During winter and spring, author Tim Huffman recommends soft-plastic slider rigs for crappies.

Today’s trend is to use high-tech, expensive electronics, especially LiveScope, to locate and catch crappies in deep water. It’s great, but many techniques allow simple, productive fishing without the expense or learning curve of high-dollar graphs. Slider fishing is a good example of an old, proven successful method.

Slider fishing

Charlie Brewer, Sr. became famous for his sliding system to catch bass. Smaller worms, a weedless setup and ultra-light gear highlighted allowed fewer hang-ups, with more bites being the result. He applied similar principles to crappie fishing, making it possible to get jigs into places an open-hook jig wouldn’t go—or at least come back from.

While there are many good brands of plastics and a variety of weedless jig heads, the Charlie Brewer Crappie Slider is an original and still a great choice. Regardless of brand, it’s important to keep baits small, with a 1.50- or 1.75-inch body being the right size for most locations in cold water.

Sliding is simple. Use basic sonar to pinpoint cover. Cast the jig past the target cover, allow it to fall to the desired depth and retrieve it in a slow, sliding fashion. When the jig hits cover, maintain a slow pull to allow the bait to crawl over and through the cover.

Charlie Brewer, Jr. says, “Have no fear of hanging up due to the hook. You can get into the cover and slowly work the jig, paying special attention for a bite. A slow, steady retrieve is often best. However, one trick is to stop the jig when you feel cover and slowly work the jig up and down to trigger a bite.

“One thing that fishermen worry about is the hookset. I don’t use a hard hookset and have no trouble hooking crappies. I recommend pushing the hook through the bait several times to make it easier for the hook to get out and into the fish.”

Basic setup

The original Slider concept was based on using short, ultralight rods. The rods gave great visible indications of bumps from cover or bites and provided good bait control. Short rods are still good options, but most fishermen opt for longer, 7- to 8-foot rods for casting light baits further distances.

Line choice depends upon the conditions, but 6-pound-test is a good all-around option. Eight-pound-test is good for thick cover in stained waters. Mono is still the popular choice, but fluorocarbon and braid can be used, too.

The Slider head has a special bend for weedless rigging. Positioning the hook eye in the nose helps reduce hang-ups. The key with any jig is to match the weight for conditions. Use the lightest jig head possible. For example, if a 1/32-ounce will work instead of a 1/16- or 3/32-, the lighter jig has a slower fall to entice more strikes, and the jig will work easier through cover. Use a heavier weight head to get deep or to battle wind and current. It’s important to maintain good feel with the jig.

Deep water

Depths greater than 15 feet have potential for sliding. Rock piles, stumps, brush piles and logs are great places to find cold-water crappies. Use electronics to find these underwater cover types before stopping to fish.

Position your boat properly when fishing deep water. It’s more difficult to cast and maintain the right depth when fishing in 20 or 25 feet of water than in the shallows. Casts must allow for current, wind and the slope of the bottom. Keep the retrieve super-slow to let the jig maintain the right depth and work over and through cover.

The middle depths

Ten to 15 feet is a great depth range for sliding. A fisherman has better bait control than in deeper water and fish usually aren’t too spooky. Slow and steady is the basic retrieve for sliding, but don’t hesitate to use a hop-hop-pause when fish are stubborn.

Sliding seasons

Winter is a good time to catch crappies. The cold water requires the slowest and most patient retrieves because fish often watch the bait a while before hitting. However, strikes may be hard.

Spring offers many opportunities from the middle depths to extremely shallow water. Pre-spawn fish are staged out away from banks and can be caught by finding the right depth and cover. A shallow or mid-depth ledge can be a great place to start.

Spawn time means shallower water. A more aggressive retrieve speed can be used. A weedless jig is good for fishing brushy areas, but an exposed hook is best when cover is limited.

Summer can find fish at all depth ranges. Find the right depth and cover for good action.

In fall, crappies are on the move, looking for baitfish. Baitfish are often near the areas where crappies spawned in spring. Find cover with baitfish and slide a jig through the active zone.

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