Crappie Equipment

[Ealy]

The crappie enthusiasts at my work all use the 9 foot fly rods with a spinning reel for crappie, mainly for the trees at Truman. I finally broke down the yesterday and bought a 9ft Wally Marshall special at the outlet store for half price.

Have any of you used these long rods? I thought it might be effective fishing boat dock slips from a boat by just reaching in and opening the bail. I grew up with 5 foot ultralites and still use one today. This long rod is gonna take some getting used to.

Any tips on fishing with these? What reels are you guys using on them?

[Dutch]

The serious crappie guys I know use rods up to 16' long. If your new rod has the backbone, float and fly could be done with it.

[Kayser]

For the longer rods, I would use them in/around brush for jigging with marabou jigs or soft plastics (sometimes tipped with a minnow). Perfect for close quarters and delicate presentations. I also use some 7'-8' rods for slip-float rigs, set up with minnows for flipping into brush, or drifting open water.

Rob

[LostMyWife]

I use an open face ultra light reel on a medium lite 6'6" rod. I do the slip bobber and live minnow routine. It works well for me on the lakes we fish.

I have never tried to long rods. I can't get into jigging.