Trolling For Crappies at Night

Trolling For Crappies at Night

Trolling For Crappies at Night

Fishing for crappies has become more of a fun activity, while you can catch crappies for personal use or commercial sale; crappie fishing exposes you to different fishing techniques and experiences.

Trolling For Crappies at Night

One of the interesting ways to catch crappies is by trolling. Crappies are more active in the night, so it is a great time to troll for crappies. From a basic perspective, trolling for crappies is a fishing technique where you slowly and steadily pull along baits and lures which has been attached to a fishing line in the water.

Many anglers troll for crappies from kayaks, or fishing boats. It can also be done on shores or jetties were you have some walking space after casting your baited fishing line. Many anglers prefer trolling for crappies at night because the catch is usually very impressive.

However, you should plan to go fishing for crappies at night in groups, and everyone should wear life jackets and have communication devices for safety. There will be mosquitos and other annoying insects so you can use a repellent to prevent insect bites.

Locating crappies at night

To avoid wasting time moving around in the dark in search of crappies, you can use crappie fish finders to locate areas in the lakes where large schools of crappies are before you start trolling. Over time, you can pinpoint certain locations where crappies converge, so you don’t have to search all the time.

Choosing the best night fishing light

Many years ago lanterns were used for crappie fishing at night because they also burned insects which fell into the water to attract crappies. Some anglers still use the lanterns. However, the most commonly used fishing lights are the floating lights which are submersible. They attract crappies to the fishing boat at night.

The lights also attract plankton and minnows which are food for crappies. Your choice of night light should be models with long-lasting batteries and led bulbs that produce an evenly distributed light. The water resistant capacity should also be very high. The general opinion is that green lights are the best night lights when fishing for crappies.

There are two options that can be used to troll for crappies bite at night. You can either use the long line trolling method or the tight-line trolling method which involves the use of rigs.

The long line trolling method

It involves the use of a single or many long fishing lines which have been fitted with multiple jigs you can add a mix of minnows to increase the chances of attracting more crappies. They are cast behind the fishing boat at the same time and gently pulled along to attract crappies. You can use about 10 rods or more measuring 20 feet each. The baits are evenly spread, and the fishing boat is kept at a steady pace.

The tight line trolling method

It’s quite simple, you set up your fishing line or rigs with the jigs and cast vertically in areas where crappies have been detected by transducers. Start trolling by moving the boat slowly in different directions where crappies can be found. Using light rods for tight line fishing for crappies at night helps you notice small bites; some anglers also claim the crappies don’t see the lines in the dark. Overall, you have to rely on observing the bites because the tight line fishing methods do not involve the use of floaters.

Testing the depths

For the best results especially when you are using rigs, it is essential to determine the depth at which the crappies are feeding at that time of the night. Your fishing lights will attract crappies closer to the surface so while trolling; you should test various depths until you determine the level at which crappies are taking bites at your baits.

In conclusion, you can land more crappies by using a variety of baits and the best night fishing lights while trolling for crappies at night. It is also important to have a crappie fish finder to help you locate large schools of crappies in the dark waters.

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