Locating crappie in the fall

[ccm]

Hi,
I am fairly new to crappie fishing and am looking for advice on the best types of areas to search for crappie in the fall before they go deep for the winter. Do they move shallow, like bass, during the fall? What depth and structure should I be looking for.

I live in northwest Louisiana and will be doing most of my fishing on the Red River. I'm not looking for someone's secret spot, just general information.

Thanks to anyone who takes time to reply.

Charlie

[CatFan]

They do move shallow following their food. Find the bait fish and you'll find the crappie. I almost always cruise around looking for shad on my electronics before I fish in the fall.

[Sandwich Maker]

Charlie, the fall is my favorite time to crappie fish! As the water cools, they really pick up on their feeding. Cooler water will bring shad and baitfish shallower than they were in the summer, but on most of the lakes where I fish, they'll still be close to summer hangouts. They may be higher in the water column on brush or timber, where they were at 12'-15' now they'll be at 6'-8'. On standing timber, I've found that a lot of the crappie will be either on the timber where I've been catching them or on any kind of structure between the timber and the bank. There's always some nice fish that seem to stay on the summer depths, so don't be afraid to check on your summer pattern, too. There are times when I find some scattered around in stickups, like the spring, but most of my fall fishing is just a slight variation of my summer fishing. The key here in the part of TX I fish is water in the lower 50's. When it's staying there and lower, the pattern switches to more of a winter pattern.