Fall = Shallow crappie ?

[Jigster]

I have read several articles and post here on crappie.com about fall crappie patterns. I usually troll in the fall. But based on the info I have been reading it sounds like I have been overlooking the shallows. I have a few questions.
Do crappie get on the same shallow structure that they do during the spawn (brush,stumps, root balls etc.) ? Or are they mainly on shallow water flats chasing shad? What is considered shallow? Any info you can share will be greatly appreciated. I love shallow water fishing.


Thanks
Jigster

[crappiechappy]

The way I look at it is like this. Fall is like Spring (Shallow) and Summer is like Winter (Deep). Wherever the shad are the crappie aren't far behind. I strictly longline troll and this is what I target. I hope this helps!

[jhook]

Jigster -- good question. I would be curious also what the general thought is about shallow? 2 feet or 10 feet. Also, (and maybe I'm just dense) but I keep reading reports: crappie are good on minnows in 25 feet of water. Does that mean catching them at 10 feet in 25 feet of water? Or catching them at 25 feet in 75 feet of water?

Just curious and obviously a little confused. Any thoughts would help.

J

[gooch]

Jigster -- good question. I would be curious also what the general thought is about shallow? 2 feet or 10 feet. Also, (and maybe I'm just dense) but I keep reading reports: crappie are good on minnows in 25 feet of water. Does that mean catching them at 10 feet in 25 feet of water? Or catching them at 25 feet in 75 feet of water?

Just curious and obviously a little confused. Any thoughts would help.

J

Good question jhook. I would think here in Arkansas any crappie 25 foot deep in 75 feet of water under a school of shad would be striper candy. Thus I think they just mean 25 feet deep. Look forward to reading some thoughts on this.

[REDBOAT]

Yes, on the lake we fish out of we have been in about 25 foot of water fishing about 10 feet down. However, the water temp has cooled down some so I am sure things are gonna change. (Will find out tonight!) Now, last fall I did well pitching a jig near fallen trees in relatively shallow water BUT it was near banks where the water got deep real quick. I did not do well at all in shallow coves like I did in the spring during the spawning period. So my opinion is, in the fall fish shallow but near deep water.

-REDBOAT

[Slab Hunter]

Jigster,
We have caught crappie many times in 4 to 8 ft deep flats in Saline using a cork and a jig. Most of the time it's late fall to early winter (December) before the action gets really hot, but yeah they move to where the shad are...
What we do is start trying about the end of November, but some years are better than others.

Randy

[DRPEPPER]

Jigster, I just did a comparison between lake Houston and a lake here in Arkansas. But, this forum didn't like my password I used. So I lost it. Forgive me if both responses come through.
Both lakes are the same age and silted over on the bottoms. The deeper water is in the creeks.
Houston is about a month behind here for the migrations. But, I start out in October trying to find them in the creeks just off the main lake. In Houston's case Luces Bayou. By the way, I used to live in Crosby. As fall progresses I would follow them further up into the deeper holes. They remain there until about mid February, then I am fishing Flats just off of these creeks in water that is 2' to 3' deep. I am really fishing for red ears at this time here in Arkansas. But, I catch quite a few crappie with my micro jigs. I think the shallow water is actually warmer than the deeper holes as the sun shines more during late winter/early spring.
I understand the fishermen and their clubs have improved the quality of Lake Houston with conservation efforts and habitat. Good for you guys.
The best trick I have for keeping up with what crappie are doing, is to watch the other boats and try to beat them to their fishing holes next weekend. (Heh-Heh)

[CrappiePappy]

yes, they do seem to come shallower in Fall ... than they've been thru most of the Summer, but not necessarily as shallow as they do in Spring. Most likely, since they're instinctively following the baitfish, they set up in ambush spots where the baitfish are likely to pass.
Locally (Ky), I've done well fishing about 8ft deep ... in 20 or more feet of water, right down in the branches of standing trees. This info is from experiences from past years of fishing local lakes, in the months of Oct/Nov.
In East TN, on Watts Bar Lake ... deep water docks & deep flats with timber seem to be the key places for Oct & Nov fish. The shad schools are on the move, then, and the fish are usually around the docks or stump beds ... but, can be in 5ft of water, all the way out to 20+ft of water. And they are usually on or near the tops of the submerged timber ... or suspended beneath the docks.

It's also been my experience, that Black Crappie tend to come into these "shallower" places during the Fall .... while the White Crappie tend to stay out in the deeper waters, but may suspend shallower in the water column than they've been during the Summer heat.
Bear in mind that the lakes I fish are mostly large reservoirs ... with main lake & channel depths of 50, 60, 70ft or more. The local lakes have a considerable amount of standing timber (esp in the creeks, but also along some main lake banks) that can be in water down to 30ft deep (or more). Watts Bar is a whole other story ... so I adjust to the situation there, by shooting docks and casting to submerged timber ... but, usually don't fish below the top 1/3 of the water column depth. There's not a lot of "standing" timber there, and most of the "fallen" timber is on shallow banks. That's one reason why the private docks, and locally placed brushpiles around them, are such magnets to the fish. The dock posts act as "standing timber", and the dock itself provides shallow shade ... making them perfect ambush points for the fish to intercept roving shad schools.

Crappie will seek comfortable conditions, ambush spots, and a foodsource ... wherever it takes them. The Fall feeding session is meant to provide their eggs/milt with enough protein to carry them thru the "Winter", so that they have a better chance of getting off a good spawn ... come the following Spring.

........... luck2ya ..... cp

[Roberta]

The lake we fish, we do better on the west side of the lake in the spring and early summer, where there's a flat about 8 feet deep that then drops off into 16 feet. It's covered in weeds and th ecrappie, saugeye, cats and bass will all use it as an ambush spot. In late summer and fall, though, we do better on the east side of the lake where the banks drop off very steeply into the channel which is about 20 feet deep. The fish may be close to the bank, but they can scoot into deep water in a hurry. Also, the big schools of gizzard shad YOY tend to stay over the deeper water.
The only thing we catch well on a shallow flat in the fall are bull bluegills. - Roberta

[CrappieKidd]

Hey Dr Pepper good to hear from someone fishing lake Houston. Used to live their in the 80's. Fished Luces Bayou in the spring come Summer fished the Railroad bridge all day long and caught a bunch. Fall we would go to Conroe bridge and slautghter them their. Now I am having trouble learning the Carolina Crappie. Used to fish their with my good friend Mickey Walker.