Keith Lusher 06.24.24
I keep in mind it prefer it was yesterday. I used to be simply 17 years previous, casting a inexperienced and black Johnson’s Beetle Spin right into a slender canal lined with fallen timber. My goal was bream, and that morning I had already crammed my stringer with about seven fish. I aimed close to a half-submerged treetop and commenced reeling in. Abruptly, I felt a strong thump—extra forceful than the same old bream strikes I used to be accustomed to. As I lifted the fish out of the water, I spotted it was a crappie. It marked my first encounter with this species and sparked my fascination with them.
Since then, I’ve caught hundreds of crappie, experimenting with numerous methods reminiscent of utilizing shiners beneath a cork, tight-lining jigs, and jigs beneath a cork, all of which have confirmed efficient. Nonetheless, one technique I’ve grown notably keen on is casting and retrieving jigs with a spinner blade.
Not too long ago, I had the chance to check out a beneficial spinner bait known as the Sac-a-lait Slayer, made by H&H Lures, prompt by a lifelong crappie angler and good pal. For these unfamiliar, “Sac-a-lait” is the French time period for crappie, generally used wherever north of Baton Rouge.
My journey started on the Tickfaw River in Southeast Louisiana, an space nonetheless recovering from the dramatic environmental shifts brought on by Hurricane Ida a number of years in the past. I began fishing alongside a shoreline lined with cypress knees and lilies, armed with the Sac-a-lait Slayer on my ultralight setup. The morning started slowly, however because the solar rose, the fish turned extra lively.
Listed below are my key takeaways from utilizing the Sac-a-lait Slayer:
Weight: The lure weighs 1/16 ounce, which is completely suited to an ultralight setup in water no deeper than 10 ft. I might advocate the 1/8-ounce model for deeper waters.
Design: This lure shines in its streamlined design, with no jig head to interrupt its horizontal swimming movement. The embedded weight all through the lure permits for clean retrieval by way of constructions and vegetation.
Spinner: The robust, gold teardrop-shaped blade was properly made, exhibiting no indicators of flaking or chipping, in contrast to cheaper ones. Personally, I favor bigger blades for elevated water resistance, this enables me to decelerate my presentation, however it is a matter of private choice.
Throughout my journey, I landed 23 crappie, with the spotlight approaching a forged to submerged log. As I paused to untangle my spool, the lure sank to the underside. Once I began reeling it in, I felt resistance, and after a vigorous battle, I landed a strong 16-inch crappie—one of many largest I’ve ever caught and it got here on the Sac-a-lait Slayer!