Since I started using forward facing sonar for catching big crappies, I found out that while most brush piles I find have fish, many of them are small or at least not as big as I want to catch. By hitting as many brush piles as possible with Livescope I can locate more big crappies.

Small brush piles are easy enough to fish effectively. Since they are small you do not have to break them down like you do with a bigger brush pile. When a big brush pile is found I always Spot-Lock my trolling motor on the pile. I start at about 40 feet out and let the boat find its point. I might cast to the edge of the brush pile at this time. I want to fish the brush pile as quickly as possible so this initial cast can get the front of the brush pile fished before moving in to break it down.

One thing I learned first as a fly fisher in Alaska and then during my bass tournament days was to break down a piece of cover like a tree or a brush pile in this case. You want to always start at the front of the brush pile and work your way into it. You never want to cast your bait all the way over the brush pile initially. By starting at the front, you can catch a big crappie without spooking the other big crappies that might be in the brush pile further back.

Start by throwing your bait to the front edge and work it over the top letting it dip just into the brush or stake bed tops. When the big crappies are biting and biting well, they will come from the bottom to chase your bait down and engulf it. When crappies are this aggressive, it can be an enjoyable day without many hang ups. Do not be discouraged if you do not see a big crappie with your Livescope. Often, they will be buried at the bottom of the brush pile and not visible with electronics; always be ready. I have been surprised by giant crappies coming from out of nowhere to aggressively strike and snapping my line when I set the hook too hard due to being startled while watching my screen. Be ready.

If working your bait over the top of the brush does not get a response, it is time to go a little deeper into the brush. Sometimes big crappies are halfway down, and again, you might not see it, so work the middle section with a cast or two. During this time, I might hit my jog feature on my Ultrex trolling motor and move in a little closer. You will learn that not only are you able to work your bait a little easier, but that big crappies sometimes prefer a certain angle on the presentation. By moving in closer the angle of your retrieve changes slightly as you work your bait back to the boat.

After working the middle of the brush, it is time to go deep. This is when you might hang up, but it can often produce big crappies if they do not want to leave their station for whatever reason. Usually when a big crappie will not chase your bait and you must get in there with him, it means that it is not hungry or has been pressured and is just reluctant to bite. So, work your bait slowly through the base of the brush pile. Many times, I have thought I was hung and when I pulled, I saw on my Livescope that I had a big crappie hooked.

Once you have worked the front edge of the brush pile it is time to go deeper and work the middle. Work the middle of the pile or tree using the same sequence as the front section. Front, middle then bottom. Again, by doing this you reduce the chances of spooking any crappies in the other parts of the pile. When fishing for pressured crappies, they will stop biting when they see one caught. After working your bait through the middle section, you can go to the back and work it the same way.

This sounds like it might take a lot of time. However, you can work a big brush pile with Livescope in just a few minutes and move on to find another. Sometimes, you can catch a few crappies from one brush pile but most of the time, I have found that catching one big crappie will shut the other crappies down. They might follow or they might lock down, but either way they are done biting for the moment. You can return later to the same pile that you caught the big crappie in and pick up another one. You especially want to do this when you see a good one or two in the brush pile that are worth returning to try and catch.

Locating brush piles and other cover using forward facing sonar is a highly effective way to catch a lot of crappies. When looking for big crappies you need to work the brush pile as described and not only ignore the smaller crappies but even keep your bait away from them, because if you catch a small one it might lock down the big crappies and they become even harder to convince to eat your presentation.

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