Fishing for crappie mid-summer?

[derhul]

Hey Guys

I know that crappie fishing in the spring time (during spawning)...is done in rivers and lakes where there is plenty of brush. But what about in mid summer? What is the best way to fish for them then. In the deep? with what tackle?...life bait (minnows)...tube jigs...spinners???

[M R Dux]

Trolling Bandits on main lake breaks.

[LBM]

Hey Guys

I know that crappie fishing in the spring time (during spawning)...is done in rivers and lakes where there is plenty of brush. But what about in mid summer? What is the best way to fish for them then. In the deep? with what tackle?...life bait (minnows)...tube jigs...spinners???

Perhaps you might not want to be thinking deep for summer crappie after watching this video with Russ Baily and Chatt Martin.

Go to this page here MidWest Crappie TV Show and Guide Service and scroll down to Show #11 titled Pomona Lazy Crappie and watch this video of Russ and Chatt on Pomona Lake in the summer time.


Also welcome aboard CdotC.

[GoneCrappieFishing]

Depends on the species. Shallow flats will work for the black crappie in Tn, in summertime. Was june when we shot this video for crappie.com contest.

Crappie FIshing Crappie.com contest Woods Reservoir MTCC - YouTube

[GoneCrappieFishing]

We even caught a few white crappie that day as well if I remember correctly.

[derhul]

nice videos guys...so i see you guys us minnows in about 10 to 14 ft of water. It sounds like regardless of the season...crappie always stay in the brush.

[CrappiePappy]

Crappie love wood & Shad !! Either one will be a magnet to Crappie .... both, together = Thumbs Up

Early mornings, in Summer, I've found them to be hanging around downed trees coming off the bank & sticking out into (at least) 10ft of water .... bigger trees & deeper water can even be better. Add this to a shaded bank, and your odds go up !
After the Sun covers the water over those trees ... I start looking at the main lake & deeper depths (if I stay past midday). I also consider fishing at night, under lights .... tightlining with minnows, and possibly casting a jig to the outer edges of the light.

... cp

[NIMROD]

Depends on water body and conditions. I find them on creek channels and even on shallow flats in 100 + degree temps. If I don't catch em jigging stumps or brushpiles, I'll drag shallow creek channels in the flats. No longer spiderrig these days, but will hold 2 jig poles and drap jigs to catch suspended fish. Last year we caught way over 100 most days dragging jigs in 4 to 8' of water in midday sun with temps over 100 degrees.

[Dutch552]

I'd have to agree with Nimrod on it depends on the body of water. A natural lake with a termocline will stage fish differently than a river-run reservoir that does not create a thermocline in the hottest months. I fish a large COE lake mostly and target open water and bait balls exclusively during the post-spawn. If I can find the balls of shad-I will almost always find the crappie suspended below them feeding. Fish are mostly suspended 10-18' feet deep with the bottom depth not important so long as there are shad present, I've caught fish over 70 FOW 10' down in the summer time when there is bait to be found. Minnows are a sure thing if you can keep them alive going from the cold aerated minnow bucket to the warm lake water, jigs work well either alone or tipped with minnnows, longlining jigs or crankbaits is another popular summertime method that results in big catches.

[OkieDon]

I would guess that most people fish for Crappie too deep in the Summer. While you will find some fish holding on brush on creek and old river channels, we find lots in 5 to 8 ft of water in the backs of coves and up old creeks that have a lot of timber. Even when water temps get in the mid 90's, they'll be shallow as long as their is bait around. We also do very good along rip raps bouncing jigs along the rocks at 4 to 8' down in 8 to 10ft of water. It's not uncommon to have 50 to 100 fish days in the Summer. I guess they like it warm!