“To long-line troll with this many rods means having an organized rod holder system in place. In the front of the boat I use a four-rod trolling bar on each side of the boat and a similar set up in the back,” Thomas described. “The rod holders are spaced 6 to 8 inches apart, which allows me room to place a 6-inch section of Styrofoam between each rod on the trolling bar.”

The Styrofoam -- actually a piece of one of the “pool noodles” used by swimmers during the summer -- provides a place to hook 3 or 4 jigheads already rigged with the same color bait that is on that rod. If a breakoff occurs, there’s no guessing as to what color was on that line. The guide simply reels in the broken line, attaches another bait that’s right at his finger tips.

Speaking of attaching baits: Thomas uses a simple overhand loop knot on all his trolling baits. He indicates that these are quick and easy to tie and the loop gives unrestricted freedom of movement to his baits.

Logan Martin is widely known for its abundance of good crappie. Thomas said that the average fish on the lake runs between 12 and 20 ounces, with an excellent chance of catching some fish that exceed 2 pounds.

Thomas generally targets the Cropwell Creek, Clear Creek, and Rabbit Branch areas of Logan Martin. These waters produce for Thomas all the way through the spawn as fish congregate in the mouths of these tributaries early in the season and then move farther back into the shallows as the spawn begins sometime in April.

WEISS LAKE
Terry Whaley is a Weiss Lake crappie angler who grew up on the reservoir and then entered the military. He retired in the early 1990s to return to his roots and now guides for crappie full time on the 30,200-acre northern Alabama impoundment.

Several years ago, Whaley got involved in a grassroots organization known as Crappie Unlimited. In a nutshell, this organization is dedicated to building fish habitat in public waterways. Coincidentally, these planted brushpiles and underwater structures are some of Whaley’s favorite locales to target Weiss Lake crappie. For the month of March and into April, his go-to tactic is long line trolling.

Much of the holding structure for crappie in Weiss Lake, a relatively shallow reservoir, lies along channel ledges and ditches in the 8- to 10-foot depth range. Whaley starts trolling around the mouths of major creeks at junctions along the main Coosa River channel. From there he works toward the backs of the creeks as the spawn approaches. Whaley fans rods out along the transom of his boat and uses high visibility line to make sure his lines are straight. (Be aware, however, of the regulation on Weiss Lake that limits anglers to only three poles at a time.)