Summertime Crappie Fishing

Back a few months ago the crappie were shallow and were holding on shallow wood and rock cover. A lot of fisherman caught a lot of crappie. But now the water temps in the shallows has reached into the low 80 degree range. This has caused the crappie to move to deeper cooler water. Fish like the crappie, small mouth bass and the trout prefer the cooler water. Also most of the minnows and bait fish have moved deeper and the crappie will follow.

The fisherman that still fish for crappie in the shallow will have limited success. But the angler that understands the seasonal movement of the crappie to deeper water in the summer and fishes for them in deeper water will do better over all. Fish deeper cover like bush piles and stump rows and standing timber you can find these types of cover in most lakes. Anywhere you can find wood cover in or close to deeper water, this is a good place to start your fishing. Also on deeper banks look for lay down trees and wood washed up into coves and pockets and my favorite green over hanging willow tree limbs in the water.

When you find any of these areas start with a live minnow or a small crappie jig, tube bait or curly tail grub. Colors like white, chartreuse or blue and black work most of the time. Crappie can be very color picky at times and you may have to switch colors during the trip. If you are using a minnow, then try to keep a lively fresh one on your hook. A good crappie rod is around 6 feet long with a good back bone and a limber tip. Use line in the 4 to 8 pound range. Clear line helps to not spook the fish. Make your cast close to the cover and work it slowly up and down .

Watch your line for any movement and if you use a floater look for any movement and wait for the line or floater to take off and set the hook. Night fishing can produce better fishing at this time of year. Just find your spot and put out a light and soon the minnows will start swimming around. Drop you minnow or jig below the school and wait for the action.

As many of you know the crappie is one of the best tasting fish there is. So on your next crappie trip try a night trip and look for deeper wood cover. Most lakes have man made fish attractors these are also good to fish.