CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON
Pros like Batterson, Watters and Whitehead carry a full array of jigging, trolling and spider-rigging long poles in a variety of lengths every time they hit the water. Whitehead favors B&M long poles outfitted with lightweight Pflueger baitcasting reels rather than the spinning reels normally favored by crappie anglers.

"I've got a mark 2 feet ahead of the reel seat on all my rods," he explained. "When I want my clients to let out exactly 20 feet of line, it's easier for them to measure off 2 feet at a time from the baitcasting reels than from a spinning reel. Baitcasters work really well for the sort of precision depth control I want when I'm after crappie."

Both Whitehead and Watters recommended that amateur anglers interested in exploring the possibilities of long poles start with "universal" long poles that can do it all.

"If I had to use only one type and length of long pole, I'd get four 12-foot B&M ProStaff trolling rods (and) rig them with low-profile Pflueger Echelon baitcasting reels with 10-pound-test Shakespeare Supreme line," said Whitehead. "That rig would be stiff enough to troll crappie crankbaits, but you could still use it to spider-rig jigs or dip minnows into brushpiles along a shoreline."

While acknowledging that telescoping rods are cheaper than are segmented poles, Watters has observed that telescoping rods have a design weakness apparent only when a big fish such as a bass or catfish takes a liking to a crappie bait. "The line guides on telescoping rods keep getting out of alignment," he explained. "That's no big deal when you're working with 3/4- to 1-pound crappie. But when you hook up to a 4-pound bass or a 10-pound catfish -- and you eventually will, because long-poling catches all sorts of fish -- you can just about guarantee it will be at the moment your line guides are all twisted in a different direction.

"You can land some amazingly big fish with long poles as long as you have your reel drag set light and are patient," he said. "But I guarantee you won't land that big fish if all the line guides on a telescoping rod choose that moment to be twisted in a different direction."

A final long-pole tackle requirement unanimously recommended by our pro crappie catchers: "Use a landing net with a handle at least as long as the rod you're using," said Watters. "You will break a long rod if you try to lift them into the boat. I use a landing net with a telescoping handle that will go out to 14 feet, and adjust it to match whatever length rods I'm using.

"Once you learn how to use long rods, you're going to be landing a lot of fish," he warned, "so you might as well invest in the right landing net before you even start."