# Crappie Question



## Fish G3

Maybe some of the crappie anglers can help answer this question. I've just started fishing for crappie since last fall and was wondering If the crappie that come up to the shallows in the spring come up to that spot again in the fall or if they tend to stay a little more deep. Thanks for all the input.


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## bkr43050

I don't fish the fall action as much as some of the folks on here but I will still give my opinion.

I think the crappie will certainly move back in shallower when they go in to the fall feeding mode but mostly in the 5-15' depths. I have never gotten on to a bite in the extreme shallows where they spawn but then again I don't do the fall as often since the woods start calling me.

I am curious now as well to hear others' opinions.


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## chaunc

Here on my home lake, this time of year they drop the water level so low that the spring spawn spots are out of water. Look for the next dropoff that has brush or rocks and you should find them. They will come in as shallow as they can and all the cover is going to be a little deeper than the spring bite.


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## bkr43050

So generally what water depths are you fishing at that time?


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## Fish G3

Thanks for the input...the lake I have been fishing is about 4-5 ft below the water level in the spring and I was fishing in a mouth of a channel with submerged brush in about 10ft of water. So they are probably a little more deeper but could still hang around/near the mouth of that channel?


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## gobie

when i fish rivers for them. i try and find them at creek mouths. usually are around 8 feet deep. 1/4 ounce lead head and curly tail tipped with a minnow. try diffrent colors and hook minnow through mouth. in lakes they should be below the shad or other forage. in my lakes i fish sometimes they are at 8 through 12 ft. deep. schooled real tight. we fish with slip bobbers. with minnows. sometimes get the biggest crappie of the year. have caught them when surface temp is down to 50 degrees. just cruise around and when you see a bunch of fish on finder might be crappie. hope this helps 
gobie
ps let me know if it helps you good luck:


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## bonsai87

they never seem to come in as shallow as spring but you can seem to find them in the same general spots...juss lookc for lots of good cover and fish a little deeper then spring hope this helps


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## chaunc

Picked this up from a spring spot yesterday. Was fishing a jig under a bobber, 4 ft deep. 16" black crappie


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## JF1

Chaunce....Great pic, but it really doesn't do that fish justice! It was even bigger than it looks, believe me.


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## Big Daddy

Nice fish Ken. Very nice.


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## LimitOut

If you fish fast current rivers, look out for a spot where the current is heavilly broken..... like a fallen tree or a bulging rock. You are guarenteed to catch nice crappies year around. I have been using Gulp alot lately, and it is simply amazing for catching those finiky crappie. I just got back from the Mahoning river and caught 100 or so. Nothing big enough to get excited over, but it beats getting skunked!


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## chaunc

JF1 said:


> Chaunce....Great pic, but it really doesn't do that fish justice! It was even bigger than it looks, believe me.


You should know. You're the only one, besides myself, to see it live. It really shrank when i bleeded it out. Was 16 when i measured it on the boat. 15 1/2 when i put it on the fillet board.


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## CRAPPIE LOVER

Very nice slab there Chaunc...Very wide ...Great pic.....JIM


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## chaunc

Thanks. I just wanted to show that the big ones do come in really shallow in the fall. Read as much as you can about crappies and spend time on the water practicing what you read and you'll learn migration routes they use all year. Thats a main key to catching crappies consistently.


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## CRAPPIE LOVER

You are right there Chaunc ...And they know winter is on the way,, long before you and I...That is where they live and when they put on the feed bag it can get wild..fast and furious..Last three outings... once I found them Hold on to your rod ....JIM.....


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## 01mercLS

WOW...that is a slab right there. Good job!


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## Smallmouth Crazy

chaunc said:


> Here on my home lake, this time of year they drop the water level so low that the spring spawn spots are out of water. Look for the next dropoff that has brush or rocks and you should find them. They will come in as shallow as they can and all the cover is going to be a little deeper than the spring bite.


Same here...alot of the brush I fish in the spring is out of the water in the fall.


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## chaunc

Here's what i got monday, just before the front moved in.








Promised my brother i'd take him out wednesday and he still wanted to go. So we dressed warm and headed out. We got over 40 keepers that he took home but i left my camera home. It was cold but the fishing was hot. Bobber and jig fished 5ft over 8ft, worked for us.


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## Fish G3

I've hit all my spring spots so far with little luck. I'm going to change my approach this weekend. Its a lot more difficult to search for them bank fishing than by boat so I'm going to go home and take the boat out. Nice fish chaunc!


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## LimitOut

You gotta try out the gulp waxies, they're awesome for crappies.


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## hang_loose

chaunc, You are amazing!!!


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## chaunc

hang_loose said:


> chaunc, You are amazing!!!


Thanks. Going out in the morning and i'll make sure i take my camera with me this time. Got a couple brushpiles that may be loaded, if no one fished them this weekend.


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## SouthernPro

Just fished the Classic Saturday 10/17/09 at Salt Fork. The fish will return to their spring water but will often relate to wood and brush rather than rocks that you might have caught them on in the spring. The claasic has been won in the past in one foot of water under ice bobbers 6" down.


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## husky hooker

came in over at harrold s place...big daddy


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## husky hooker

slip bobbers and minnows for me, husky jr. with a couple.


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## chaunc

Very nice fish Husky. Are you still fishing the river down there?


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## husky hooker

yea,we are waiting for the water to come up. man you sure have some beautiful crappie too chaunc, nice black crappie!!! biggest black we got was 15 1/2. i feel like a little kid with a new toy now that i can post pics...lol


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