Tandem rigs find crappies quick in early spring. This year, the water warmed faster than usual. When the trees are budding and robins have been around for weeks, crappie enthusiasts think fish should be shallow when they’re still deep. Crappies have their own calendar, and their responses may be cued by “day length” or photo-period, as opposed to conditions like warming water in the shallows. Look for them outside those bays where you typically find them in spring. Use sonar to find “Christmas trees” of suspending crappies over depths of 15 to 20 feet, and slowly troll through them with tandem tube jigs.
Tandem rigs are created by tying two lines together with back-to-back uni knots or a surgeon’s knot. Leave a long tag end on that knot and attach a jig. Tie a jig 2 to 3 feet below it and trim. If the fish are marked 15 feet down, let out that much line. Use the trolling motor to move slowly over the school. Come at them from all directions, adjust the depth of the rig a little each time and play with color until they bite. Works after cold fronts drive fish out of the shallows, too.