When Ronnie Capps and Steve Coleman were winning an unprecedented seven National Championship titles, they credited their success to their self-designed slow trolling system.
At the heart of this system is the Capps and Coleman Minnow Rig.
The Minnow Rig is designed for slow, vertical trolling, better known as tight-lining or spider-rigging, which they use at Arkabutla Lake.
It is a two-hook live-bait rig that incorporates a three-way swivel with an egg sinker on the bottom leg to hold it tight when vertically trolled.
The weight of the egg sinker tied into the bottom leg of the rig varies with the depth of water fished. For shallow fishing in 7 to 12 feet of water, a ½-ounce weight is used. In 12 to 18 feet, a ¾-ounce weight is needed, and anything over 18 feet requires an ounce egg sinker.
Capps said if the crappie bite is slow, they will replace the No. 2 Eagle Claw extra light wire hook with a 1/16-ounce jighead on the Capps & Coleman Rig, and piggy back a live minnow on top of a plastic jig body.
“We put straight minnows on some of the rods and jig and minnow combos on the others, and let the fish decide what they want on a given day,” said Capps. “But we always use live bait — whether by itself or paired with a jig.”
Capps controls the trolling speed of the boat with a variable speed Minn Kota trolling motor. He advises that he monitors his speed on the GPS screen on his graph but can also gauge the correct speed by the angle of the line.
“I like about a 10- to 15-degree angle from vertical,” he said. “That makes the rig lay out right. Too fast, and the rigs will lay flat and maybe tangle together. Too slow, and the baits get tangled in the rig.
“If we’re on a good spot I’ll just troll the boat in a wide circle, catching fish as we go.”
Back in the day, Capps and Coleman tied each rig by hand, which is time consuming and can be confusing to other anglers.
Mississippi-based B’n’M Poles has taken away the tedious task of tying your own minnow rigs by offering the rigs pre-packed and shrink-wrapped in packages of six rigs.
“Ronnie and Steve are two of the best crappie anglers out there,” said B’n’M president Jack Wells. “Crappie anglers have been using their tactics with huge success for years. It just made sense to offer the consumer the same advantage by having these rigs already tied and ready to go.
“They come pre-spooled on plastic hangers and all you have to do is tie on to the swivel and you’re ready to fish.”
Minnow rigs come equipped with light wire hooks that are designed for minnow fishing.
“The cool thing about this rig is if you hang up, the light wire hook can be pulled loose and re-straightened with a pair of pliers and you’re right back to fishing,” said Capps, a B’n’M pro staffer and designer. “They work well with straight live bait or you can tie a small jighead to the end of the line and tip that with a minnow. Either way will catch loads of slab crappie.”
For more information, visit bnmpoles.com.
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