Some PVC pipe plus ingenuity equals invention for crappie

BY LES WINKELER The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisian

CARBONDALE (AP) -- Jay Zapp of Carbondale had just pulled a couple of nice crappie from the depths of Cedar Lake. Zapp knows the lake like the back of his hand. He peered at the flasher unit between his feet while he removed the lure from the fish's mouth, then nodded his head knowingly. "Lift your line," he said.
I dutifully complied, figuring any activity would loosen the joints on this cold day.
"That's what I thought," Zapp said. "You were at about 16 feet. Drop it another couple of feet."
Since Zapp had just nailed a couple of keepers, I was in no position to argue. I slid out another two feet of line and waited. The results weren't instantaneous, but within a couple of minutes there was a resounding thump on the line. Voila! I'm a believer.
Zapp was demonstrating the crappie finder he developed.
The crappie finder is simply a refinement of the standard depth finder. Most fishermen place their depth finder's transducer on their trolling motor. That works fine, except that only the person operating the boat fishes over the area displayed on the flasher or screen.
Zapp, who runs a part-time guide service, decided it wasn't in his best interests to have his clients watching him catch fish. As a result, the crappie finder, a device consisting of about five feet of 21/2inch PVC pipe, another shorter length of pipe and three elbows, was developed.
The device is held in place by placing the short piece of pipe over the shaft of a pedestal seat in the center of the boat, allowing two or three anglers to fish directly under the transducer.
"This makes it possible for everybody in the back of the boat to catch fish," Zapp said.
The beauty of the device is its simplicity, it slides into place in a matter of seconds.
"It's not complicated at all,"Zapp said "You could rig one up, it's just a matter of figuring out how to get your transducer stable over the side of the boat. It's critical to get the bottom of your transducer level. Otherwise, you'll get erroneous information."
Zapp said the device is most effective when placed near the trolling motor. The closer the transducer is to the trolling motor, the easier it is to maintain correct boat position.
The other feature that is critical is a quality flasher or screen. Zapp uses a Zercom marine flasher.
"It's so sensitive I can tie a knot in the line and you can see it," he said. "I can see the jigs down there so I know I'm right over the brush. If you're fishing a dropoff, you can fish right at the edge of the dropoff and see if your depth is correct."
"The biggest advantage is I know immediately when I'm not over a productive area. It saves a lot of time."
Zapp got the idea for the crappie finder from his days in the navy when he did some ice fishing. He thought about the device for several years before building the prototype he still uses.
For now, Zapp's unit is the only one in operation. "I hadn't planned to do anything commercially," he said. "It's real easy to operate. It's real easy to put in the boat. It doesn't take any longer to put up than it takes to put your trolling motor up and down."