Shallow Summer Crappie?????

[Crappie Buster]

Ok, I've read on the Kansas and Missouri board about catching crappie up shallow in the heat of the summer and just recently read it on the South Carolina board. This is really thinking out of the box for me cause I'm used to crappie being deep around piles and not up on the bank in 100 degree weather. What type of bank are we talking about here? Yall think the same banks that they spawn on would produce or are they going to be elsewhere.

I did read an article the other day about targeting blow downs on really steep banks. (IE. trunk up shallow and limbs out over 10ft+ of water) Just wondering if you don't have much timber to fish what yalls next choice would be? Yall please give me any insight you might have whether you've tried this or not I like to hear what yall think. Might give this a shot soon...I've got the itch for a crappie on the line!

CB

[jigsbydirk]

I have been catching crappie in water 4' to 12' deep. Shallow brush and stick ups have been where I look. The hotter the temp the better the bite. You wouldn't believe how hard they hit the jigs. The depth finder says 4' of water. I caught 3 or 4 fish off of this patch dipping a 1/4oz jig straight down in the sticks.

[sid]

We caught a mess of slabbers on a 100 acre lake in Texas in 4' of water. It seems when the inversion starts taking place they move up. Probably to find better oxygen

[CrappiePappy]

Ok, I've read on the Kansas and Missouri board about catching crappie up shallow in the heat of the summer and just recently read it on the South Carolina board. This is really thinking out of the box for me cause I'm used to crappie being deep around piles and not up on the bank in 100 degree weather. What type of bank are we talking about here? Yall think the same banks that they spawn on would produce or are they going to be elsewhere.
I did read an article the other day about targeting blow downs on really steep banks. (IE. trunk up shallow and limbs out over 10ft+ of water) Just wondering if you don't have much timber to fish what yalls next choice would be? Yall please give me any insight you might have whether you've tried this or not I like to hear what yall think. Might give this a shot soon...I've got the itch for a crappie on the line!
CB

Target those deep blowdowns ANYTIME you can find one Get a weedless jghead and some plastic bodies (tubes/grubs/critters) and work all over that blowdown ... above it and down in it !!!

Sometimes lakes stratify in Summer, creating a thermocline ... water is cooler below it, but oxygen levels are too low to sustain a fish for long. Find any kind of structure/cover that offers shade, and parts of it extend above that thermocline line ... fish from thermocline depth, up to just below whatever depth your bait disappears from sight, right on that cover.
Flats with stumps, humps with stumps, patches of standing trees, bridge pillers ... anything with the capacity to create shade, that's in water depth above the thermocline level ... has the capacity to hold fish. Covered docks are also a possiblity, even in relatively shallow water. And they may be best at the midday timeframe.
White Crappie will tolerate fairly warm water, given the oxygen content is suitable. Grass beds and water plants will give off some oxygen, too ... so having them in the area can be a plus (as long as they don't occupy all the space in the water column).

... luck2ya ... cp

[AntiochBA]

Target those deep blowdowns ANYTIME you can find one Get a weedless jghead and some plastic bodies (tubes/grubs/critters) and work all over that blowdown ... above it and down in it !!!

Sometimes lakes stratify in Summer, creating a thermocline ... water is cooler below it, but oxygen levels are too low to sustain a fish for long. Find any kind of structure/cover that offers shade, and parts of it extend above that thermocline line ... fish from thermocline depth, up to just below whatever depth your bait disappears from sight, right on that cover.
Flats with stumps, humps with stumps, patches of standing trees, bridge pillers ... anything with the capacity to create shade, that's in water depth above the thermocline level ... has the capacity to hold fish. Covered docks are also a possiblity, even in relatively shallow water. And they may be best at the midday timeframe.
White Crappie will tolerate fairly warm water, given the oxygen content is suitable. Grass beds and water plants will give off some oxygen, too ... so having them in the area can be a plus (as long as they don't occupy all the space in the water column).

... luck2ya ... cp

Excellent post...thanks for the info

[vhouston2]

Crappiepappy and Sid are both correct.....see this most summers in Mississippi as long as the reservoirs have enough water in them.....the lakes invert causing stratification and a changing thermocline. Consequently the baitfish go to the areas where oxygen is the most prevalent and the crappie follow. Can be frustrating to those of us who look for predictiable summer patterns in deeper water.

[Crappie Buster]

Any chance of finding them on the banks they were spawning on earlier this year. If the banks off some shad and a little brush. These banks are only 5ft at the deepest spots probably, but mostly 2-4ft range

[AntiochBA]

Timber seems to be the key in Kansas

[ad1974]

On one of the lakes I fish I've been catching a bunch right in some lilly pads,they are in 3 to 6 ft of water.

[rigrunner(236)]

I've been catching plenty of crappie around the brush piles in 6' to 8' of water in Oklahoma lakes. Using the lit't fishie jig tipped with the white crappie nibble. Catching crappie all times of the day.