Summer Fishing For Crappie, How to locate them

It is finally fishing season! Maybe it has been for awhile, and you are just getting the chance to get everything ready. You are getting your boat cleaned, serviced, and ready for the water. You are checking your rods and reels, your lures, and making note of things you need to replenish or replace.

Are you going to plan a local, weekend trip? Do you want to fish on a new lake, taking a week’s vacation? We are going to get you as ready as we can for summer crappie fishing. We will give you the best lures, hot spots, tips, tricks, and more. So who is ready to go and find some crappie??

Should I fish deeper water in the summer?

One of the first things you need to know in locating crappie in the summertime, deeper water doesn’t always mean bigger or better fish. Deeper water usually means less oxygen.

The fish, whether it is crappie or another species will go deep during the heat of the summer, but only long enough to replenish themselves with cooler water. If you can get a good idea of where that fine line is, between oxygenated water and cooler water, then you will find the crappie.

Summer Crappie fishing tips

A couple of tips to locating crappie during those hot summer months, after spawning season; troll crank baits, probe channel cover, and drag offshore humps. Around June, just when the temps are reaching 70 degrees, crappie will find the closest drop-off that is adjacent to their bedding area where they spawn.

The typical depth is going to be between 12 and 18 feet. Instead of holding tight to the bottom, the crappie will now be suspending themselves. Covering a lot of water by slow-trolling is a great way to catch crappie in the beginning of the summer.

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The easiest way to locate the crappie is going to be with a sonar or fish finder. But for those of us who can not afford something like that or that prefer to fish the old fashioned way, then small crank baits are one of the best options to use.

In July, as the temperatures begin to climb into the 80’s, one of the most efficient ways to locate crappie is to probe the cannel cover. With the warming temperatures crappies can usually be found around river channels and deep creeks.

They will be holding tight around stumps, brush piles, and standing timber that was flooded in the spring. Look between 20 and 30 feet in depth. Some anglers will use buoys in the channel drops.

Fishermen often lower a sinker straight down into cover on the bottom and then SLOWLY reel it up. Keep doing this as you slowly troll the channel.

For the month of August; it is recommended to drag offshore humps to find crappie. Temperatures will now be well into the 90 degree area, so you can now find and catch crappie on submerged islands.

It is suggested that you go no lower than 15 feet, due to the lack of oxygen the deeper you go. When the current is being generated by a dam that is upstream, crappie tend to gravitate towards the peak of a hump. Here they are able to feed on the bait fish from the upstream dam.

Fishing Crappie when it’s hot and muggy

As far as other summer weather conditions; if it is muggy outside then use tube baits. Minnows do not last very long in muggy conditions and crappie do not bite on dead bait.

If it is windy, the crappie will emerge from a channel to prey on bait that is going to be feeding on the windblown plankton. Use a Kentucky rig if there is a high pressure system moving in.

The crappie will hide in heavy brush near channel drops to get away from the UV light. If there is a low pressure system moving in, crappies will gather in large schools and “bird-dog” bait fish. Slowly trolling crank baits on drift jigs over the channels will improve your odds of catching crappie.

Here are a couple more tricks to locating crappie in the summer. Crappies are a color sensitive fish. If you find a school of crappie and they are not interested in what is on your hook, change it.

You may have to change it a couple of times, but be patient, eventually you will like a color that presents well to them. If it is cloudy outside, it will be a little easier to catch them. As stated above, they hide from the bright UV light. But on cloudy days, they tend to come out a little bit more to feed, which will make catching them not as challenging.

A jig that is tipped with a minnow is usually the perfect bait for catching crappie in the spring, but in the summer you will need a little bit wider variety.

You can try Lindy Rigs, tube baits, and small crank baits. If you quickly change the speed of the bait or even the direction, it will often entice a hit from a crappie.

Fish slower the hotter it gets

During hot weather, crappie are known for swimming slower, so make sure you are working your bait slowly. Too fast and they are not going to be interested because they are not going to want to try to ‘chase’ it.

If you are ready and willing to put in a little bit extra effort in the soaring heat, you can catch crappie. Most fishermen fade off after the spring spawning, but you can actually catch crappie all summer long.

You just have to do your research, be patient, and be willing to put in the effort in finding where they may be taking cover from the heat. Some of this is going to depend on what lake or river you are fishing on. But for the most part, crappie will hide near wood, docks, dead trees, and submerged brush.

They are also found in drop-offs. To find them, use your fish finder to pin point where the schools are holding. In the end, your patience and efford will pay off and you will have a bucket of crappie for dinner. Happy fishing!!

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