BOBBER FISHING
An expert bobber fisherman, my uncle, Guy McClintock, showed me at an early age how to catch loads of crappie by bobber-fishing along the banks. Guy sculled his johnboat from the bow seat, fishing his way along with a cane pole rigged with a small slender cork and a light-wire crappie hook. A bucket of creek shiners provided bait.

Uncle Guy worked with precision. Sculling very slowly along the shoreline, he'd drop the bobber rig on the water lightly to avoid spooking fish. Sometimes he placed it near a stickup or cypress knee. Other times, he just dropped it in open water. Never did he move it more than a foot at a time, and he never missed a single spot where a crappie might be hiding. Many fish were where he'd expect them -- near visible woody cover. But many others were beside a root wad or log beneath the water's surface. Other anglers might have passed them by, not seeing any obvious potential in a spot where no crappie-attracting cover could be seen.

Some days, Guy would paddle no more than 50 yards before he'd caught enough crappie to quench his desire. Other times, he might scull around the entire lake before calling it quits. But he always caught crappie.

A cane pole is great for this style of crappie fishing. If you're adept at sculling, you can keep on the move, fishing different spots all the while until you find crappie. And by employing a 10- to 12-foot cane pole, you can keep your distance to avoid spooking these skittish shallow-water fish. You don't even need a boat. A cane pole lets you fish from the bank with an efficiency impossible using other tackle.

SPIDER TROLLING
Being relatively inexpensive, cane poles are popular with crappie anglers who enjoy "spider trolling." This is a great method for finding widely scattered schools of crappie when the water level is fluctuating rapidly. On waters where it's legal, it's not uncommon to see a johnboat with a dozen or more poles set around the transom, lending the appearance of a large spider crossing the water. That's where the sport gets its unusual name.

The poles, rigged with jigs or live minnows, are secured in pole holders attached to the sides of the boat or to special-made wooden bars or "trolling boards" situated near the front or rear of the craft. The angler then drifts with the wind or moves slowly using a trolling motor, passing near underwater structure. The poles usually are rigged at different depths until crappie are found. Then each one is set at the depth where fish are feeding.

When trolling with multiple poles along the sides of the boat, it's best to use poles of varying lengths. If you use poles of all the same length, the lines dragging through the water tend to cross over each other and snarl. But by using different length poles in each spread, you can separate the lines to prevent tangles.

One very successful crappie angler showed me how he rigged in this manner. He fastened six inexpensive screw-clamp rod holders to the gunwales of his johnboat -- three on each side. In the two holders nearest the bow, he placed 12-foot poles. The next two holders held 10-foot poles, and the final two, 8-foot poles. With the poles staggered in this manner, he drifted down the lake without worrying about tangled lines, concentrating on fishing instead.

Many bait-and-tackle stores carry prepared cane poles, cut into sections and fitted with ferrules. These breakdown models also come in a variety of lengths, making them suitable for trolling.

MORE TACTICS
Cane poles work great in many other situations where casting gear is out of place. When you're fishing dense stump fields or stands of cypress knees where a boat can't go, you can position your boat on the outer edge and use a long pole to reach otherwise inaccessible honeyholes. Cane poles let you fish beneath a boat dock or overhanging trees in shady cover where big crappie often lurk. Public fishing piers often have brushpiles planted around them, and a long cane pole provides the extra reach you'll need to fish them properly. And when angling with children -- something we all should do -- cane poles are perfect. No casting, fewer tangles, more fish. And that equates to happy kids who'll learn to cherish the joys of crappie fishing.