Thread: Fall Specks???

Hey yall...at what water temperature do the specks go shallow for the fall feed? Tight Lines

I don't know if there is a specific temp that you can go by, but rather their response to a general cooling of the surface temp as we head thru the fall. This I do know, if I was retired or out of work I would be on the lake with this beautiful weather we are having now.

Originally Posted by Smoky

Hey yall...at what water temperature do the specks go shallow for the fall feed? Tight Lines

There doesn't seem to be a specific single 'water temp' that signals the start of the Fall Feeding Frenzy .... but, according to what I've read from guides & pro tourney anglers & all my many years on this site ....

it would appear that, once the water temps drop below the 70deg range ... it's "starting" or 'well on it's way' That seems to be the general concensus, anyway. And once the water temps start getting into the low 50's, they're on their way back out to deep water haunts.

Now ... that being said -- it's been my experience that Black Crappie tend to come into shallower water, during this time, than do the White Crappie. From all of my years of fishing Watts Bar in Oct, and the results of the 5yrs of Fall Crappie tourny catches on Watts Bar (2000-2005) ... the majority of the fish caught, were Black Crappie. The majority of those were caught shooting docks, deep water docks (>15fow underneath). I don't have the info on what the water temps, or water temp ranges, were during those times ... but, it was usually the mid to late Oct timeframe.

Don't let water temps be your only guide ... GO NOW, or when you can, and when/if you find them ... you'll have a good idea of how far along they are on their Fall journey. Watch what the baitfish do, and where they are ... because the Crappie ALWAYS know this, and never stray too far.

... cp