A New Twist on Spider Rigging for Crappie

January 05, 2026

Many crappie anglers mistakenly fall under the impression that once winter sets in, crappie become dormant and refuse to bite. While the action may be slower, compared to other times of the year, the metabolism of America’s favorite gamefish never shuts the fishing down altogether.

B’n’M pro-staffer Lance Hughey of Fayetteville, Arkansas couldn’t agree more. Hughey guides part-time on Arkansas’ famous Beaver Lake, located in the northwest corner of the state. When cold weather descends on his home lake, he breaks out his tight-lining poles and goes to work.

“The colder weather makes for exceptionally clear water on Beaver Lake, and that can make the fish spooky,” he said. “Tight lining or spider rigging has always been productive for me, but I recently found a new twist to the tactic that is paying off even more.”

Longer Rods Key with Crappie and Clear Water

Historically, Hughey would use 14 to 16-foot Pro-staff Trolling rods for his winter crappie fishing, but after B’n’M pro-staff manager Kent Driscoll suggested he try using 20-foot jig poles, he has been hooked, literally.

These exceptionally long poles allow Hughey to push double-hook minnow rigs farther away from the noise of the boat, and he has seen increased hookups as a result.

“Our crappie will move up into medium and shallow-water flats, usually at 12 to 13-foot depths, but sometimes as shallow as just 8 or 9 feet,” he said. “The fish will lay right in the mud, and when that rig passes by just over their head, they’ll come up and gently suck it in.”

The guide surmises that the muddy flats provide some measure of warmth to the fish, especially on a sunny day in gin clear water. He said it’s not unusual to see mud stuck to the fish once they’ve been brought into the boat, but that position has other advantages for the fish.

How to Fish for Crappie with Long Poles

“I still run Livescope, but they’re very hard to pick out on the bottom. I may see one or two hovering right off the mud, but you can bet there’s more there,” he said. “By setting the baits farther out with these 20-foot poles, they don’t hear the trolling motor noise, they don’t hear any wave lap on the hull or the pinging of the electronics. It’s just more natural to the fish.”

Hughey urges his clients to pay close attention to the sensitive rod tips on the 20-foot B’n’M Buck’s Graphite Jig Poles (BGJP), and when they see the quiver of the rod tip, all they have to do is raise up on the rod to set the hook.

“All the leverage on that 20-foot pole keeps you from having to make a hard hookset,” he explained. “Just a solid lift, and the Vanguard Tackle No. 2 Aberdeen hooks I use in my hand tied crappie rigs sink right in the top of the mouth for a solid hookset.”

Hughey admits finding fish is the hardest part of the job as his experience has shown they will lay flat in the mud up in the shallows one day and then move out a little further the next. Several tributary arms feed Beaver Lake, and the mid-lake area of these arms provide his best luck in patterning winter crappie.

Choose the Right Areas for Winter Crappie

“The mid lake area is my go-to in winter,” he said. “I can start in the mouth of the tributary and work my way to the back of the creek. I’m constantly panning the Live Scope transducer back and forth looking for fish and to a certain extent baitfish.”

He said it’s hard to gain any attention pushing his 1 ½ - 2-inch minnows in a 100-yard-long blanket of natural baitfish. “It’s hard to compete under those conditions,” he laughed.

Hughey said his strategy will produce all through the winter until warming weather trends prevail in late February.

“It never gets too cold, so long as I can get to the fish,” he said. “There have been days when the surface of the creeks would freeze over and I couldn’t get there, but soon as it breaks up, I can go right back and find crappie on that same pattern.”

Article by Phillip Gentry

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To arrange a guided fishing trip with Lance Hughey of Lance Hughey Crappie Guide Service LLC, visit the guide service Facebook page.

 

 

 

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