When to Go Vertical for Crappie

Have you ever gone crappie fishing and just could not get a bite? A lot of times crappie are just shut down and either in a funk because of weather or pressure from other anglers. When this happens casting a bait or moving over the bait, either longlining or spider rigging might not produce. I don’t mind catching crappie any way I can, but I prefer casting to them myself but when I can’t get a bite I will fish vertical to get a bite.

Of course, forward facing sonar helps to place your bait right on the crappie’s nose, but you can vertically fish for crappie without the new technology. A lot of us caught crappie long before livescope and still do. My grandfather used a Humminbird flasher with the transducer taped to the end of a broom handle to locate brushpiles. That was in the 70’s and we caught a lot of crappie and all we did was vertical jig marabou jigs with a B’n’M jig poles. If you have been fishing a while you might remember those poles with the reel or really a line holder in the end of the rod.

The one thing about vertical fishing for crappie is that it is probably the sure-fire way to catch some. When they are biting you might get a bite before the jig even gets to the cover. If they aren’t biting good, then by offering a subtle presentation you can catch a few crappie.

When The Water Gets Cold

When the water gets cold vertical fishing seems to be more effective than when the water temps are above 50 degrees. Now, having said that I have to say that there are windows of times during a given day that crappie will still chase and are surprisingly aggressive considering that before forward-facing sonar most anglers felt that a slow presentation was necessary to catch crappie. I know I did. However, at least for me, I have found that crappie will bite as aggressively, and chase a bait just as far in the winter, as any other times of the season. It is just not as often as in warmer water. I have seen this window only last an hour or less, but it does happen.

So, what do you do when this 1-hour window is not while you are fishing? You go vertical, which is a way to leave that bait in the face of the crappie long enough to convince it to bite. Sometimes they want the bait moving a little and sometimes they want it as still as you can hold it (dead sticking). Remember to always keep your bait slightly above the crappie as they are always look up to feed. I have got a reaction when I dropped my bait below the crappie then bringing it up, but these times are rare as well. Always change up your presentation, especially when you can’t get a bite. Sometimes the crappie are just not biting, but oftentimes a certain retrieve or jiggle of the bait can work wonders. When you figure out what they want you can apply it to other fish and while they might not all react you can increase your odds of catching fish throughout the day.

When the water warms the vertical presentation may not need to be implemented as often. I know a lot of crappie anglers that pretty much vertical fish for crappie 100% of the time. I have been surprised at how many anglers that I have taken fishing that say “I need to learn how to cast to them” I rarely fish vertical and prefer to cast 25-40 feet out. When the fish want a vertical presentation those vertical crappie anglers will catch more crappie than me, but the bite has to be pretty slow for me to go vertical. I just keep moving to locate a willing crappie that will crush my Li’L TUFFY Swimbait.