Fall crappie

[gooch]

Now that we have our first break in the oppresive heat I am starting to think about fall fishing. I have never done much of it since I hunt so much but I am going to give it a go this fall. When do you guys notice the fishing turn back on? Is it a time of year or water temp or what?

[Jason Piper]

I notice crappie biting better when the water creeps back down below 80 degerees. That should be real soon in NW Arkansas. Usualy October through mid December is outstanding. I consentrate most of my fishing towards docks in 20' plus of water with brush fishing anywhere from 10' to 25' down. I also fish brushpiles I have sunk on main lake flats durring that time as well. It seems like in the Fall fish are always bigger. My clients or myself catch several crappie over 2 lbs. every Fall!
My main method of fishing is minnows under slip floats around the docks and on the flats I use 2" curly tail jigs.
I hope this helps! Good luck!

[CrappieHead]

I notice crappie biting better when the water creeps back down below 80 degerees. That should be real soon in NW Arkansas. Usualy October through mid December is outstanding. I consentrate most of my fishing towards docks in 20' plus of water with brush fishing anywhere from 10' to 25' down. I also fish brushpiles I have sunk on main lake flats durring that time as well. It seems like in the Fall fish are always bigger. My clients or myself catch several crappie over 2 lbs. every Fall!
My main method of fishing is minnows under slip floats around the docks and on the flats I use 2" curly tail jigs.
I hope this helps! Good luck!

JT,
Have U been using Swimin Minnows much down at Beaver this year? They have been hot up at Bull Shoals this year. Think I may have caught as many on them as I have live minnows this year.

Do U think slow trolling Chunk O' Rock area's in the fall when water temps drop would be any good?

[Jason Piper]

JT,
Have U been using Swimin Minnows much down at Beaver this year? They have been hot up at Bull Shoals this year. Think I may have caught as many on them as I have live minnows this year.

Do U think slow trolling Chunk O' Rock area's in the fall when water temps drop would be any good?

I haven't tried the swimmin minnows yet. Who makes them and where can I find them? I'll try anything new!
I have trolled chunk rock in the fall with jigs and also hotntots with some luck... but you also pick up a lot of whites, walleye and bass. When I'm strickly targeting crappie I will hit brush around docks.

[CrappieHead]

I haven't tried the swimmin minnows yet. Who makes them and where can I find them? I'll try anything new!
I have trolled chunk rock in the fall with jigs and also hotntots with some luck... but you also pick up a lot of whites, walleye and bass. When I'm strickly targeting crappie I will hit brush around docks.

Bobby Garland Swimmin’ Minnows

The package does not have a web site on them. They are not listed in BPS or Cabelas web sites. Only I have found them is at Bull Shoals Pontaic Mairnia. Only place I have looked for them also, other than online.

[Darryl Morris]

Surface temps here in Hot Springs have dropped nearly 10 degrees in the the past 2 weeks due to cooler nights.

Surface temps in the 70's will trigger the crappie to stack up on the brushpiles again. It believe it has alot to do with the oxygen content of the water in general. Warm water just doesn't hold oxygen well.

As the water temp continues to drop the crappie will become more and more aggressive fattening up for the winter. If we have a mild winter, they won't head for the deep water channels as much as they will in a hard, cold winter. Keep after them in the cold water though, just don't forget that as the water gets colder (40's and lower 50's) the bite will become slower. The more aggressive they are the faster you can fish and the opposite is true, the slower the bite the slower and smaller you should fish.

I love the fall feeding frenzy. Start now and keep after it as long as you can stand the temps. Then get back after it in late Feb for the spring harvest of crappie.