How do you guys fish crappies in the summer?

[kercha83]

Last night I tried night fishing under a lantern and a submersible green light and didn't catch anything. There was a lot of bugs and thousands of minnows and shad running around getting chased by bigger fish but they weren't interested in my minnows.

[river scum]

how late did you fish? sometimes they dont start till midnight here. couple hours after dark at least. these light things only help up the odds, they dont make them bite. ill cruise around till i see pods of fish i suspect to be crappie, then drop anchor and wait. i like to be near, but just off, the drop off into deep water. fish right under the bait ball all the way to bottom. they can come in at any depth, so fish the entire water column. dont give up on the lights though.

[slabbacks]

I like the night bite on my home lake but like river said for some reason they turn on good about midnight. I fish near docks or out at the drop on points. Points with structure are the ones I look at out there. Sometimes bridges but not as often. Make sure to also put your minnow on the outside of the light beam some as well. Have taken several that seem to just hover out there.

Also try running crank baits on the flats during the heat of summer during daylight hours. I run Bandit 200's in 12-15 FOW and troll the area. Keep an eye on your track and mark the areas you catch fish, then you can just troll the productive water where you are catching fish. BAIT is the key on the screen in those areas.

[kickingback]

Night fishing is just like day fishing. You need to find the structure and points and fish them with your lights. The fish will be enticed by the plankton and bait you bring in causing a feeding frenzy thus making increasing your chances of catching fish. I have had luck every time I go out at night and That is usually 3 to 4 times a month. If a place is not biting after 30 to 45 minutes. move on to other structure. Hope this helps.

[kercha83]

thanks for the tips guys, river scum i use a slip bobber with minnows and kept adjusting height until i get to the bottom. I fished all around the area including outside the lighted area with no luck.

[Kevin22]

Whenever I have night fished I typically find the crappies to be from 2" to 2' under the surface. Usually use small flies or brown/black jigs to mimic bugs hatching.

[kercha83]

I fished until 2 am.

[river scum]

we all would like to see you get bite brother. can you give us more info about where you are fishing? what lake is it, whats water clarity, max depth, avg depth, kind of forage(is there shad), lots of weeds or none, bottom type and does it vary,.......... post a contour map of it and we will pick it apart for you. lol

[slabsrus]

Summer fishing for me is pretty much the same is Spring fishing, other than I generally fish deeper water and around docks. I use exactly the same rigs, ultra light micro jigs and soft plastics. I just cast it out and let it slowly sink until something picks it up. I try to pay careful attention to what depth I think the fish hit at and concentrate on and around that depth. With my jigs being 1/64 or 1/80 ounce tipped baits no larger than the Berkley Gulp minnows, my bait sinks quite slowly so it can be a bit tricky if the wind picks up, but it works. Some days I find them in the wide open waters just hanging out there over 20 feet of water in areas that I am sure hold virtually no structure, just the wide open spaces. When I don't find them on the drops, submerged points, deep water weeds and wood, or the docks, I begin slowly working the open water. Not being one to use electronics, this is often a tedious task in large lakes but patience pays. When searching the open spaces I will use two lines with one or two jigs on each, depending on the wind and water clarity. I will space the jigs in line anywhere from 3 - 5 feet apart and set the individual lines at different depths so that I am covering several depths of the water column. Over the years I have been able to pin down a few general areas of the open water that seem to hold fish more regularly than most of the lake, and all I have come up with about why this is the case is that it might be something to do with natural currents. I mean I know the crappies are out there because their food is out there, but why is there food out there. Again, I think it has something to do with currents. And one of the funny things about finding them in the open spaces is that they are rarely near the bottom out there, but rather they suspend somewhere from three feet off the bottom to merely inches from the surface.

[keeferfish]

Are you looking only for night advise only? If so no help here only day fish.

Dip trees from 5 to 10 foot down here and sometimes shocked how shallow the fish are in the hot water. Another option is more like winter fishing over structure.

Good luck!