Jig trolling can be an extremely effective way to cover water and fish panfish quickly during the summertime months. In this video, Joel Nelson breaks down his system for catching a bunch of panfish with this tactic.

Jig Trolling for Crappies

Jig trolling is a great way to catch summertime crappies that are scattered along a piece of structure. Typical in the summer months crappies can be found scattered along the weed lines or suspended out from the weed lines. Look for large weed beds with access to deepwater nearby.

On most lakes in the upper Midwest they’ll be anywhere from five to fifteen feet of water.

Jig trolling for crappies is very easy. Simply cast you bait out and it get within a foot or two from the bottom. Then use your trolling motor to move along the piece of structure between 0.4 – 0.9 miles per hour. If the fish are super aggressive you can work your presentation slightly faster.

This will allow you to cover ground while keeping your presentation in the strike zone for an extended period of time.

You can use a number of different presentations when jig trolling for crappies, but small jigs paired with plastics or hair tend to work the best. A few other good options include small spinners, jigs paired with crappie minnow, or micro hardbaits.

The is a deadly presentation for big summertime crappies and I highly recommend you give it a try!