KENT DRISCOLL ON POWER TROLLING FOR CRAPPIE

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Kent Driscoll of Cordova, Tennessee, enjoys crappie fishing so much that he fishes the Crappie U.S.A. and North American Crappie tournament trails and belongs to the Troll Mate Crappie Club in Memphis, Tennessee. For the next two weeks, I'll tell you about the tactics Driscoll employs for the summer months to take suspended crappie - power trolling and crankbaiting. This week we'll learn about power trolling for crappie.

Question: Kent, what size of motor are you running when you power troll?
Answer: I like a 2002 Mercury 50-horsepower, 4 stroke. I really feel these 4 strokes are the key to successfully trolling for crappie because they're so quiet. Too, this motor can idle all day. The 4 stroke has very low emissions and doesn't give off much exhaust or have excess noise.

Question: Why are you running two Eagle depth finders on the back of your boat by the motor?
Answer: Typically, whoever is driving the boat will be watching the speed. I use an Eagle depth finder with a GPS in it. All I'm really doing on this depth finder is watching the speed. If you troll at under 1 m.p.h., the GPS can't pick up the speed going this slow. I watch my other depth finder for crappie, to learn the depth at which they're running and the depth at which the shad are running. On a depth finder, the little marks you see generally will be shad, and the bigger marks will be crappie.

Question: Do you vary the speed of the boat to raise your jigs up and down?
Answer: The 6-ounce weights keep the baits down. I control the speed with the motor just to see how fast the crappie want the jigs. If the crappie don't bite when I'm driving the motor slowly, then I'll speed up. I'll vary the speed all day long until I learn at what speed the crappie prefer their baits.

Question: How fast is the fastest you've ever gone and caught crappie?
Answer: Going about 1.5- to 1.7-m.p.h. is about the fastest I troll with power poles on the front of my boat. But when I troll with crankbaits, we can travel up to 2 m.p.h. We're fishing for the bigger crappie, the most-aggressive crappie in a school.

To learn more about Lake Arkabutla, Driscoll's favorite crappie-trolling lake near Hernando, Mississippi, go to www.visitmississippi.org, or call (800) WARMEST. You also can go to www.hernandoms.org or call the chamber of commerce at (662) 429-9055, or check out the Days Inn in Hernando at (662) 429-0000, or see www.thedaysinn.com.