Crappie Fishing 101

The Thermocline and How it Affects Summer Crappie Fishing

July 27th, 2010 No Comments

: Image by roryrory via Flickr

It is a well known fact that Crappie will move to deeper water in the summer. But deeper water doesn’t necessarily mean that they are all the way at the bottom.

If you are going to be a successful Crappie fisherman in the Summer, particularly in Southern climates, you need to understand the thermocline and how it works.

What is the Thermocline?

The thermocline is the thin layer of water that is sandwiched between the upper layer close to the surface, and the bottom layer. The bottom layer (also known as the hypolimnion) is usually but not always void of oxygen. There is very little plant life there due to low sunlight. Also, things that fall into the lake go to the bottom to decay.

The top layer (also known as the epilimnion) can often be 80 degrees or more in the Summer. The Epilimnion allows sunlight to penetrate, thereby driving the Crappie deeper.

The Thermocline Is Where Fishing is Just Right

That leaves the thermocline as the “sweet spot”. This is where the water is not too hot, doesn’t allow too much light penetration, and has enough oxygen for the fish to be comfortable. Water temperatures in the thermocline may be 10 degrees lower than surface water temperatures.

How to Find the Thermocline

There are different ways to find the thermocline.

The poor boy way of doing it is to drop a meat thermometer down to different levels to find where the temperature changes.

Perhaps a better way to do it is the use of a good depth finder. You can see a line across your depth finder indicating the change.

Many people believe that the thermocline sets up at around 22″. If the lake is shallower, it would obviously set up a bit shallower. If the lake is much below 20′ deep, no thermocline will set up.

The thermocline is usually a few feet thick as well.

The water will “turn” in the fall. As the temperatures drop, the surface water will sink to the bottom, and the bottom will rotate up.

Keep the thermocline in mind on your next Summer Crappie fishing trip, and you’ll have better luck finding your mess of fish.

Heat Up the Night with Submersible Fishing Lights

July 4th, 2010 No Comments

: Image by Natalie Blackburn via Flickr

Before modern technology had evolved to what it is today, fisherman used to simply hang lanterns from the sides of their boat to attract fish. Now you can actually purchase a submersible fishing light that can help you attract fish.

While submersible lights won’t guarantee that you’ll catch fish, they can greatly increase your chances. This is because plankton are attracted to the light which will attract the small fish like minnows and other bait fish. After the minnows and shiners arrive, the Crappies, White Bass, Hybrid Bass and other species of game fish won’t be too far behind. It’s basically what you’d call the food chain.

One thing that’s important to note is that you do need to be fishing in an area that is known to have fish. If you have been fishing there before and you’ve never got a caught a thing then you can’t expect a light to make any difference. If there aren’t any fish around, they won’t be swimming near the light and you’ll go home empty handed. Look for structure and underwater brush piles just as you normally would.

When you’re shopping for night fishing lights you should opt for florescent light because they use less power than a traditional light source. You also want to get a light that you can submerse underneath the water. If you leave the light above the water, most of the light is going to reflect off of the surface and won’t make much of a difference. You’ll have much better luck if you can submerge your light beneath the water’s surface.

I like to put out two submersible fishing lights when I am Crappie fishing. I will put one at the front of the boat and one towards the back. This enables everyone fishing to be near a light source. It also really lights it up under water so as to really attract the fish. The most common colors of night fishing lights purchased are the fluorescent green submersible lights, or the white headlight style lights that lay on top of the water and shoot straight down.

It’s important to remember that if you’re fishing from a boat you will want to make sure it’s anchored. If you’re drifting it’s going to be harder to attract the fish.

If you enjoy night Crappie fishing, try picking up a couple of submersible fishing lights. This will greatly increase your chances of catching a limit of big healthy slabs.

Lightning & Fishing Don’t Mix

June 25th, 2010 No Comments

: Image via Wikipedia

Today I have some sad news to report.

Yesterday morning, a man was struck by lightning and killed while running crab traps in the Houston area. His buddy was also struck, but survived the incident.

According to the survivor, there were no clouds overhead, and no rain at the time. They were not aware that a thunderstorm was approaching at the time.

A lightning bolt may strike 25 miles from where the storm is located. Yikes! This could have happened to any one of us. How many times have you been out on the water when a thunderstorm was approaching. In this instance, they couldn’t even see the clouds from the thunderstorm yet.

According to the National Weather Service, 73 people are killed each year in the US by lightning, and hundreds more suffer life altering injuries due to surviving a lightning strike.

The state with the highest occurrence of lighting strikes is Florida. Florida is recognized as the lightning capital of the US.

Lightning is the 2nd highest weather related killer. Only floods cause more deaths annually than lightning. This even includes such events as tornadoes, hurricanes, and snowstorms. Kind of scary when you think about it.

Just make sure that you check the forecast before hitting the water. If you live near the Gulf of Mexico, you know that afternoon thunderstorms are a common occurrence. The combination of sweltering temperatures combined with Gulf moisture often triggers severe afternoon thunderstorm activity.

If you see or hear lightning, seek shelter immediately until the storm passes. The biggest mess of fish in the world is not worth your life.

See Related story:

Local ABC affiliate News story

Submerged Brush-piles Provide Hot Summer Crappie Action

June 16th, 2010 No Comments

: Image by OldOnliner via Flickr

The dog days of summer are upon us. It is getting hot outside, and the Summer Crappie fishing can be just as hot if you know where to find them.

After the spring spawn, most fish will move to deeper water when the temperature begins to rise. Crappie will also tend to follow this pattern. However, they may not stage in as deep of water if there is suitable structure for them to hold on.

Crappie love to hang out around submerged brush-piles. They can also be in varying depths. Conventional wisdom says to fish water that is anywhere from 10 – 30 ft deep, but the Crappie will also hold in shallower water. If you are close to the shoreline, look for a fallen tree that has fell close to an underwater channel or drop.

Crappie Like to Move Around

Crappie are known to be nomadic in nature, and a good depth finder can really help you find fish. Look around submerged brush-piles as your primary location to find Summer Crappie. Crappie are not the most predatory fish in the water, and the brush-piles give the Crappie not only shelter from their enemies, but a chance to pounce on an unsuspecting shiner.

Crappie are Usually Suspended

Crappie are also known for suspending off the bottom. When fishing with live bait, fish about a foot off the bottom, and if you don’t get a bite after a few minutes, come up another foot or so. Experiment until you find where they are. If you do have a depth finder, it could give you a better idea of how deep to start.

If you are jig fishing, fish slow and light on the drop. Don’t forget to try different colors until you find what works, but I almost always start with chartreuse. You might also tip your offering with a live minnow for an enhanced offering.

Improve Your Chances of Finding Crappie by Trolling a Wide Area

Another way many anglers catch Crappie in the Summer is by trolling. There is a technique known as spider-rigging where you set out several poles at varying depths for more water coverage.

Another thing that you must take into consideration as the water gets warmer is the stratification in deeper waters. If you are fishing in a lake that is say 30 ft deep, as the water heats over the summer, the oxygen levels get extremely low in the deeper water. In this instance, the fish may be found in 30 ft of water, but they will definitely be holding only 15 ft deep. The key to take away is to not fish too deep the later it gets in the summer.

Summer Crappie fishing can be a blast if you happen upon a submerged brush-pile that is holding fish. As you fish your local lake or river, make a note of where you find brush-piles throughout the year. These brush-piles may be the key to Summer Crappie fishing success.

Helpful Videos:

Dippin’ trees for summer Crappie

Todd Huckabee and Barry Morrow catch crappie around submerged timber on Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma. Changing weight proves to be the key to unlocking the bite as conditions change on this summer day.

Catching crappie in July

They say it can’t be done – catching crappie in July. The trick is in the technique. Scott County’s David Rodgers shows Farmer that it only begins with holding your mouth right.

How to Catch Crappie this Memorial Day Weekend

May 27th, 2010 No Comments

How to Catch Crappie

You may be asking just how to catch Crappie this Memorial Day weekend. One of the toughest times to catch fish in my opinion is a holiday weekend. The waters are much more crowded than normal. After all this is the first official weekend of Summer. All of this activity can spook the fish and make it hard to find the bite.

Holiday weekends are one of my least favorite times to fish, but you can still have a successful trip if you factor in the conditions and adapt as necessary.

Although the following tips will not guarantee that you will catch a limit of Crappie, it will give you some ideas of where and how to catch them.

Try fishing at night – After all of the boat traffic has died out, you will have a much better chance of success by fishing at night. Use a lantern or a submersible light over the boat to attract the bait-fish, which will in turn attract the Crappie. Use live minnows while fishing at night for best success.
Fish in the coves – Find protected coves off the beaten path. Pay attention to wind direction, and fish the side of the lake with coves that are protected from the wind in the coves.
Fish in the stumps – Crappie love cover, and water-skiers do not. Try dropping a jig vertically around stumps. Use different colors and jig head weights until you find a combination that works. You can also tip your minnow for an enhanced offering.
Fish early – If you are going to fish in the daytime, get up early. You will have the best chance of catching fish before the pleasure boaters get the water all stirred up.
If you are fishing from the bank, try throwing a live minnow or jig under the boat docks. The Crappie will be a bit spooked by all of the traffic on the local lakes, so your best chance of catching fish is way up under the dock.
Try to fish less frequented waters - Fishing local ponds, rivers, and streams may provide more opportunity for a successful fishing trip.
Fish in 12 – 20 foot of water this time of year whenever possible. The Crappie have finished their spawning activity, and have moved offshore. This time of year, they tend to suspend in water that is anywhere from 12 to 20 foot deep. Try fishing about 1/2 way down, and if you don’t get any bites, lower your line a couple of feet and try that.
Fish deeper water in the heat of the day. As the bright sun penetrates the water, the fish will retreat deeper. They especially like underwater cover such as logs and ledges under the water. Look for such structure on your depth finder if you have one.

I hope these tips help you catch more Crappie this Memorial Day Weekend. Have a good time and give thanks this weekend for our brave soldiers who fought and died for our freedom.

Lake Palestine White Bass a Nice Consolation Prize While Fishing for Crappie

May 12th, 2010 No Comments

My Mom & Step-dad's Catch of White Bass

Often when you are fishing for Crappie, you will run into a school of White Bass. White Bass often school ferociously and will hit your bait hard and fast. They are not the finesse type of bite that a Crappie is.

I had the opportunity to go fishing Saturday night with my mom and step-dad who are not in good health, so I wanted to ensure that they had a good time. We went under the 155 Bridge on Lake Palestine just at sunset hoping to catch a few Crappie. It was my first time to fish Lake Palestine, so after talking with the locals and getting their fishing reports, I figured under the bridge would be a good spot.

About 10 minutes after we had tied off, the first fish was in the boat. We had located ourselves on a drop from about 8′ to about 15′. The action was fast and furious as the white bass were hitting our minnows as soon as we had them dropped down. In fact, I spent most of the evening stringing fish and re-baiting my mom and step-dad’s lines.

Our lines were rigged as I show in the rigging your line for night Crappie fishing video. We would drop our lines to the bottom, and reel up just a bit off the bottom. White bass will either take the bait right away, or give a good bump and start running sideways with your line. If they start running sideways, raise up and reel fast and you’ll get them.

We caught all that we wanted to clean in about 2 hours, and threw quite a few keepers back finishing off a bag of minnows that we had opened. In the middle of it all, we did manage to catch 3 Crappie as well. Although we would have preferred the Crappie, we were very pleased with our stringer.

Lake Palestine is a beautiful lake and the fishing seems to be really good. For anyone that is new to the lake, it is important to talk with a local and find out where to run your boat if you are north of the 155 bridge as there are numerous stumps all over.

I like to give good recommendations when I can. Here’s one that you will appreciate. You can buy minnows by the pound at Porter’s Sporting Goods on Hwy 155 just before the bridge. This is usually cheaper than by the dozen like most places sell them. They were extremely helpful (especially Sam) and gave very useful information about the lake. Their phone number if you need to find them is 903-825-7464.

Sometimes while fishing for Crappie, you will catch more white bass. But a nice stringer of white bass is a nice consolation prize. If you are around the Palestine area, you might give Lake Palestine a try.

Short vs. Long Jig Shank – What Difference Does it Make?

April 16th, 2010 No Comments

Crappie Jigs

Many fisherman do not understand what the difference is between a long jig shank and a short jig shank. Understanding which jig shank length to use, and how to fish with it, will give you an advantage over your fishing buddies.

When you are vertical jigging, use the long shank jigs. In a typical drop and lift type presentation like jigging next to a tree stump, you want the jig to hold your bait horizontally. This is true whether you are just fishing with the plastic soft-bait, or putting a minnow on the jig.

Long shank jigs also help when the bite is slight. A long shank jig will enable a better hook up on these short biting Crappie.

Use short shank jigs when you are casting. You can cast and retrieve with just the jig, or tipped with a minnow. The short shank will get through cover much better than a long shank jig, enabling you to spend more time fishing and less time tying on a new jig.

The compact profile of the short jig shank also looks more like a minnow swimming than it’s long shank cousin.

Use the proper jig shank length whenever you hit the water in search of Crappies, and you will have greater success.

Not Without Hope | The Consequences of Overlooking Boating Safety

April 12th, 2010 No Comments

The riveting story of Nick Schuyler’s dramatic time at sea waiting for rescue has recently been released in his new book entitled “Not Without Hope“. Most of you are aware of the story of how Nick Schuyler , a personal trainer, Will Bleakley a former University of South Florida football player, and NFL football players Marquis Cooper & Corey Smith, went out for a deep-sea fishing trip on February 28, 2009. Their cell phones were not working out in the Gulf. A cold front was approaching and the waves were getting higher. While preparing to head back to shore, they discovered a problem. They couldn’t unhook the anchor.

While trying to unhook their anchor, they made the fatal mistake of tying the rope to the transom of the boat, and trying to throttle the boat forward to unhook it. The anchor stuck, and the boat lifted in front and began taking on water causing the stern to submerge and the boat to ultimately capsize. This dumped the 4 men into the frigid waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where hypothermia started to take it’s toll on the men.

Nick was in the cold water for over 40 hours, and was the only person to survive the incident. What a tragic loss. 3 men in the prime of their lives, in fantastic physical condition in their younger 20′s.

But what could be learned from this tragic event that led to “Not Without Hope”? One obvious thing to recognize is that absolutely no one is invincible when it comes to being safe on the water. Boating safety is not just for your kids, it is for each and every one of us.

Taking a look at this story, how would things have been different if they had some way of communicating a distress signal. Whenever you go out on the water, ensure that you have a way of communicating with land if you are going way out. It is also a good idea to let someone know about where you will be.

Always take into account weather conditions as well. If you are going out far from your boat dock, know if bad weather is supposed to move in before you leave out. Always make your way back to shore way ahead of any storm system arriving. Besides, even if you do make it back safely, do you really want to be taking care of your boat back at the dock in the middle of a storm?

Nick had mentioned in the book “Not Without Hope” that the reason they were intent on getting the anchor back, was that they had lost one earlier. It is understandable to think that just once it would be okay to tie it to the back of the boat and just pull it out. How many of us would have been tempted to do the same thing? I know I would have. Remember, equipment can always be replaced, you cannot.

It is important to note that Marquis Cooper, the owner of the boat, was no amateur on the water. Many in the media have reported that everyone aboard was inexperienced boaters, which is not the case.

The men were all able to get their life jackets, which helped keep them alive longer. Nick would not have survived at all without it.

Although we all know the sad ending, “Not Without Hope” is an excellent read that you will not be able to put down. It is also a grim reminder to what the consequences of overlooking boating safety can be.

Trolling for Crappie 2

April 10th, 2010 No Comments

Trolling for Crappie 2

Fall Crappie Fishing Techniques

April 10th, 2010 No Comments

Many anglers start packing up their rods and reels and begin storing them away in the fall. This is a shame because crappie fishing can be just as productive in the fall as it is in the spring.

In fact, it can even be more fun and productive because there are fewer people out on the lakes and rivers making noise and scaring off the crappie. This means fewer distractions, less competition and better results for each fishing trip.

One thing that discourages anglers from fishing for crappie in the fall is the fact that they are more scattered out during this time of year than at any other time. This makes them a little harder to find. They are also more unpredictable so you may have to work a little harder but this just makes it more of a challenge and more rewarding.

In the fall the water temperature eventually becomes the same at all depths and the oxygen levels are higher so the crappie could be at any depth at any given time. This makes finding the crappie the hardest thing for the crappie fisherman to do.

However, don’t let this discourage you. With a few fall crappie fishing techniques you can increase the number of crappie that you reel in during any fishing trip.

Techniques for Fall Crappie Fishing

Fall crappie fishing techniques include a variety of things such as knowing what types of baits work the best. Everyone will agree that crappies are most attracted to minnows. In the fall when they are preparing for the long winter months ahead they will be searching for this food source.

When using artificial lures it is suggested that you stay under three inches in length. In most areas a one or two inch artificial minnow would work the best. You can also catch crappie with worms and crayfish. If you do use live bait make sure you keep it in a cooler and try to keep them as lively as possible for the best results.

You can catch crappie anytime during the day or night but the most productive times are usually at night. This is because the fish feed more aggressively during the late evening to early morning hours. Using an artificial light to draw the crappie to your position is a great technique used for night fishing.

The light attracts insects and bait fish that will in turn attract the crappie and draw them in your direction.

If you are fishing in an area where the visibility is low you can receive the best results with lures that make sound. These will cause vibrations in the water that will attract the crappie or you can use something with a strong odor.

When fishing in clear water crappie plugs, small jigs, bladebaits and spoons work very well. As a general rule jigs and minnows are normally the best to use. Sometimes combining these two together will attract the crappie much faster than using them alone, especially in the fall.

Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best crappie fishing information possible. Get more information on fall crappie fishing here: http://www.askcrappiefishing.com/