Hook, Line, and Autumn Shine: It's Fall Crappie Time!
As summer's heat wanes and the leaves begin to change, anglers gear up for one of the most exciting times of the year—fall crappie fishing. From now into November, cooling temperatures trigger a flurry of activity among these tasty fish, making it an ideal time for both beginners and seasoned anglers to hit the waters. In this guide, we'll explore a few ins and outs of fall crappie fishing, offering tips, tactics, and prime locations to ensure a successful and enjoyable fishing experience.
Understanding the Fall Crappie Patterns:
Crappie tend to gorge themselves on the large schools of bait fish found in the fall. This allows them to put on some extra thickness and reduce the amount of food they need to hunt in the winter when pickings become slim. During this time, they will have grown in size over the summer, additionally so have their primary food sources of minnows and shad, use baits 2 to 3 inch in size and place them in areas where bait fish as likely to be found.
Gear and Tackle:
Rods and Reels: A light to ultralight spinning rod and reel combo is suitable for crappie fishing. Consider using a sensitive rod to detect subtle bites.
Line: Opt for a 4-8 lb test monofilament line for finesse fishing. Fluorocarbon line is also an excellent choice due to its low visibility underwater.
Lures and Baits: Crappie jigs, soft plastics, and live baits like minnows are top choices. Fall is the time to go big. The bait fish they are eating are large so you will need to keep your baits large as well. Experiment with colors to find what works best on a given day, as crappie can be picky.
Location, Location, Location:
Our area offers a plethora of lakes, reservoirs, and rivers for crappie fishing. Some top spots to consider include:
Illinois: Rend Lake, Lake Shelbyville, Lake Springfield, Carlyle Lake, Lake of Egypt, Kinkaid Lake, Cedar Lake, Crab Orchard Lake, Devils Kitchen Lake, Mississippi, and Illinois River.
Missouri: Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, Mark Twain Lake, Table Rock Lake, Lake Wappapello, Mississippi and Missouri River.
Time of Day:
One of the best tips that was given recently was, make sure to be the first guy to the spot and the last guy to leave. The first hour of light, along with the hour before and the hour after sunset, are crucial hours for producing crappies. Again, everyone will find their best times to fish.
Techniques for Fall Crappie:
Casting and Retrieving: Cast your lure or bait near structures like fallen trees, docks, and weed beds. Slowly retrieve it, mimicking the movement of prey. Adjust your retrieval speed and depth until you find what works.
Vertical Jigging: Crappie will start to look for cover and can often be found hiding in or among the underwater limbs and rocks. Dropping a vertical jig down on them is the easiest way to target these.
Use Spider Rigging to Your Advantage: Most people who use a spider rig, tend to do a slow troll with the boat. However, in the fall some prefer to select an area and rig up several poles for vertical fishing. Set each rod at a different depth, choose a depth variance to cover the depth you're working at. In 20ft of water, rig up poles several apart in depth giving you a fishing range of 3-15ft.
Use multiple jigs at once: Tying several jigs on your line at once sounds crazy to many anglers, however two is greater than one and adding a smaller jig a foot above a larger jig can produce a lot of fish.
Don’t be afraid to use live bait: The trend of the last decade is using soft plastics for crappies. Going back to using minnows and bait may be difficult, but this will help produce more fish.
Use a sensitive float: This may be the most important of all of these tips, but make sure to use a float that matches your bait properly. You will want to carry a large variety and add weight as needed, to get the sensitivity just right.
Try Shallow Water: When first searching for fall crappie, anglers typically look at or on the edges of where we find crappies spawning in the spring. Sometimes these fish are in water as shallow as two-three feet deep and missed by passing anglers. Most of the time, the crappies will move in during the early morning or late evening and swim out to the edges during the middle of the day.
Move: Just because the fish were biting in a certain spot yesterday doesn't mean they will be there today. If the fish are not biting after a short period of time, it's probably time to move on to a new spot.
Fall crappie fishing offers anglers a chance to enjoy the crisp autumn air while reeling in some great catches. Armed with the right gear, basic knowledge of crappie behavior, and a little patience, you can make the most of this fantastic season. So, pack your tackle box, prepare for some exciting days on the water, and savor the joys of fall crappie fishing.
Before putting your boat on the water, always make sure it is in proper working order. Nothing is worse than being ready to cast your line and not being able to get out on the water or experiencing issues while going after the big catch. Cope Marine is always here to help you with any boating needs you may have to enjoy great fall fishing. Enjoy this time of year and Happy Fishing!