Guide Maynard Edwards has a unique rig he’s developed for wintertime crappie fishing, enabling him to fish near the bottom and suspended fish at the same time.
“I’ve found on Badin Lake, crappie hug the bottom during cold weather,” Edwards said. “My rig is simple, and it’s easy to pre-rig several to replace snagged rigs lost during a day of fishing.”
Edwards uses a 3-foot length of 10-pound line. He threads two No. 2 wire hooks on the line and then ties a small snap at the bottom. He moves the bottom hook about a foot up the line from the snap and ties the hook in a small loop. He repeats the loop-and-hook process with the second hook about 18 inches farther up the line. At the top end, he places a small swivel and ties a small snap to the end of his running line so he can quickly connect to his pre-tied rig. He’ll snap a one-ounce bell sinker to the bottom snap when fishing.
“Once rigged, I’ll put a small, curlytail grub on one of the hooks and often a live minnow on the other to determine the preference for that day,” he said. “A small jig works, but since I have the weight on the bottom, a jighead is not necessary. I usually keep the weight just off the bottom.”
Edwards said he prepares multiple rigs before fishing trips.
“When crappie fishing, snags occur and I’ll have about a dozen (tied around) a 12-inch piece of a swim noodle stored in my boat,” he said. “I simply roll them around the noodle and secure them with a cheap safety pin. It’s a simple but highly effective winter crappie rig.”
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