"We don't necessarily like the idea of crappie in a primarily bass and bluegill lake. Therefore, the state doesn't stock them where they're not already present," Nichols said. "The last thing we want to do is introduce another predator."

Some of the other lakes that have crappie in them are in Crenshaw, Lee, Chambers, Madison and Walker counties. There is no minimum length limit on these waters and you can keep 30 per day of any size.

"They grow so fast in these lakes, we don't have to worry about that," says Cook. "A 1 1/2-year-old fish is an adult in these bodies of water, while it might take three or four years to grow a keeper in a major reservoir or river."

Whether you're a dunker of minnows or a caster of jigs, there are numerous places in our state where either tactic produces a limit of papermouths. Yet Millers Ferry, Lake Martin and Weiss Lake are the top choices.

Phillip Criss, at the time a coal miner from Abernant, introduced me to Millers Ferry crappie fishing. Later as a professional fishing guide with a reputation always at stake, he searched the lake far and wide and experimented with myriad kinds of tackle and techniques to discover the winning combinations.

"A lot of folks say Weiss Lake is the Crappie Capital of the South, but those people haven't fished the Alabama River," he said with a chuckle.

Criss believes the key at Millers Ferry is water temperature. When it rises to between 61 and 66 degrees, the crappie move to the shallows to spawn. When they're inside the flats and sloughs off of the main river, he prefers minnows, and he dunks them in as little as 18 to 24 inches of water. Even when he goes to deeper water, his bait is still usually set at that depth.

Dunham relies on his depthfinder and knowledge of the available structure near Wind Creek State Park to keep his clients happy. He can launch his boat at the state park at dawn and be back home by noon with a cooler full of crappie.

His routine is to check brushpiles for hotspots, where the crappie are grouped most tightly. He pilots his 17-foot boat over the areas until his fish-finder begins throbbing and beeping as if it were ready to explode. When he finds the heaviest concentration, he drops a plastic marker buoy overboard, moves off the spot and anchors.

"What I do first is put out some poles baited with minnows," he explained. "Then I start throwing 1/32-ounce jigs. I call it my double-barreled approach."

He prefers crappie jigs with feathered marabou tails. He sometimes pinches off some of the feathers. When using minnows, he gets the smallest he can buy. His reels are spooled with either 4- or 6-pound test line. Heavier lines will not work well on Martin, because the water is so clear.

"You've got to cover all the bases," Heaton said. "When you find out which base the fish are on, you're in business."

Trolling allows you to offer more baits at multiple levels. Once you determine which depth is best and the most preferred jig color, then switch to that winning combination and put the hottest bait in the strike zone. About the only thing that can keep you from catching a limit is the wind, which wreaks havoc with the lightweight lines.

Heaton used light-action B'n'M jig poles because of the different lengths available. He carried three different ones, from a 5-footer to an 11-footer, and all were equipped with spinning reels.

Each reel was spooled with brightly colored 6-pound-test line. According to Heaton, 4-pound test breaks too easily and loses too many jigs, while 8-pound test has too much drag in the water. That prevents the jigs from reaching the desired depth. Also, a bright line enables him to watch each rod so that the lines do not become tangled.

His lures of choice are crappie jigs, but these occasionally were supplemented with 1/8-ounce Rat-L-Trap crankbaits. The latter, he warned, often keep an angler busy battling undersized striped bass.

Heaton said beginners have to learn through trial and error.

"It's kind of like learning how to drive a car," he pointed out. "You don't just jump in your first car and go 60 miles an hour."

Those trying the technique for the first time have to experiment with trolling speed and avoid sharp turns, submerged timber or shallow water. Trolling is meant for suspended fish that are not relating to structure - the ones that haven't gone to the bank to spawn.

Heaton also advised against trolling randomly. The key to finding the crappie is a good depthfinder that can identify them.

"You're looking for fish - fish at least 10 inches long, which is the minimum on Weiss. You're not really looking for structure," he said, "except to avoid it."