Thread: Crappie relating to structure - what to look for?

I’’ve fished some of those central Indiana lakes years ago, I use to have success with points, ledges, and underwater stumps and roads for those lakes that flooded roads.


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The steeper the better or is that hit and miss on the ledges?

Originally Posted by titanxt

The steeper the better or is that hit and miss on the ledges?

Finding drop offs on undewater points usually hold fish. Some more then others but always a good place to start. These are typically close contour lines indicating a steep drop.


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A lot of the lakes around here that are lacking wood cover, usually have some type of visible or even deeper vegetation. Those areas always hold fish. Creeks inside of creeks are also prime spots.

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I know this varies quite a bit during the year, but what kind of depths are we talking about? Is there a depth that is too deep. What I mean is, do crappie care that the water is 30-feet deep when they might be hanging out at 12 feet? I ask this to maybe eliminate some of the deep channels. Without noticeable structure, I have had a hard time in locating where crappie hangout in a lot of the larger lakes in Indiana.

Follow the food and light up and down the water column. The crappie won't be too far from the baitfish. They will also go up and down with the amount of light penetration. They will not go deeper than the oxygenated water (thermocline).

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Originally Posted by titanxt

I know this varies quite a bit during the year, but what kind of depths are we talking about? Is there a depth that is too deep. What I mean is, do crappie care that the water is 30-feet deep when they might be hanging out at 12 feet? I ask this to maybe eliminate some of the deep channels. Without noticeable structure, I have had a hard time in locating where crappie hangout in a lot of the larger lakes in Indiana.

You will hear you can catch them in a foot to 70 foot. Which is true, I've done both. But contrary to what you read and hear. You can catch crappie relating to some type of structure 8 to 12 foot deep 12 months out of the year.

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First week of Jan I was on a lake that crappie weren’t relating to structure. Size of lake was 650 acres and it does have structure in it. I found 3 schools of crappie in 23-25’ of water on smooth bottom hanging couple of feet off bottom all schooled pretty tight in a half mile of bank about 100 yds off shoreline and no bait balls around them. Only thing I can think of in that 40 degree water was maybe warm springs where they were. Learn to use your electronics to find them. There is also lots of structure, trees and some fish attractors in this body of water. Fish were catchable also.