Defying all stereotypes, Alabama crappie guide Brad Whitehead abandons minnows and jigs during the summer and fishes almost exclusively with crankbaits.
The crappie turn aggressive once they get into their summer mode, Whitehead has found, and they like a mouthful. He provides that mouthful in the form of a Cotton Cordell C.C. Shad, Grappler Shad or Bomber Fat Free Fry.
Whitehead gets odd looks when other fishermen see his summer crappie lure sections, but the same anglers become very intrigued when Whitehead returns from the water day after day with a box full of slab-sized crappie.
“Crankbait season” actually ranks among Whitehead’s favorite times of the year for a couple of reasons. First, many fishermen abandon crappie after the spring, leaving anglers like Whitehead with very little company. More importantly to Whitehead, who fishes exclusively for crappie and targets them 12 months a year, crankbaits tend to attract larger-than-average fish, which makes for some outstanding summer catches.
Whitehead trolls crankbaits, which allows him to cover a lot of water, keep his offerings in the strike zone at all times and fish multiple baits at the same time. Using strategically rigged rod-holder racks and 7- and 10-foot Pflueger rods, Whitehead commonly will have half a dozen or more baits forming a spread on both sides of his boat.
Whitehead looks for early-summer fish on broad flats that border major creeks channels within Wilson and Pickwick lakes in northwest Alabama. The crappie cruise the big flats, many of which are studded with stumps, stakebeds and brushpiles. Whitehead will make some targeted trolling passes over specific stump rows or stakebed groups, but also will crisscross open areas of flats, always watching his graph.
Early in the summer, Whitehead typically ties his crankbaits straight to his line, adding no other hardware. As the season progresses and most fish move deeper than the crankbaits’ normal running ranges, he changes to three-way rigs. By putting an ounce or two of weight on each dropper line, Whitehead can run his rigs straight down at controlled depths.
Whether he’s fishing the baits straight or with three-way rigs, Whitehead typically will begin with C.C. Shads, Grappler Shads and Fat Free Fries in his mix and a big range of colors. He’ll then modify his spread as the day progresses and the crappie begin revealing their preferences.
Beyond mixing up the spread of baits he pulls, Whitehead will vary his depths, trolling speed and angle. Sometimes the fish will bite well with the baits pulled in one direction but won’t touch the same crankbaits moving in the opposite direction. He’ll also keep one eye on his graph at all times, wanting to know exactly what is going on any time a fish hits.
By day’s end, Whitehead typically knows which crankbaits the crappie want, where the fish are hanging out, and exactly how to present the baits in order to keep the rod tips dancing.
To plan a crappie cranking trip with Brad Whitehead, call (256) 381-7231 or (256) 483-0834.