The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 60

THE MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER AND ALABAMA JOURNAL SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 5. 1989 PAGE 6D Tight-lining makes crappie year-round catch OUTDOOR DIGEST However, for Pope, who knows ON' his tight-lining technique will work almost year-round, the only time he thinks about fishing in shallow water is during the spring spawn. "They will start moving out of the deep water into the sloughs in March," he said. "That's when they will sometimes get in six inches of water and spawn.

"I believe they look for gravel bars or banks for spawning and especially where there's a little grass." He also said the migration from their deep water haunts to the shallow spawning grounds can provide good action. "In the spring they will move into the creeks and concentrate near some brush near the channels," he said. "When they move up in the 5-10 foot range, you can use the tight-line technique and do very good, but the problem is finding exactly which drop-off or brush top the fish are concentrated." However, soon after the spawn, it's back to tight-lining the deep water structure for Pope. "Fishing the deep water for crappie is overlooked by the majority of fishermen," he said. "But the best thing about fishing deep is that you can almost always find them and then the catching's easy.

I believe there are always a few fish deep and they seem to be more predictable than the ones that are buy one. "But for catching crappie out of deep water on a consistant basis, it's hard to beat a submerged pile of brush near a river channel or in a creek channel close to the main channel of the river." It didn't take long for Pope to prove his technique of locating deep water brush and tight-lining for crappie worked. On the very first cast of the day, I dropped my rig into a brush top and, in seconds, a small crappie grabbed it and took off. "That's all there is to it," Pope said, "just put it in the brush and wait." This particular brush pile was located in 15 feet of water along a drop-off in the river and one of Pope's favorite crappie haunts. However, the crappie at this location didn't stay cooperative long and soon we were motoring to another location looking for winter slabs.

"There's not too many people who know about this place," he said as he turned on his trolling motor. "I've caught a lot of crappie out of here and even some bass and catfish." After drowning a few minnows, Pope boated a iy4-pound crappie. "Now if I had about 20 of these I'd be in tall cotton," Pope said. "I don't believe anyone needs to catch any more than 20 to 30 a day. If they decrease the creel limit, it won't matter to me one bit." By ALAN POLK Advertiser Outdoors Editor Most people think good crappie fishing is restricted to the spring, but not Mac Pope, a Millers Ferry fisherman.

He knows the art of tight-lining for crappie. Tight-lining is a technique where the fisherman takes a medium to light action rod and reel and ties a one-ounce sinker to the end of the line. About a foot above the sinker, a size two hook is tied to the line and then another one is tied a foot above the first hook. Then the fisherman puts a small shiner minnow on each hook, drops it into some structure, gets the slack line out and waits. This combination gives the fisherman direct contact with the bait and the ability to detect the slightest strike.

"Sometimes a strike on this rig will just be some slack line or the feeling that something has rubbed against the line," Pope said. "And then there will be times the strike will be aggressive and very easy to detect. Despite the type of strike, one advantage of tight-lining is it will put the bait in the middle of a brush pile and suspend the bait a foot or two up the line. And it is something Pope has refined to make him a well-known crappie fisherman on Millers Ferry. He also has proven his skill by finishing high in the standings of many local tournaments.

"I don't fish for the money," he said. "I do it to get away from the phone and all the worries of work. "And when I win a tournament, I take the money home, give it to my wife and just ask her to let me keep fishing." However, Pope says his strategy for catching crappie wasn't perfected until three years ago when he decided to get serious about catching slab-sized crappie. "I just didn't realize crappie could be caught throughout the year," Pope said. "But then I read a book about crappie fishing and now I've learned how to catch them almost year-round.

Crappie creel limit approved By ALAN POLK Advertiser Outdoors Editor Alabama Conservation Advisory Board members have approved a state proposal to reduce the creel limit on crappie from 50 to 30 beginning in October. The Alabama Game and Fish Division's recommendation was made in November to the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board by mail, and the board approved the change unanimously. According to Charles Kelley, director of the Alabama Game and Fish Division, the Conservation Advisory Board action was needed before the regularly scheduled March meeting because the state must print the limits on the back of state fishing licenses and printing is currently under way. He also said the proposal to reduce the creel limit to 30 came after fisheries biologists found the three-year drought had affected the state's crappie population. "Three years of spring drought have greatly affected production and survival of crappie and, as a result, crappie fishing has been well below average in many reservoirs," Kelley said.

"Recognizing that increased fishing pressure on crappie by more fishermen each year causes less fish per fisherman in the creel, it is recommended that the daily creel limit be reduced from 50 to 30." He says the reduced creel limit should provide a more widespread distribution of the available harvest among crappie fishermen and improve the state's fisheries p.ogram. The creel limit reduction is not effective on private waters and the state does not have a size limit on crappie. No public opposition has been noted on the change in the creel limit. Jordan tournament Lake Jordan has been selected as the location for the first Early Staff photo by Alan Polk Mac Pope displays deep-water crappie from Millers Ferry brush are, and then you can tight-line them and start eliminating the ones that don't produce," Pope said. "There are some areas that naturally hold crappie and then you will find another just like it and you can't 90 DAYS SAME AS CASH WAPPROVED CREDIT 1 989 mart Corporation "I've learned the main thing about catching crappie is to know the area and then use the tight-line technique most of the year.

"And crappie are just like bass. They must have cover and will concentrate near drop-offs or brush when they aren't spawning." As for finding crappie concentrations, Pope recommends fisherman to first get a good topographical map of the lake or river and find the drop-offs and road beds, especially the ones near the river channel in 15-30 feet of water. Then he says serious crappie fishermen need to know or be able to find brush and creek channels with some structure. To find these locations, Pope puts his confidence in his depth finder. "A good depth finder will show you where the drop-offs and a Mohawk RUBBfR COMPANY CUSTOM AS OLYMPIAN XT mm Warranty All-surface Traction 97 VI P155 80R13 sin mici nioin J4.7 H61I0II1 36.7 H7180II3 39.97 mmu 41 HHJW4 2.97 W7SIU 41.J7 W057H14 47.7 MOS77SIH S0.7 MU7SI1S 52.97 Wli7ill 54.97 size I sm I ntici HS5WU $25 fills, 7S1I4 $40 ns(iu $30 $43 nnmn $33 piis7sbis i3 HS8M13 $35 KH7SI1S HK7SIM4 S3 H3S75HIS I $46 $38 Warranty Our Best Radial Tire Sure Traction In RainSnow limited Tread wearout Warranty Details In Store Mounting Included No Trade-in Required Rood Hazard War- ma anty Available Tires And Service Available Only In Stores With Service Open Daily 8 AM To 6 PM; Closed Sunday Mohawk RUBBER COMPANY dUkakgo Warranty For Trucks And Vans Mohawk RUBBER COMPANY DIMENSION IV Warranty Crisscross Tread PERFORMANCE SR1000GT Warranty Speed Rating: 112 mph ni course ir VvK SAIL AND POWER JMJ BOATING AZf SIZE I Pl I SHI PRICE HSSWH1 PUS75814 $39 PWMtll $31 H0S7SHU S41 H7SKW3 $34 PZ057SH5 $43 HISMH3 $36 PZISI7SEIS $44 ms7i4 $37 $46 Hii70ll $38 I M3S75HS 1 $48" sm I ma I sm I nici sih PI7S7WI3 41.97 PZIS60SH4 TOSHII14IWOIJ 49.97 HI570SI13 45.97 mswsiii 59.97 mos7siswoi si.97 HBS70S114 48.97 H3Smsii5 60.97 insjjiitmi 59.97 Mtt70S14 49.97 WSSMStlS 64.97 uHSniHiW74.7 51.97 rzis6SSis 157.971 95.97 .6" PKS7MHS 1 59.97 1 DWt tlLiirtTTlii LM (tWOl lUiMd WhiW Outlined Unr "4 dMi Limited Warranty MONROtf; The Montgomery Power Squadron is offering a boating course covering: Safety Seamanship Navigation Classes will meet Tuesdays 7-9 p.m., beginning Feb.

7 at Lee High School, 225 Ann Street. For information call weekdays: Jess Reed 265-9820. Nights and weekends call Stuart May 277-2698; Byron Beasley 262-3443; Steve Mclver 277-0333 or John Mathews 288-7152. A $1 0 fee covers course materials. FUEL INJECTOR MAINTENANCE CLEAN-UP SERVICE AVAILABLE Bird Buddy Bass Tournament, scheduled for Saturday.

The tournament is open to the public and will pay 80 percent of the entry fees back to the tournament's top finishers. The remaining 20 percent will be placed in the MBAA tournament fund. The tournament will start from the Lake Jordan Marina. Entry fee for this tournament is $60 per boat and registration and boat draw will be finalized Thursday at The Bait Shop Lounge, U.S. Highway 231 North in Montgomery.

The CAMBAS also will be sponsoring the following club tournaments: March 26 West Point, Burnt Village Marina. April 23 Alabama River, Wetumpka Public Launch. May 14 Eufaula, Lake-point State Park. For more information about these tournaments and the Central Military Bass Anglers Association tournament trail, call Ray Fisher at 27 1-4621. Big Bama tourneys The Bobby Andrews Big Bama Bass Tournament Trail will begin on Feb.

19 at Wind Creek State Park on Lake Martin. This bass tournament trial will include eight tournaments and the entry fee is $50 per boat. This tournament trail's schedule is as follows: Feb. 19 Wind Creek, Lake Martin. March 12 Bonners Landing, Lake Jordan.

April 9 Strickland Landing, Alabama River. May 7 Selma City Marina, Alabama River. June 4 Strickland Landing, Alabama River. Sept. 17 State Landing, Lake Mitchell.

Oct. 15 Bonners Landing, Lake Jordan. Nov. 12 Strickland Landing, Alabama River. For more information, call 365-1908.

Refuge needs help EUFAULA All archery hunters participating in deer hunts on the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge are being asked to send in all "end-of-season activity reports and remove all stands from the area before Feb. 28." "Our regulations require that all stands be removed by the end of the season," said Jerry Wilson, manager of the refuge. "Any stands left in the woods after February 28 will be considered abandoned and subject to removal by refuge personnel." He also said the hunters using the refuge this past season experienced a good season by harvesting 67 whitetail deer, including 37 bucks and 30 does. However, this year's harvest was less than the record 1987-88 season when hunters took 89 deer. "We are pleased with the archery harvest," Wilson sakl.

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11 SS SHERRY LYNN MARLER Date of Birth; 081671 Missing from: Greenville, Alabama As a public service, in cooperation with the Missing Children Bureau, Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Montgomery Advertiser and Alabama Journal provide this information concerning a child missing from the Montgomery area or who may be in the Montgomery Area. If you have any information concerning this child's whereabouts please contact: Missing Children Bureau Department of Public Safety Montgomery, AL 36130 Call 261-4207 or outside Montgomery 1-800-888-7688 mm.