Finding Those Elusive Crappie Fish
Any angler worth their salt knows how to find the prime fishing spots for crappie. Even the most experienced fishermen aren’t right every time, but there are a few things which generally sound guidelines to follow when looking for crappie fishing spots.
During certain times of the year, crappie tend to hide out in deeper waters; but one of the better places to find these fish when they haven’t headed for the nearest lake to spend the winter or aren’t hanging out a little deeper to avoid warm summer temperatures is among the cover provided by weed beds, sunken logs, stumps, the mouths of feeder streams, lily pads and other spots where they can hide during the day.
For this reason, this is what anglers in search of crappie will look for. Locating these likely crappie hideouts and carefully getting into casting position so as not to disturb the fish is the first step. During spring and autumn, the rest is almost effortless. Crappies are relatively active in these seasons, so a fast moving jig or a cork or bob with a minnow work wonders for the angler.
In the summer, anglers will want to look for crappie in shaded cover close to deeper waters. Underneath docks and bridges are good places to search along with the usual cover they prefer. You’ll have much better luck from dusk to dawn; particularly in the summer since crappie prefer to feed after dark.
Spots where you’re likely to find crappie in streams and creeks include sunken trees, snags and undercuts in the banks of the stream are all places crappie looking to spend the day in a shady spot favor. You may also catch trout and bass in these spots, so even if you don’t come across any crappie you’ll almost certainly catch something.
Anglers will also want to try slow trolling along eddies and among the rocks in streams with a fast-moving current.
Finding Crappie in Lakes
Crappie tend to spend most of their time in the deeper waters farther out from the shore when they’re in lakes, so casting from a boat is often your best bet. Try the small coves along the shorelines, weed beds and wherever there’s a drop off. If you’re fishing at night, you’ll have an easier time hooking crappie while they come out to feed – the couple of days preceding the full moon are the best days to try your luck.
Weed beds near the entry points of feeder streams are nearly always good spots; not just for crappie either. You may also catch pike or bass in these spots.
It takes some time to develop an eye for the places where crappies and other fish are hiding out, but with patience, you’ll eventually become an expert crappie tracker.
Crappie Fishing Year Round
Like many other fish, you’ll want to use different gear and different strategies to catch crappie depending on the time of year. Suppose you take a weekend to go toe-to-fin with your prey in late June to mid-July. This time of year, you’re not going to find crappie just below the surface in the shallow waters they prefer in the spring.
In the summer, you’re going to have to look for crappie in slightly deeper waters. The summer heat sends the fish to the cooler waters ten to fifteen feet deep.
Crappie fishing is something which you can’t count on for consistency. These are dish with very exacting criteria for conditions to facilitate their reproductive cycle. Crappie are more active as the moon waxes, with many anglers reporting that the most successful crappie fishing of all is to be had around or a little after sunset four to six days before the full moon. Once the moon is full, however, the fish quiet down and the following few days are the worst time of the month for crappie fishing – unless you really can’t wait to get out and fish, you may want to sit these days out or go fishing for something else.
If you insist on crappie fishing during a full moon, count on having to put in some effort to get sluggish crappie interested. Live bait and slow trolling (and a lot of patience) are the best way to go. In contrast, when crappie fishing in the four to six days before the moon is full you’ll have the best luck fast trolling with jigs – they’ll respond well to fast movement when they’re feeling more energetic. Different anglers do better with different baits, especially in the summer. In general though, a 1/16 oz. chartreuse or green jig with a minnow on the tip seems to work pretty consistently.
There are hundreds of thousands of different streams, creeks and lakes all over the US where you’ll find good crappie fishing. However, there’s no one right answer to where the best crappie fishing will be at any given time. Crappies are smaller fish, but they’re abundant and easy to catch. Even beginners can do very well for themselves on a crappie fishing trip; in the spring, it almost doesn’t matter what gear you use or what approach you take. Fishing for crappie in the springtime nearly guarantees that you’ll bring in a great catch of these fish, one of the angler’s favorite catches.
Crappie Fishing Tips – Water Temperature
Most anglers who know what they’re doing feel that water temperature is the most important factor when it comes to crappie fishing patterns. These fish behave differently and spend time in different places, depending on how warm or cold the ambient temperature is. To the inexperienced angler, this can look like irrational or unpredictable behavior. However, once you know what you’re looking at, you’ll be able to find crappie all year long.
A method of measuring water temperature is important (a simple pool thermometer will work) if you want to find fish fast. One of the most important crappie fishing tips is to find a depth finder that is also capable of reading the temperature at the water’s surface. Once you know this, you’ll be able to determine the temperature lower down (usually a few degrees cooler). Remember that protected bays and shallower creeks are sometimes warmer or cooler than larger bodies of water with more motion.
Crappie generally begin to move out of their deeper water locations when the temperature begins to warm up to forty-five to fifty degrees Fahrenheit. They start congregating around creek channel entrances at fifty to fifty-five degrees, and then begin migrating toward shallower creeks and bays. Crappie fishing patterns for this time include using a curl tail or a tassel tail grub cast to isolated pockets, brush and stumps. Trolling minnows can also be a good idea.
When the water warms up a little more – fifty-five to sixty degrees – males will begin to look for spawning beds in shallow water. Females will be close by in deeper waters. The closer you get to spawning time, the more aggressive crappie feeding becomes. Fish for males using a minnow under a cork near the spawning beds, and try casting with a slow retrieve for females. Crappie will be spawning in the shallower areas when the surface temperature reaches sixty-two to sixty-five degrees or so. Females will be moving in and around brushy areas of cover at this time.
Remember that cold fronts and bad weather can slow things down, so the progress of the spawning season might not be what you expect. Once the water warms up to seventy to seventy-five degrees or so, the females will leave their nests and go back to the deeper structures they occupied before spawning occurred, while the males remain to guard their nests. Once again, a slow cast and retrieve is the best idea here. When the water warms up further, the males will join the females, and the migration will occur in reverse as they move back out to the cooler deep areas for the duration of the summer.
When cooling begins in the fall, crappie will move back out through the creek channels for heavy feeding before the winter months. Expect to see them halfway up the tributaries, close to the locations they preferred before spawning. Once water temperatures fall back into the mid forties, the fish will move back to deep water for the winter.
Categories: Crappie Fishing Tips Tags: Crappie Fishing Basics, Crappie Fishing Techniques, Crappie Fishing Tips