Newbie needs help dining summertime crappie in a Kayak.

[McJiggs]

Ok. So I bought a fishing kayak and have it set up with a Garmin Striker fish finder. I’m fishing a man made lake. Here’s the deal. I can catch crappie all spring long around a rip-rap bank near the lake’s dam. It’s about 7 feet deep. About 30 feet away from the bank is the main overflow tube of the lake. It’s in about 10 feet of water. The lake is wide open and doesn’t seem to have much in the way of structure. The lake is about 40 acres. Half of the lake is 5 feet deep (weedy flats). Not much in the way of structure other than several downed trees (all in 5 feet of water).

The other half of the lake is shaped like a bowl. It starts at 5 feet deep and goes all the way down to 20 feet deep. I’ve been all up and down the deep end with my fish finder using both 77 and 200hrtz. There’s not much for structure other than possibly the drop off from 5 feet to 20 feet. It’s at almost a true 45 degree angle. There is also a creek channel which feeds the deeper end of the lake, but again no visible structure. The creek channel is about 100 feet long and about 6 feet deep in the middle and about 1 foot deep on the sides. It’s maybe 75 feet wide.

I can’t seem to locate summertime crappie on this lake. Any tips would be helpful. Other than the downed trees in 5 feet of water and the overflow tube, and the changes in the depth via the 45 degree slope… the lake is pretty much featureless. There are no docks either.

[DockShootinJack]

I would bet at night they could be found along the rip rap structure you mentioned

[CrappiePappy]

Explain "weedy flats" .... if you're talking about "pads", that might be the place to look. Even though the water's shallow, pads offer shade, cooler water, more oxygen, ambush points, etc.
If the lake develops a thermocline, fish just at or above the depth of that thermocline.

[SuperDave336]

Like CrappiePappy said fish above the thermocline but I would check right on the bottom as well. One of the lakes I fish they always seem to be right on the bottom. Fish finder really doesn't pick them up good.

[McJiggs]

There are no Lilly Pads. It’s not Hydrilla or milfoil. It’s closer to ”Chara” which I believe is closely related to algae. It forms on the bottom of the lake, then small pieces break off and float to the surface in small clumps. However, the surface of the water is not covered in Chara, it’s only in small clumps no bigger than your fist, sparsely floating here and there. Everywhere the lake is shallow the Chara grows about 6”-8” high.

[Fishfood123]

If possible build some structure that can be dropped from the yak and drop it at varying depths down to deepest part of bowl. Then fish the structure you dropped and know location of. Surely if you build it they will use it. There will be crappie on structure at some depth during the summer.


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[Charman03]

I fish similar waters and I guarantee the fish are roaming around out in the middle of nowhere 6-10 feet deep over deeper water. Probably tough to see on your striker

[Ketchn]

waters like that tend to make them really roam as mentioned , might try dragging baits around out in the open water .
the food source is typically the key to really hammering , find what they eat and they will be close most of the time .
my thought is some small enough to manage in your yak, condos , placed along that steep drop you mentioned, would help you find them .