Crappie Fishing with Brad Whitehead
Day 1: How I Met War Eagle
Editor’s Note: Brad Whitehead of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, has been a crappie fisherman and guide for over 20 years. He fishes competitively on the national crappie-fishing circuits and is a member of the B ‘n’ M Poles Pro Staff. Whitehead guides on Pickwick and Wilson lakes on the Tennessee River in Alabama, as well as the Bear Creek Watershed lakes in northwest Alabama. Since age 16, Whitehead has owned and operated eight-different boats. Recently, he decided his next boat would be a War Eagle boat. This week, Whitehead will tell us why he chose War Eagle Boats.
Question: Brad, how were you introduced to War Eagle Boats?
Whitehead: About 2-years ago, I met Kent Driscoll of Cordova, Tennessee, head of the B ‘n’ M Poles Pro Staff at the first crappie camp B ‘n’ M Poles held for writers. We started talking about Kent’s new red War Eagle Predator, which he helped design specifically for crappie fishing. I wanted to know what made his crappie boat different from others.
Question: What did you like about Kent’s boat?
Whitehead: The boat was designed to allow two fishermen to fish off the front, and the pedestal seats give anglers plenty of room to fish as well as provide access to live wells, a built-in bait tank, tackle and a special spot for buoy markers. When I guide for crappie, especially when I’m spider rigging (trolling for crappie), I sit on the front seat of my boat, so I can read the depth finder and try to keep my fishermen on crappie. I’ll have four poles out the front of the boat, and my fishermen will sit in the back of the boat where they also have four poles. I’ll hear comments, like, “Your jigs are catching crappie before I even get to them.” My boat wasn’t designed to have two fishermen on the front end, and I can’t run the trolling motor and watch the depth finder from the back of the boat. So, when I saw how much room Kent had on the front of his boat, allowing him and a partner and/or a client to fish and have the opportunity to catch crappie, I immediately noted how much better his boat was set-up for crappie fishing and guiding than my boat.
Too, Kent informed me that War Eagle uses the thickest aluminum on their boats, making them tough and rugged and preventing leaks when the boat bangs into stumps, logs and other types of structure you hit when crappie fishing, especially when the lake has risen, and the water gets out in the bushes. Kent also took me for a ride in his boat. I couldn’t believe how well the boat handled and how comfortable the ride was, even in choppy water.
Question: What else did you like about the boat?
Whitehead: I really liked the camo pattern on the boat because I duck hunt as well as fish for crappie. Too, War Eagle boats are much wider and deeper than the boats I’ve used in years past, allowing more freedom of mobility and enabling me to carry more gear. Most of the boats I was accustomed to were wide in the back but narrow in the front. However, War Eagle boats are wide from the bough to the stern. Kent also had his boat set-up with rod holders and every type of gear a crappie fishermen might need. I even liked that the cup holders were easily accessible on the chairs. I stepped back and looked at that War Eagle Predator boat. It had everything I wanted in a crappie boat. That’s when I decided my next boat would be a War Eagle boat.
To learn more about War Eagle Boats’ top-quality products, click here.
Tomorrow: Side Pulling May Be a Better Idea
Day 2: Side Pulling May Be a Better Idea
Editor’s Note: Brad Whitehead of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, has been a crappie fisherman and guide for over 20 years. He fishes competitively on the national crappie-fishing circuits and is a member of the B ‘n’ M Poles Pro Staff. Whitehead guides on Pickwick and Wilson lakes on the Tennessee River in Alabama, as well as the Bear Creek Watershed lakes in northwest Alabama. Since age 16, Whitehead has owned and operated eight-different boats. Recently, he decided his next boat would be a War Eagle boat. This week, Whitehead will tell us why he chose War Eagle Boats.
Question: Brad, yesterday you mentioned that after seeing the Predator you’d decided to buy one, right?
Whitehead: Yes, until I met Roger Gant of Corinth, Mississippi, one of the most-successful crappie fishing guides on the Tennessee River. Roger guides 250 days a year on Pickwick Lake and catches loads of crappie. When I learned that Roger helped War Eagle design a side-pulling boat (Roger’s proven successful crappie-fishing technique), I decided to talk with Roger, learn the side-pulling tactic and try out War Eagle’s new Roger Gant side-pulling boat. I wanted to know what made this boat special, and why Roger had been successful using the side-pulling technique for years. When I walked around Roger’s 17-foot, 17-inch boat, and he explained why he helped design it, I said, “Wow! This is a better crappie-fishing boat and guiding technique for catching crappie than my boat and my crappie-fishing tactics.” From fishing on the national crappie-fishing circuit, I’d noticed that Roger and his partner always placed well in the tournaments. So, I wanted to learn more about why his side-pulling tactic worked, and why this new War Eagle boat might be exactly what I needed for guiding crappie fishermen, fun fishing with family and competing in national crappie-fishing tournaments.
Question: What did you like about Roger’s side-pulling boat?
Whitehead: First, I studied how the boat could help me become a better crappie-fishing guide as well as enable my fishermen to catch more crappie. I liked the fact that once my clients sit down in the boat, they never had to move again because their tackle, bait and rod holders were at arm’s length.
Too, this boat was designed to carry six batteries. Generally when you carry more than one battery in the boat, they cause people to stumble and/or trip. Those six batteries provide a number of advantages. Roger runs a 24-volt trolling motor. Pickwick Lake often will have windy days, and if you’re running a 24-volt trolling motor for 8 to 10 hours, the battery will be used-up quickly. With that six-battery capacity in the side-pulling boat, Roger can change batteries quickly and easily and never cease having his trolling motor operate at full power. No matter the battery’s quality, sooner or later all batteries lose their charges. When you’re on a guiding trip, you can’t return to the dock, go to the marina store or the Wal-Mart, buy another battery and start fishing again. Your clients will be upset. However, with six batteries in the boat, you always have a spare or a back-up battery to deliver energy to your trolling motor at any time.
Too, Roger designed trap doors with a piece of sheet metal and a spring to enable anglers to drop fish in the live well through the trap door without constantly having to open and close the lid to the live well. So, the fish goes into the well without your ever having to lift the lid. War Eagle also put the mounts on the front of the boat for a portable trolling motor, so you not only can mount your trolling motor on the middle of the boat for side pulling, but also on the front for bass or hand-pole fishing. Too, a channel runs on the side of the boat, allowing anglers to put their rod holders in the channel and slide the rod holders to any position from the front to the back of the boat. Like other War Eagle Boats, this side-pulling boat is wide, giving fishermen plenty of room to move. In most boats, the seats are set-up behind each other. But on the side-pulling boat, the seats are on the right side of the boat. So, this boat is perfectly designed to allow three fishermen to use the side-pulling technique comfortably and still have plenty of room.
Question: Why have you begun to fish the side-trolling method made popular by Roger?
Whitehead: Primarily because the customers don’t have to fish behind me when we’re trolling for crappie. When we’re side-pulling, every one has the same opportunity to catch crappie, and each angler fishes new water every time we move the boat. If you put 10-foot rods out from the front to the back of the boat, you cover more water when you side pull, or at least as much water as you will if you have trolling racks on the front and the back of the boat. As a guide, I want my clients to catch numbers of big and little crappie. People who hire a crappie-fishing guide want and expect to catch a lot of crappie. Clients would rather catch 100 small crappie in one day and cull them than fish all day for one or two crappie that may weigh 2-pounds each. Side pulling allows me to help more fishermen catch more crappie more often. The way Roger helped design this boat makes it perfect for guiding people crappie fishing who want to catch a lot of crappie.
To learn more about War Eagle Boats’ top-quality products, click here.
Tomorrow: Crankbaits for Crappie
Day 3: Crankbaits for Crappie
Editor’s Note: Brad Whitehead of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, has been a crappie fisherman and guide for over 20 years. He fishes competitively on the national crappie-fishing circuits and is a member of the B ‘n’ M Poles Pro Staff. Whitehead guides on Pickwick and Wilson lakes on the Tennessee River in Alabama, as well as the Bear Creek Watershed lakes in northwest Alabama. Since age 16, Whitehead has owned and operated eight-different boats. Recently, he decided his next boat would be a War Eagle boat. This week, Whitehead will tell us why he chose War Eagle Boats.
Question: Brad, yesterday we talked about the Roger Gant side-pulling boat. What’s the name of that boat?
Whitehead: It’s the War Eagle 754VS.
Question: You’ve decided to buy this boat, right?
Whitehead: Yes, I have. I’ll use this boat for side pulling for crappie and pulling crankbaits for crappie. Pulling crankbaits for crappie has become very popular on Pickwick Lake, as well all as across the South and in many areas of the north because of new information being learned and taught from tournament crappie fishermen. One of the features of the side-pulling boat that makes it ideal for pulling crankbaits is the way the six batteries fit into the boat. With that much power on-board, you can pull crankbaits all day and still have battery power at the end of the day.
Question: Will you be pulling crankbaits faster and longer than when you’re spider rigging (slow trolling with eight to 16 poles).
Whitehead: That’s exactly right. If you’ll be pulling crankbaits for crappie all day, plan to have several batteries. The War Eagle 754 has identified this problem and has designed the battery storage compartment to carry the number of batteries you’ll need to use with any fishing technique that requires operating a trolling motor for a long time.
Question: What else do you like about this boat?
Whitehead: The 754 has a 40-horsepower motor. You can get a bigger motor, but Roger grabbed my attention when told me he’s able to take his customers out with each one catching their limit of crappie and only burn $0.65 worth of gas. Instead of running up and down the lake, Roger puts his boat in at the closest launch site from where he wants to fish. Then, he makes a short run with his outboard and spends the remainder of the day using his trolling motor to side pull for crappie in the areas he wants to fish. Even if gas increases to $4.00 per gallon again, if I can burn less than one gallon of gas with each guide trip and still catch limits of crappie, then I’ve saved money. Roger’s boat is a 4-stroke, which allows you to pull crankbaits with the boat going forward like you will with most conventional boats, or use the side-pulling method with a trolling motor and pull the crankbaits as the boat moves sideways down a creek channel, a river ledge or any other structure.
To learn more about War Eagle Boats’ top-quality products, click here.
Tomorrow: Aluminum vs. Fiberglass
Day 4: Aluminum vs. Fiberglass
Editor’s Note: Brad Whitehead of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, has been a crappie fisherman and guide for over 20 years. He fishes competitively on the national crappie-fishing circuits and is a member of the B ‘n’ M Poles Pro Staff. Whitehead guides on Pickwick and Wilson lakes on the Tennessee River in Alabama, as well as the Bear Creek Watershed lakes in northwest Alabama. Since age 16, Whitehead has owned and operated eight-different boats. Recently, he decided his next boat would be a War Eagle boat. This week, Whitehead will tell us why he chose War Eagle Boats.
Question: Brad, are you seeing a trend in crappie fishermen purchasing more aluminum boats than fiberglass boats?
Whitehead: Yes and no. The aluminum boat is less expensive to operate than the fiberglass boat, and if you put in close to where you’ll be fishing, this can be a tremendous savings. People primarily choose fiberglass boats because they’re heavier, and they tend to be more stable in the wind. However, because War Eagle uses heavier-gauge aluminum, the War Eagle boats can withstand the wind and hold steady much like a fiberglass boat. War Eagle has really changed the standard by which aluminum boats are judged. In the past, aluminum boats were made of light-gauge aluminum and weren’t very sturdy, and that’s what a lot of people expect from an aluminum boat. But War Eagle has changed the perception of an aluminum boat because their boats are deep, wide and strong and have many of the same features as the most-expensive fiberglass boats. The War Eagle isn’t your dad or granddad’s aluminum boat. People who see, ride and learn about the War Eagle boat are beginning to see that it’s not just any other aluminum boat. There are aluminum boats, and then there’s War Eagle. The difference is obvious once you see and ride in one.
For the money, the War Eagle is the best boat on the market. If that weren’t true, then War Eagle boats wouldn’t have such high resale values. You protect your investment when you buy a War Eagle because it doesn’t get beat up or have many of the problems fiberglass boats or less-expensive aluminum boats have. Therefore, when you sell your War Eagle boat (to buy a newer model), the resale value of your old War Eagle is really high.
To learn more about War Eagle Boats’ top-quality products, click here.
Tomorrow: Where to Find Crappie Now
Day 5: Where to Find Crappie Now
Editor’s Note: Brad Whitehead of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, has been a crappie fisherman and guide for over 20 years. He fishes competitively on the national crappie-fishing circuits and is a member of the B ‘n’ M Poles Pro Staff. Whitehead guides on Pickwick and Wilson lakes on the Tennessee River in Alabama, as well as the Bear Creek Watershed lakes in northwest Alabama. Since age 16, Whitehead has owned and operated eight-different boats. Recently, he decided his next boat would be a War Eagle boat. This week, Whitehead will tell us why he chose War Eagle Boats.
Question: Brad, where do you find crappie in February?
Whitehead: At this time of year, on Pickwick and Wilson lakes where I fish, the crappie are coming out of the creek channels and moving closer to the spawning beds. I catch crappie in 17- to 22-foot-deep water. Even when the spawn starts, I like to stay out and fish in water this deep because not all the crappie go to the bank and spawn at the same time. There will be crappie holding on the creek channels in deep water, preparing to move-up and spawn, and there will be crappie moving from the bank to the creek channels when the spawn ends. So, I can catch crappie going and coming by fishing deep-water areas most crappie fishermen overlook. By using the side-pulling technique, I also can cover much-more water than someone fishing down the bank. I can fish in 15- or 22-foot deep water with three or four fishermen and catch fish all day. If I want to move to shallow water, I can get on the edges of those creek channels and ditches and fish in shallow water, using the side-pulling technique. Generally the average crappie fisherman won’t fish more than 10-feet deep. In the spring, the average crappie fisherman will fish cover he can see coming off the bank. So, by staying out in deep water, I fish places few crappie fishermen do, and I usually can produce more crappie daily from deep water than a guide who fishes in shallow water.
When shallow-water fishermen are catching numbers of crappie and a cold front hits, they’re dead in the water. But because spawning crappie will move out to deep-water ledges when a cold front hits, not only will I continue to catch crappie, but I’ll have the opportunity to catch the crappie holding on the deep-water structure before the cold front as well as the crappie that have pulled off the shallow-water cover and retreated to deep water to run from cold weather.
Question: What tackle do you use when fishing for deep-water crappie?
Whitehead: I primarily fish homemade 1/4-ounce hair jigs, and I’ll have two of these jigs tied on one line. I can’t explain why the crappie tend to like the hair jigs better than the plastic ones, but they do. We also use 8-pound-test Vicious clear blue line and B ‘n’ M’s The Difference rods by Roger Gant. These 8-, 9- and 10-foot rods are designed for side pulling.
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