Lake Wheeler - Catching Summer Crappie - by Troy Jens

Just because the weather warms up, it doesn’t mean that the crappie action will cool off.
If you have never spent any time on the Tennessee River in North Alabama, it is a fishing destination that should be at the top of everyone’s bucket list. It is epic, an endless quiet flow of water that meanders through the valleys in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a beautiful place to visit any time of year.
Lake Wheeler is middle way on the Tennessee River chain as it flows through the heart of Alabama. From stumpy flats to steep rocky bluffs, the river is a diverse fishery that provides year-round action for numerous species, and the summer crappie fishing is often an overlooked adventure.
Far removed from the summer scene are the crowds of anglers that came for the spring crappie bite. On a lake nearly 60 miles long crowding is not a problem. There may be the buzz of a few bass boats and a barge or a yacht moving up or down the river now and then, but for the most part Lake Wheeler has miles of quiet crappie-filled water. Unless it is a major holiday, even skiing and jet-skiing are minimal.

During the dog-days you most likely will see Keith Dodd’s crappie boat on Wheeler somewhere. He will be easing along through the gentle current flow at about .4 to .7 miles per hour in search of a speckled delicacy.
The veteran guide will have eight rods in the holders around the front deck, each set up with a Lindy Spider Rig hanging below the surface.
Crappie can be found shallow on Lake Wheeler during the summer months. There are abundant areas with lots of driftwood cover and many people put cover around or under their docks or boat-slips that will hold shallow summer crappie.
Bridge- pilings, barge-ties, steel frames around factories and stump flats only add to the diverse cover where shallow crappie can be found, but for Dodd, fishing the deeper cover he puts out in 14 to 26 feet of water on the creek channel edges is where he spends most of his time.
Keith says, “We make stake beds by putting oak planks into buckets and filling them with concrete, the oak planks and other hardwoods last a long time”.


Does putting out stake beds really work well for summer crappie?


“There are always some that just won’t do it, but most of the time those we put down will hold fish,” says Keith.


Keith says that baitfish (shad) holding to or relating to the man-made cover is the key to its success. He uses his sonar to see if the baitfish or schools of crappie are holding to or hanging near the cover he puts down.


Thinking ahead about wind adjustment is a key factor in placing crappie cover. It is a good strategy to have some cover placed in areas that are protected from different directions of the wind. This ensures there will be places to go fish when the weather is bad.


Keith says that creek channel bends are a good place to look first for crappie. He adds that there is usually natural cover in creek channel bends to start with. Creek channel bends tend to collect driftwood cover and other cover that gets hung in or settles in the turns. Outside turns in creek channels will often have a steeper drop or slope from the edge, and they provide a structure-relation point for schools of bait which translates into a good fish holding area in general.


Keith uses the Lindy Spider Rig in his search pattern for schools of crappie. He keeps the boat moving at .4 to .7 miles per hour. Usually his lines are hanging at about a 45-degree angle as he eases up and down the old submerged river banks and creek ledges.


“When I see a bunch of cover or a school of fish, I’ll stop for a minute or two and see if they will keep biting or not,” says Keith.


Keith does not hang around long if the action is not what he hopes for. When he sees something that looks good, he will stay on that spot for about five minutes and if the fish do not bite by then, he moves on.


Keith likes to use 12 foot rods for his spider-rig fishing. Typically a three-quarter ounce Lindy Spider Rig is what he prefers, but the weight can vary depending on wind and current. He goes to a 1 ounce Lindy Spider Rig if the wind is up or if he is in the stronger current on the main river areas.


Another exciting tactic Keith likes is to “pull” (troll) the Lindy Shadling crankbaits for crappie. Aside from what one may think, he prefers the larger number 7 size Shadling as opposed to its smaller number 5 counterpart.


“We catch a lot of fish pulling the Shadlings,” says Keith. He uses counter reels for pulling the crankbaits for crappie and he believes that three things are critical, depth, speed and color. “I’ll put one out at 40 feet behind the boat by the counter, one at 50 feet and another at 75 feet, when I start to catch fish I’ll go to putting them all the same distance back to where I’m getting the strikes.”


While a lot of people dismiss the importance of color that is not the case with Keith.


“Redtail is a favorite color but change is sometimes hour by hour. They may hit the redtail early, then the bluegill or shad color may work better later,” Keith says. “Crappie really like some crazy colors.”


One thing that is also for certain, there is no telling what may be fighting on the other end when a Shadling is being pulled behind the boat. Big stripe, bass, smallmouth bass and even catfish have made many cameo appearances during Keith’s crappie trips on Lake Wheeler. It is anybody’s guess when the rod tip goes down.


Summary
Creeks on Lake Wheeler that are good for crappie.
(Up river )– Cataco Creek, Flint River, Limestone Creek and Swan Creek.


(Mid-river )- Mallard Creek and Fox Creek.
(Lower- end) - Spring Creek, First and Second Creeks.


From June through September target creek channel bends and work depths from 14 to 26 feet of water. Main channel bends and mouths of creeks that intersect with the main river channel are good areas between Finely Island and the Browns Ferry nuclear plant. The main river ledge has a lot of stumps.


The stump-flats between the railroad trestle and the first set of power lines down river are always good for shallow crappie.


The bite is always better during hours of water generation which is typically more consistent during the weekdays. The fishing is usually good all day during periods of generation.


Trolling and casting the Lindy Shadling in the tailraces below the dams is excellent for smallmouth, stripe and many other species.


For information on Keith Dodd’s Guide service, hear his updated Audio Fishing Report.
Keith Dodd. Phone 256.679.1826 Email - [email protected]
Website - http://www.keithdoddsguideservice.com/


Note – Lindy is blowing out the Lindy Spider Rigs for .59 cents each. List price was $1.93