SUMMER

This is the time of year that many anglers find it difficult to locate crappies, which have stopped their runs into shallow water for pray. They have shifted from these shallow patterns to their deep water locations. Crappies prefer confined areas in open water or deep cover like brush piles, rock piles (general structure)and deep weed lines/beds, or wherever bait fish are found.

The two major types of structure crappies relate to are weed beds and rock piles (under water humps). With rock piles, check those that protrude past the maximum light penetration. This depth is normally equal to the deepest of the weeds in your particular lake. Dark stained lakes have shallower weeds than a lake with clear water. Therefore the depth to which light penetrates is also much more shallow. In our area (Ontario) this depth will range from eight to twenty feet. The rock piles, themselves, may drop off into twenty to fifty or more feet of water, also depending on the lake.

Near the top of these sunken islands is where green moss and weeds grow, which, in turn will attract small minnows and aquatic insects. This area is where you'll find crappies in the early morning and evening. As the sun rises higher in the sky, it's rays penetrate deeper into the water, forcing crappies to drop down the sides of the rock pile or weedline. The more intense the rays, the deeper the crappies will go. On overcast days this movement will not happen as suddenly or as dramatically than on sunny days.

First of all, check out the shady side of the rock pile and look specifically for drop-offs, a known crappie haunt. When the sunlight intensifies, also check all around the rock pile at deeper depths. Crappies located close to the rock column will be more aggressive the crappies suspended off the rock face. If you find crappies suspended over deep water, you'll notice that they'll also be less aggressive feeders

Click to Listen!