Correctly fishing a ledge with bumpin' tactics call for the trolling motor to keep you "hovering" over the target, not moving along it. Any forward movement will be too fast to work on inactive crappie. A point of reference: It should take an hour to fish 100 yards of ledge if you're properly bumping bottom.

Crappie are notoriously soft biters, and if they have to be talked into it, the take will be even softer still. It takes a while to learn the feel of a fish as opposed to that of a stump or brushpile. When resistance is first felt, gently feel with the rod -- before long, you'll develop a knack for determining if that's is a 2-pound crappie or a 200-pound stump down there.

Because bumping bottom demands precision in the presentation, calm conditions are necessary; many veteran bumpin' anglers believe that if the wind is blowing at 10 miles per hour or more, you might as well stay home. Since the goal is an exact vertical presentation on ledges typically found in open parts of the lake, it just won't happen when the wind's up, even for the most skilled angler.

When you're planning how to fish a ledge, a couple of things should be kept in mind. The primary factor will be the wind. Fishing into the wind is the only way to control the boat with the exactitude that the presentation calls for. If the wind's not in play, fish a channel ledge heading "downstream." Although a very slight current may be undetectable at the surface, it'll be there, and like all fish, crappie are adept at detecting the slightest movement of water and positioning themselves to face into it.

An additional factor: water clarity. All things being equal, a ledge in clear water will yield better results than will the same ledge in an area with muddy water. Although many workable ledges at present at Weiss, the water in much of the lake is often stained to muddy during the wet winter months. On the other hand, Little River and Yellow Creek drain the Lookout Mountain plateau, and nearly always run clear; the Chattooga River arm can also have decent water clarity. These three areas contain many promising ledges, and those combine with high water clarity to win favor with winter anglers.

During a warming trend that falsely convinces the fish that the spawn might not be too far away, the next two techniques may be more suitable, as they get you covering more water.

PULLIN'
This basically amounts to trolling a spread of crappie jigs, and is an extremely serviceable way to catch substantial numbers of fish. Areas to target are flats bridging the gap from deep channel breaks to shallow shorelines that serve as spawning areas.