple of hours fabricating a pair of removable rod holders to add to my two permanent ones, allowing me to hopefully troll four rods behind my LT. 










Then this morning I towed the Gheenoe over to Lake Monroe in order to give this crappie trolling thing a shot. As I backed down the ramp I was met with a wall of fog so thick I could barely see the end of the dock , but launched anyway figuring I’d go slow and rely on the GPS. Granted, it was a little disorienting not being able to see any landmarks or markers once I was out on the main lake, but I made it across without incident, despite my brain disagreeing with the GPS several times. :-?

















Soon I was in the right area and quickly got my rods out and began trolling…









Almost immediately I got a strike, but it turned out to only be a catfish that swam across three of my four lines and create a huge tangled mess! 









At that point I was not too thrilled with the whole trolling idea, but after sorting out my lines I gave it another shot and was rewarded with a 13” crappie shortly thereafter. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]









Another couple of crappie later and I was beginning to have a change of heart about trolling.  It was easy, relaxing, almost effortless fishing and I was just starting to get comfortable with the process, when my friend Larry called. He was out on the lake too, but couldn’t find me in the fog. Eventually though, we worked it out and he made it over. His plan was to soak some live minnows and cast lures for crappie, so I left him to do his thing while I continued my troll. We were both curious which method would produce better…









Well, I managed a few more crappie, some striped bass and even a shad before it was all said and done [smiley=woot.gif], while Larry didn’t do so well. [smiley=shucks.gif]

































The verdict…trolling was enjoyable and reasonably productive even for a novice like me.  Although, I’m sure as you add more rods the complexity increases. I couldn’t even imagine trying to manage a dozen or more lines in the water, like some of the boats I’ve seen. Nonetheless, I will do it again and I’m glad I finally gave it a try. [smiley=toast.gif]


----------



## jeross (Jun 6, 2009)

Way to go and good improvising for the trolling setup! My last outing I got much the same (except no catfish). The stripers and shad caused me some headaches with twisted lines. I can usually get things fixed by snipping the jig off the line and pulling the line through the mess, then re-tying the jig. Still, an unwelcome pain in the seatpadding.

I seem to recall that you don't eat fish (I may be mis-remembering), but I hope you got enough to make somebody a great meal or two.


----------



## mirrocraft (Apr 29, 2009)

I have started Crappie fishing the last few years. Relaxing, fun and one of my favorite fish to eat. I like lake Lochloosa and have had some great days. In Feb-March. 2 good ramps and bait within a few miles.


----------



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> I seem to recall that you don't eat fish (I may be mis-remembering), but I hope you got enough to make somebody a great meal or two.


Thanks Thing. Were it not for your past posts I would have had no idea how to even attempt this.  Also, just to clarify, I don't keep fish very often, but I do eat and enjoy it as much as the next guy. Although I prefer to catch and release, I did keep two crappie this trip and with the one trout I brought home on Friday, we had a nice fish fry. 

As far as totals, I managed 8 crappie, 2 stripers, 1 shad and the catfish. Not terrible for a first attempt, I hope. ;D


----------



## nightfly (Jul 7, 2011)

Very cool. I haven't been crappie fishing since I was in my early teens. I didn't think we had stripers here in Florida I just always thought it was a northern thing. I wish I could fish as much as you do.


----------



## jeross (Jun 6, 2009)

You can encounter both Striped Bass and the hybrid Sunshine Bass in the St. Johns River as far south as Central Florida. They can be distinguished by the amount and location of broken stripes along their flanks. They are not as large in size as their northern brothers, but when bait is plentiful they can do alright. HaMm3r seems to have caught striped bass, from his photos.

Here is a comparison photo from the internets:










Frankly, I get more excited by the shad. Yes, they're really just giant sardines, but they travel from the Atlantic Ocean nearly 300 miles upstream (as far south as Lake Washington near Melbourne) to spawn. Most die after spawning, but in the Spring millions of bait-size shad flood back toward the ocean. They spend about three years offshore before coming back to their spawning location to do their thing all over. They are great fun on the right tackle!


----------

