The Ultimate Crappy Rig

I now have the ultimate crappy fishing rig:

Albright 9ft 10wt XX Rod
Lamson Guru 3.5 Reel
Scientific Anglers Bluewater Express 500 Grain Sinking Line
6ft of 40lb test leader
1/0 Gulley Ultra Craw Fly

What's that? You think it's a little on the stout side for farm pond crappy?


Yeah, this looks more like a kick-butt saltwater setup and, in truth, it is. Tomorrow I’m headed for Atlantic Beach to chase cobia and, in preparation, I took advantage of a sweet closeout deal on the Albright rod and loaded it for throwing at big fish in deep swells.

It will be my first saltwater trip with a fly rod and I’m psyched.


So what’s up with the crappy reference? Well, this morning Mary and I wandered down to our pond for a swim and I brought the rig along. I didn’t want to cast it for the first time while bobbing in the salt chop, probably embarrassing myself, so I floated out to the swim platform and spent a pleasant hour getting used to the sturdy rod and the heavy line.


I tied on the 1/0 crawfish imitation only because it was the heaviest thing I had in the box and, on one retrieval, thought I had picked up some weeds. But as the line’s end approached the platform, the 10wt’s tip did take a tiny bounce and I realized it was actually a fish – an ambitious white crappy.

He never had a chance.


So, for the moment, it’s my new crappy rig. It might be a sledgehammer to push a thumbtack, but whatever works...


Admission: The white crappy pictured above is not the one I caught today. I didn't have my camera along. So, this was a shot of one caught earlier this year, in the same pond, on much lighter gear, for reference. Forgive me the creative license.