Page 49 - ODUNovAndDec2018

Power Trolling the

Fin Spin Jig Heads

By Bernard Williams, Outdoor Writer

Being a competitive
crappie fisherman
takes lots of work
and studying to stay
on the cutting edge
of this sport. You

can’t discount any
technique that
catches fish, whether
you like it or not. To
outsmart the fish,
you must employ

different methods.

Power Trolling is a
technique that many
of us need to learn
and utilize. It’s not
new to the crappie
fishing game, it’s

been around for quite some time. One of the most feared crappie fishing teams in the area Mr. A.E.
Smith & fishing partner Flo Smith, from Brookhaven, MS introduced it back in the early 70’s using cane-
poles and a 5 oz. weight. And by the way, it was a known fact their competition hated to see them
coming because they knew they were bringing the “big guns”.

“We would rig our poles with two hooks and a heavyweight in between and push them with our trolling
motors. Boy, would we catch fish. This was back when the limit on most lakes was 50 per person. We’ve

caught our share of limits during the day.” According to Mr. Smith, “We weighed 20 fish per team. Flo
and I could hang with the best of em and have been fortunate enough to have won our share of
tournaments over the years. It was not unusual to catch doubles on several poles at one time. I know
this technique works because Flo and I helped bring it to town.”

Fast-forward to today, Mr. A.E.’s son, Les Smith of Como, MS has taken what he learned from his dad,
mom and perfected it even more. He’s one of the designers of the new B’n’M Pow-R-Troller. This is a
heavy-action trolling pole designed to hold weights up to 3 oz. or heavier with plenty of

backbone and a sensitive tip to see the lightest strike. His favorite is the 16ft pole.