Reel the offering all the way to the top of the pole, and you can stick the rod tip into a very tight spot. Then let line out with measured pulls from the reel to get your bait or lure to the desired depth.

If you don't know the water's depth, you can simply drop the bait to the bottom and then turn the reel handle a crank or so. If the fish are suspended, an alternative is to drop a bait all the way to the bottom and work it gradually back to the top, jigging it just off the bottom. Turn the handle, jig it again, and repeat the maneuver until the fish are located.

At times, using a long rod is necessary to reach spots, but in other situations it's simply a matter of efficiency. When crappie are scattered along a riprap bank, there's no better way to keep your lure in the strike zone than to work down that bank, using your rod tip to control depth and placement of the bait.

It's possible to hold the bait still, swim it or jig it, and even put it into every little crevice among the rocks. You can experiment with depths by adjusting line length, or simply by lifting and dropping the rod tip. Once you've found the main holding depth, keep the bait in that zone at all times by never varying the amount of line out.

Similarly, when all the crappie are holding 3 feet below the surface beside tree trunks in a big stand of flooded timber, casting to each tree is inefficient. You'll waste too much time reeling baits back, while many casts are likely to miss the mark. A far more effective way to present baits precisely and work prime areas is to keep 3 feet of line out from the end of a jigging pole and move from tree to tree, placing the bait beside every trunk. Baits then can be jigged, hung in place or pulled right back up, depending on how the crappie seem to want them that day.

The approach is the same whether the offering is a live minnow, a marabou jig, a plastic trailer on a jighead or a micro-sized jigging spoon.

It's important to note that jigging pole applications are not just for boating anglers. Fishermen who work from the banks enjoy the ability to control baits and suspend them off the bottom several feet out from the shore by reaching out with long poles. They can also stretch over cover, through which it would be hard to reel back a bait or lure, using casting gear. Jigging poles also make it easier to lift fish over cover when landing them.

Although extra-long rods do create opportunities, they also add a few challenges. None are major problems, but they do call for adjustments. Overall, these fishing poles are more cumbersome than regular rods, and you have to get used to managing an extra 3 or 4 feet of pole.

For example, if you reel a fish all the way to the tip of a 10-foot rod, the crappie is going to end up several feet in the air or several feet away from you! Given a crappie's soft mouth, awkward landing attempts are likely to lead to a lost fish.

Anglers who are used to traditional rods and reels need to train themselves to fight the fish with the rod and swing it straight in, cane-pole style. Or at least lift the rod far enough to get a net under the fish.

Another added "twist" comes any time the line becomes wrapped around the end of a long pole. That's when a partner really comes in handy. It's far easier to undo one another's wraps than it is to try reaching the far end of a 10-foot-long pole. The solo angler's best option is to work the pole back hand-over-hand, letting the rod butt go to the other end of the boat.

Little things like boating and unhooking fish are minor adjustments for the opportunity to put baits in crappie-holding spots that otherwise would be inaccessible.