When the words trolling and panfish are mentioned in the same sentence, most folks smile politely, a few giggle, and some even belly laugh.

But it's no joke, trolling for panfish may sound crazy, but it can be a deadly way of locating and catching pre-spawn crappie.

During early spring black and white crappie are often found in huge schools. These pre-spawn grouping of fish occurs on most reservoirs and natural lakes where crappie are numerous.

Roaming schools of small minnows are the primary forage, and about all these voracious panfish have on their minds is putting on the feed bag. Instinctively, crappie seek out their food source in open water. Ideally suited to feeding on free-roaming schools of baitfish, crappie spend most of their life suspended. Their open-water nature and aggressive predatory instinct make crappie an excellent target for trollers.

Pre-spawn crappies are most often found where deep open water contacts some form of bottom structure or cover. Channel edges, sunken islands, flooded stump fields, and weed edges are just a few of the spots crappie and are likely to hunt for minnows.

Trolling is a logical way to check these potential hot spots quickly and efficiently. The same trolling methods used to catch walleye can be applied to crappie. Crankbaits and in-line planer boards such as the Off Shore Tackle Side-Planer make a perfect crappie combination.

Compact crankbaits that closely resemble the natural forage species are the best choices. In waters that feature gizzard or threadfin shad, the Storm Rattlin' Thin Fin, Cotton Cordell CC Shad, No. 5 Rapala Shad Rap, and Bagley's Bass'n Shad are excellent choices. If emerald or spottail shiners are abundant, small stickbaits including the Storm Baby ThunderStick, No. 7 Floating Rapala, Mann's Stretch 5, and Cotton Cordell CD5 Wally Diver are top shelf.

Since crappie are almost certain to be suspended, set up a trolling program that presents several baits running at different depths. Vary lead lengths when searching for fish, and simply duplicate productive lead and bait combinations once you locate fish.

Spinning or light-action baitcasting tackle equipped with 8- or 10-pound-test line is ideal. When setting lures check the action of the bait carefully to be sure the bait is "in tune" and running properly. The lure should dive straight down. If it swims to the left or right a little, bend the line tie-in the opposite direction. A little bending goes a long way when tuning crankbaits.

Once a lure is tuned and set behind the boat, attach the Side-Planer to the line using both the front and rear pinch pad releases. Be sure the release springs are in the forward or heavy-tension setting and place the line midway between the rubber pads. Drop the board in the water and troll forward letting more line out slowly until the board works it ways out to the side. Once the board is in position, place the rod in a holder and begin setting another line.

Side-Planers are available in both left and right boards. Up to three boards can be fished per side, allowing anglers to use a variety of lures and to spread their lines 150 feet or more from the boat.

Troll just fast enough to give the trailing crankbaits action. When a crappie is hooked, the struggling fish will jerk and pull the board backwards in the water. Slowly reel in the board and fish together until the board can be reached and quickly snapped free of the line. Once the board is removed, fight the fish to net and reset the line using the same lead length.

Suspended crappie tend to be easy targets for quality sonar units. Watch your graph closely for signs of suspended fish and diligently work areas showing numerous fish marks.

This unique open-water angling opportunity is best during early spring. Eventually the water warms up and crappie move in shallow to spawn. After the spawn, crappies return to open water to hunt for minnows and the trolling game starts all over again.