Submitted photoEd Moes, displays a crappie he caught on a Pico lures Scented Scent Ring Tube with a dash of his famous Slab Sauce added for extra enticement.

Scott Vance backed his boat into the water early one morning at Okatibbee Lake and didn’t see another boat. But he didn’t get far before the action began.

“Bam!” A crappie slammed into his Pico jig and the bite was on.

Frigid temperatures and cold water didn’t stop Vance that day last February on a crappie trip to Okatibbee Lake. The spawn was still a ways off but the crappie were staging in their traditional pre-spawn areas and Vance was ready for them with his Pico jigs and Slab Sauce.

“The males go shallow first and prepare the spawning sites and a lot of the fishermen will be there catching the smaller males,” Vance said. “But the bigger females are staging at the nearest deep water drop. I prefer fishing deeper water because it’s easier for me to catch them out there with my Hummingbird Helix and boat set up.”

While most folks are waiting for warmer weather, Vance will enjoy some of the hottest action of the year. Though Vance prefers to stay low key and out of the limelight, he’s one of the foremost crappie experts in the country.

“The big females will come in and lay their eggs and move out pretty fast,” said Vance. “They’ll leave their eggs in there for the males to guard and move back out to their staging area. While most of the people are catching the smaller males and an occasional female, I’ll be catching the big sows before, during and after the spawn in the 8-foot range.”

Spice it up with Slab Sauce

“Sometimes the fish need a little added enticement during the pre-spawn and I’ll tip my Pico jigs with Slab Sauce,” said Vance. “Ed Moes is the founder of Crappie.com which has 100,000 members and his nickname is “Slab” so he named his special concoction Slab Sauce. He’s an avid crappie angler who came up with a better product to catch more fish. And you’ll catch more fish in cold weather by spraying some Slab Sauce on your crappie jigs. Slab Sauce smells just like a fish because it actually is made from fish.”

Slab sauce is thicker than some of the traditional sprays used in bass fishing and that oily thickness keeps it on the lure longer as well and the crappie really latch on to it.

“I’ve used the Crappie Nibbles for a long time and they really work well, but they’re usually done after one bite,” Vance said. “With the new Slab Sauce, the scent stays on there longer. When you apply Slab Sauce to a Pico Ringed Pointer it’s a dynamite combo.”

Mitch Glenn: Pico Scent Ring Pointers and Slab Sauce

Lure designer and former tournament competitor Mitch Glenn has been designing and building crappie and bass lures since his teenage years in Arkansas and he knows a few things about catching pre-spawn crappie in mid to late February.

“The cycle for pre-spawn crappie usually begins in mid-February,” Glenn said.

It was Glenn’s love for crappie fishing and introduction to Slab Sauce that led him to design a couple of baits for Pico lures, specifically to use with Ed Moes’ famous Slab Sauce. While fish may bite in cold water, they often spit the lure out before an angler can react and the Slab Sauce makes them hold on just long enough for a fisherman to feel them and set the hook.

“We came up with a couple of solid body tube and pointer tail, shad type baits lined with little rings designed to hold the slab sauce,” said Glenn. “The more surface area that’s on a lure the longer the sauce is going to stay on them and the more fish you may catch as a result.”

Glenn has been working on the new lures for about six months and they’re going on the market in time for the spring crappie season after extensive field testing. The jigs just flat out catch crappie and when sprayed with the slab sauce they’re tough in cold water too.

“Our top Mississippi colors are orange and chartreuse, or black and chartreuse,” Glenn said. “On sunny days or in clear water, they like the lighter colors like clear pinks and pearl colors.”

Take a tip from Scott Vance if you’re getting ready to head to the lake to catch a few crappie then you might want to grab a handful of Pico jigs and a bottle of Slab Sauce before you get there.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.