The Garmin LiveScope has changed crappie fishing to the extent that if you’re fishing without one, you aren’t catching you just fishing. The spider-riggers use then, but more and more are converting to single-pole anglers.
I grew up jig fishing; that’s nothing new in the south, but back then, we did it differently. We jigged grass, brush piles, stumps, ledges, and standing timber. With a Garmin LiveScope, all of that’s changed. The new technique called “Drop Down On Em.” It’s what the top tournament winners have employed.
The “Drop Down On Em” technique is employed by more and more tournament anglers daily. As anglers learn to use the Garmin LiveScope, they’re beginning to perfect this technique. Professional Tournament Angler Terry Stewart says, “I’ve developed the confidence with the LiveScope to use the single-pole only in my tournaments. It’s been over six months since I’ve used my trolling poles. A year ago, you could not have made me believe I would not be trolling.”
“Boat control is the key to catching fish in the open water; I use Minn Kota Terrova’s mounted on the back of my boat and an Ultrex on the from to help me control my 22’ Ranger. I stretch my range out to 50’ or 60’ when I spot a fish in the open water, I head that way, when I get within 30 feet, I use the back trolling motors to put the brakes on. I then ease up to within pole reach and drop my jig directly on the fish. The key to boat control is to fish into the wind as much as possible.” Says Stewart, “I try to put my jig directly on the nose of the fish, and I hold it as still as possible. I think a lot of my strikes come from the fish being annoyed more so than the fish feeding.”
Stewart uses two types of jigs, hair, and soft plastics. His pole of choice is a 14’ B’n’M Bucks Graphite Jig Pole (BGJP) or a B’n’M Pro Staff Trolling Rod (PST). I plan to change to the new B’n’M STICK. I am going to pick up one sooner or later; it may make me change my style.” According to Stewart, “The STICK will make me fish more efficiently, I can get my bait back in the water much quicker and control those bigger fish a lot easier. Lots of times, a big fish will head towards cover once I set the hook. If I can keep a fish out of heavy cover, my chances of landing the fish are much greater. ”
I asked Terry what’s the furthest he ever chased a fish, “I hooked a fish on Eagle Lake and got it almost to the boat, the fish came off. I chased that one fish about 10 minutes before I could get it to bit again. Our lakes in Mississippi have so many fish; it’s not feasible to chase one too far if you look around, you can find another fish nearby. Our MS lakes we fish are loaded with big crappie, I didn’t realize this until I started Livescoping.”
My next question was, how many fish do you catch in a day on average? “I fished a Crappie Masters Tournament on Lake D’Arbonne in LA a few days ago. The wind made boat control terrible on Friday; it caused the fish to be spooky. I managed to catch 20 or so on day one. Day two was a lot better. The wind laid down, and the bite was a lot better. I fished with my daughter, Terra Stewart. She kept the count, and at the end of the day, we had 57 keepers.”
I asked Terry to simplify the “Drop Down On Em” technique. “It’s quite simple; you move around until you see the size fish you want, you hold your jig out of the water until you get within pole length. If the fish aren’t spooky, you can pitch the jig to them. If they’re spooky, I try to drop it on their nose. It doesn’t take long to see if the fish hits your jig or swims off. Sometimes they don’t want the rubber body; I will switch to a hair jig. Very seldom is I use live bait. I’ve seen it spook fish more often than not. Using jigs makes fishing a lot easier. It’s one less factor you remove from the equation.”
Terry showed us how to use a LiveScope on Grenada Lake March 7th, he “Dropped Down On Em,” with his best seven (7) tipping the scales at 21.17 pounds. That included two (2) 3.83#’s, a 3.63#, and a 3.47#’s along with three (3) more fish in the high two-pound class. One pole and a net-man/woman. He’s not revealing any information; we have to wait until tournament season is over to find out the exact equipment and jigs he used.
Terry is a super nice guy; he’ll tell you the intimate details. He’s a superb crappie guide that can put you on fish on any of the Big Four, Barnett, Eagle, or Washington. Give Terry a call if you want to catch a trophy of a lifetime. Terry’s contact number is 601-502-5699 or email: [email protected].