Page 11 - 2023 Wolf Lake Issue

Magnol ia Cr appie Club Adv entur es Magazine
Magnolia Crappie Club Adventures Magazine
Soft Plastics – Listen to the Experts
By Bernard Williams, Outdoor Communicator

You can look in every crappie fisherman’s tackle box and find soft plastic lures.
They’ve been around for decades. The first one that I can remember was a Stinger
by Southern Pro. Southern Pro still sells this bait. I would catch some of the biggest
crappie in the lake on this bait.

Nowadays, numerous companies have duplicated this bait in some form or fash-
ion. You can find an offshoot of these baits in Bobby Garland, Crappie Magnet, Jen-
ko, Southern Pro, and others. They call it a Baby Shad, Fry Daddy, or Slab Magnet,

to name a few.
The curly tail was another hit among crappie fishermen. In larger sizes, the curly
tail was deadly on other species. Most soft plastic companies make these in multi-
ple sizes.

The other popular soft plastic was a tube skirt. It would catch tons of fish. You
could tailor it to your needs by tearing away some of the tassles. Its fishy-like ac-
tion made it deadly during the spawn and hot summer months. Southern Pro, Mid-
South, and Freaky Franks are some of the big sellers of the tube jig.

I’ve interviewed some of the best crappie fishermen for this article. Here are their
responses:
Kent Driscoll, Professional Tournament Angler,

says, “I use the Original Crappie Magnet and Slab
Curly. My techniques include Livescope casting,
single pole, and long lining. My jig sizes are 1/32,
1/16, and 1/8. I use K9 High Vis 4# to 6# line. My
favorite colors are Chartreuse / Black, Mermaid,
and Halloween. Crappie Magnet Soft Plastics can be
found at Walmart, Bass Pro, Academy Sports, Tack-

leWarehouse, Dicks Sporting Goods, and your favor-
ite bait shops.”
Les Smith, Crappie Guide and TV Personality says, “I use the Crappie Magnet Slab
Curly exclusively. My primary technique is Power Troll and Long Line for crappie. I
pair the Slab Curly with a Crappie Mag-
net Fin Spin in 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 ounce

sizes. My favorite colors in our MS lakes
is Trick or Treat, Candy Corn, Wildcat,
Pink, and Dude. I’ve filmed numerous
shows, Power Trolling Crappie Magnet
Slab Curlys and Fin Spin lures. They
never fail; they produce when other

baits don’t.” Continued...................

11 - Adventures Magazine - MCC 2023 Wolf Lake Issue