Locating and Catching Crappie Advice

[jacob2000]

So I know you fish brush piles for crappie in the summer months, but what other times would you fish there? Also, what particular time of the year would you fish shallow and where?

[vic n]

You can fish brushpiles all year long. But at all times, some piles will have fish and others will not, so it helps to have lots of piles to search and to have them located in different types of locations around your lake. Some deep, some shallow, and some that stretch from one to the other. As to shallow water, you can try anytime. But the big attraction for some people is to go crappie fishing only one time during the year, and that is during the spring spawning period, which in Texas may be late March to mid April (?). I don't know the timing in Tx, so ask on your state forum. During the spawn, most fish will come up really shallow to lay and incubate eggs.
But if baitfish are swimming in 1-2' of water in the middle of August, then the crappie will come in after them sometime during the day. It may be just after first light, or very late in the evening, but they will come.

Some of the best fishing from brushpiles can come when it gets colder.....November, December can be great months.

[CrappiePappy]

So I know you fish brush piles for crappie in the summer months, but what other times would you fish there? Also, what particular time of the year would you fish shallow and where?

Actually, not everyone fishes brushpiles in the heat of Summer. Many people push/pull crankbaits out in open water, in & around the wandering schools of Shad ... especially when targeting White Crappie.

But, yeah ... what Vic N says has great merit.

You also want to know if a thermocline sets up in your waters, and at what depth it occurs. Cover below that depth won't likely have any fish, but if some of it sticks up above the thermocline level/depth, then there's a potential for fish to be there.

Crappie will seek out shade (for comfort in the cooler water, or for camo to hide their presence) and that shade can be from submerged objects or from sheer depth (below the light penetration level). Windy &/or cloudy days can bring Crappie out of the brush & suspending above or to the sides of it, while bright sunny days may put them down into the brush (or at least on the shady side of it).

While not all Crappie will be in/around the brush, or out in open water chasing baitfish, none of them will be below the thermocline depth, as there's not sufficient dissolved oxygen in those depths below the thermocline, to sustain them (or the baitfish they feed on).

I generally tend to fish "shallow" (<15fow) in the Spring spawning period, early in the AM in Summer (for both Black & White Crappie), and in the late Fall (for Black Crappie, especially). And, of course, at night during the Summer.

... cp

[Tony the Tiger]

I'm pretty new to catching succesfully but I have learned my waters only have fish on the banks for a short period in the spring. Then they move to deeper open water. I've been catching in the middle of the lake, on deeper flats and edges of drop offs to channels with slight canges to depth. You really just have to move around to find them. And they are always in a different place.

[Tony the Tiger]

I should have noted that I'm slow trolling C & C. Rigs with minnows over jigs at a depth where I see fish on my FF. The fish could be anywhere. I learned all this from this forum. I went from searching to catching by paying attention to what our friends post here.

[jacob2000]

When fishing brush piles in the fall and colder months, what time of day would you be fishing? Also, how do you troll? Sorry for so many questions, but is it beneficial to fish multiple brush piles in a day or stick with a single one?

[CrappiePappy]

When fishing brush piles in the fall and colder months, what time of day would you be fishing? Also, how do you troll? Sorry for so many questions, but is it beneficial to fish multiple brush piles in a day or stick with a single one?

In the Fall/Winter, you would fish the brush piles at whatever time of day the air temps allow you to ... IMHO.

Trolling is simply fishing with the boat constantly moving. What baits you're using and what rigging style will determine what type of "trolling" method you use and at what speed your boat is moving. You have longline trolling, Spider Rigging, & pushing/pulling as the most often used terms to define what method of "trolling" is being done.

You definitely want to have quite a few brushpiles marked, and know at what depth they top out at vs the water level. Then when you find a few fish on a brushpile, you'll know which other piles are at the same depth and can move to a fresh one if you stop catching fish from the one you're on. You can set up a "milk run" between several piles in a localized area, and jump from one to the other after catching several fish from the first one. This gives them time to settle down at each pile, after you've removed some from that pile, and then you can make the "milk run" several times (if time permits) during your trip.

... cp

[jacob2000]

In the Fall/Winter, you would fish the brush piles at whatever time of day the air temps allow you to ... IMHO.

Trolling is simply fishing with the boat constantly moving. What baits you're using and what rigging style will determine what type of "trolling" method you use and at what speed your boat is moving. You have longline trolling, Spider Rigging, & pushing/pulling as the most often used terms to define what method of "trolling" is being done.

You definitely want to have quite a few brushpiles marked, and know at what depth they top out at vs the water level. Then when you find a few fish on a brushpile, you'll know which other piles are at the same depth and can move to a fresh one if you stop catching fish from the one you're on. You can set up a "milk run" between several piles in a localized area, and jump from one to the other after catching several fish from the first one. This gives them time to settle down at each pile, after you've removed some from that pile, and then you can make the "milk run" several times (if time permits) during your trip.

... cp

Thanks, CrappiePappy. But what do you mean whatever time of day the air temps allow you to? And what's your favorite method of trolling?

[CrappiePappy]

Thanks, CrappiePappy. But what do you mean whatever time of day the air temps allow you to? And what's your favorite method of trolling?

What I mean by "whatever time of day the air temps allow you to" is .... as hot or cold as you can stand it. Winters up here in KY can be brutal, but I don't know what Winters are like in your part of Texas.

My favorite way of trolling "used to be" holding one rod in hand and dragging a 1/16oz marabou Roadrunner behind the boat .... or what is usually called "longline" trolling. But, now that I have rod holders mounted on my boat & 14' rods, I've been "pushing" jigs with some success.

"Pushing" is simply trolling with the rods out the front end of the boat, more or less pointing towards the direction I'm going. Long rods & heavy weights keep the baits & line away from the trolling motor prop and at whatever depth I want them to be, when the boat is moving (usually between 0.5mph & 0.8mph).

"Pulling" is trolling with the rods out the side or back, and the term is mostly used when using crankbaits (with or without heavy weights on the line).

Longline trolling is simply dragging your baits way behind the boat .... in other words, "having a long line" between the rod & bait. The term is mostly used when the bait is a jig, but it's really just describing that style of trolling vs the other terms.

Spider Rigging is basically "pushing/pulling" at very slow speeds (less than 0.5mph), and usually associated with having heavy weights on your main line and a jig or hook on a leader ... with a jighead/plastics, a jighead & minnow, a jighead/plastics/minnow, or just a minnow on a hook. Most Spider Rigging is done by one or two people out the front of the boat, but there can be a person at the back of the boat ... and he'd be "pushing" if his rods were pointed towards the front of the boat, or "pulling" if his rods were pointed towards the back of the boat. (but most people wouldn't refer to "pushing or pulling", just simply "spider rigging")

When you're pushing/pulling crankbaits, you're usually moving at between 1.5mph & 2mph. You can troll cranks with or without heavy weights on your line.

All these terms are kinda interconnected, as they simply describe a variation of "trolling" ... when you consider the term "trolling" to mean dragging your baits along with forward motion. If the boat isn't moving, your lines would be straight down below the rod tip and you'd be considered fishing "tightline" (or what my GrandPa used to call "still fishing"). The terms are simply a way to distinguish the different variations of the methods used, so you don't have to go into detail about how you were fishing.

... cp

[vic n]

Jacob, tell us what you plan to try. Do you have a boat, or are you bank fishing? There is a big investment for some of these types of fishing, or you can adapt some of them to a cheap style (like me!). Do you have, or are you contemplating electronics? Do you fish a large reservoir, river, or small lake? Let us know the types of situation you think you will be facing, and maybe we can fine tune our answers for your situation.