Winter Crappie Fishing Strategies with Lance Hughey

January 05, 2026

Winter Crappie Fishing Strategies with Lance Hughey

Phillip Gentry

 

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 high 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 is a part-time crappie fishing guide 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 tightlining 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 has always been productive for me but I recently found a new twist to the tactic that is paying off even more.”

B’n’M’s 20-

foot Buck’s Graphite Jig Poles allow the guide to reach way out in front of the boat to target spooky fish.

Historically, Hughey would use 14 – 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.

Hughey said the exceptionally long poles allow him to push double hook minnow rigs further away from the noise of the boat and he has seen increased success in the process.

“Our crappie will move up into medium and shallow water flats, usually at 12 – 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.

Hughey finds many winter crappie almost buried in the muddy bottom to stay warm.

“I still run Live Scope 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 further 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 so 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 (BGJPs, for short) 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 hook set,” he explained. “Just a solid lift and the Vanguard Tackle #2 Aberdeen hooks I use in my hand tied rigs sinks right in the top of the mouth for a solid hook set.”

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. Beaver Lake is fed by several tributary arms and it’s the mid-lake area of these arms that he has his best luck in patterning winter crappie.

Using forward-facing sonar helps the guide determine what pattern the fish prefer on a given day.

“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.”

*************

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

******************

No matter the season, B’n’M has got all the fishing tackle you need for a successful day on the water. Visit our website at bnmpoles.com

 

 

---

Also in Weekly Tips and Techniques