When slow-trolling for summertime crappies, change jig colors and profi les until you find the combination slabs want to eat. (File photo)
August 19, 2024
By Jeff Knapp
I’d only trolled 50 yards or so when one of my rods telegraphed the hit of a crappie, then bent into a nice arch suggesting the weight of a quality fish. A few short moments later, a 14-inch white crappie graced the bag of the landing net, the first of two dozen that would follow that mild early-summer day.
Once spring evolves into summer, many anglers stop targeting crappies. The hot bite of spring, fueled primarily by the annual spawn, which draws concentrations of fish into the shallows, is a mere fond memory. Fish are now scattered, moving to the food and cover options that the warm months provide. Submerged wood and subsurface weeds have the potential to attract fish, as does open water that’s rich in bug life and pelagic forage fish. The crappies have lots of options, depending on the particularities of the individual lake, reservoir or river system being fished.
Likewise, consistently catching summertime crappies calls for a varied skill set of presentations that can be applied to the specific situation. Here is a look at three of them.
Three great crappie rigs for summer fishing. (Illustrations by Peter Sucheski) SLOW-TROLL SOFT PLASTICS The opening scene of this story took place during early summer on a highland reservoir lacking weed cover. Crappies there relate to submerged wood cover, both shoreline laydowns and portions of trees embedded in the lake bottom over the years. The lake also has an abundance of gizzard shad. It was the perfect scenario for slow-trolling crappie-sized presentations, as many of the fish that were holding in shoreline wood had moved out into nearby open water, to feed on young shad.
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Typically, I put out three lines (the maximum allowed in my state) when trolling—each initially set to cover a particular general depth range. I’ve found that crappies can be scattered vertically throughout the water column, so I started off targeting the upper 5 feet, a few feet off bottom and the space between the two.
The deep presentation is run from a three-way rig that incorporates a 2 1/2- to 3-foot dropper with a jig, and a 6- to 12-inch dropper to a Dipsey sinker . The third eye of the three-way swivel is tied to the main line. The end of each dropper (for both the jig and the sinker) is terminated with a small snap so I can change out sinker size and jig color easily. I prefer a VMC crankbait snap , size O, for this. Sinker size is either 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2 ounce (depending on depth), most commonly the middle size. Jig weight is 1/8 ounce. The deep rod is placed in a transom-mounted rod holder.
I rig the medium-depth rod with an 1/8-ounce jig along with an 1/8- to 3/16-ounce bullet sinker—Carolina-rig style. The shallow rod is simply a 1/8-ounce jig. These rods are also set in rod holders, one on each size of the boat.
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Using a Minn Kota Terrova bow mount electric, I troll at .8 mph, targeting areas where I see suspended crappies and/or baitfish on my electronics. During early summer, these areas are often 20 to 50 feet off the tips of shoreline laydowns that held springtime fish. In summer, deeper areas over basins are productive—often in relation to creek or river channels. Once the boat is moving at trolling speed, I allow the deep rod to drop to the bottom before cranking it in a turn or two. The other two rods are cast out around 50 feet and placed in their holders.
When trolling, I prefer action-tail plastics like Bobby Garland’s Slab Slay’R and Strike King’s Mr. Crappie Slabalicious . Galida’s Grubz , a 3-inch sickle-tail swimbait, excels where larger crappies are found.
Be willing to change out jig colors and body colors and profiles. Crappies can be highly selective when it comes to color. If a particular depth range appears to be most productive, alter the other rods to cover that zone.
A 7-foot, light-action spinning rod with a 1000-size reel is a good combo for a variety of summer crappie techniques. (Shutterstock image) SHALLOW WOOD AND WEEDS Keep in mind that crappies can be cover-oriented fish, particularly in lakes that don’t have pelagic baitfish to draw them out into open water. A casting approach is used to zero-in on productive areas, but keep the boat well away from the targeted area to avoid spooking fish.
Shoreline laydowns can hold some crappies during the summer months, particularly ones that drop into deeper water like channel swings, but these tend to be community holes that get hit by those seeking other species as well as crappies. I don’t like competing for spots or fishing used water, so I much prefer finding subsurface offshore wood that does not attract a crowd.
By “shallow” wood, I’m talking approximately 15 feet or less. This can be in the form of brushpiles, embedded trees or fish attractors like cribs. Basically, it’s cover that’s shallow enough that fishing vertically right over the top of it is likely to disturb fish. It doesn’t have to be wood, though. Outside weed edges, particularly points and inside turns, also qualify. Note that the slow-trolling presentation described earlier is a great way of locating offshore wood cover. Side-imaging sonar allows you to broaden the swath covered. When you see something interesting, drop a waypoint on it, even if you don’t inspect it further until later.
Active crappies tend to hold above or off to the side of cover, so it makes sense to swim a bait through that zone. A favorite tactic of mine is to use the spot-lock feature of my Terrova to hold the boat a cast’s distance from the cover. If there is wind, I’ll spot-lock upwind. Cast over the cover; then, with a tight line, allow the jig to do a pendulum sweep over the area. Active crappies will often intercept the jig. If you don’t get bit, you can then slowly swim the jig through the upper portions of the tree branches or brush for the less aggressive fish.
I suppose a strong case could be made for using weedless jigs in this situation, but I prefer light-wire 1/16-ounce jigs, which pull free from snags more easily as the hook will open a bit. Just be sure to repair it afterward. The fall rate of a 1/16-ounce jig is slow, delaying the swing and keeping it in the strike zone longer. As with trolling, I like action-tail plastic profiles when swinging and swimming over and around cover.
DEEPER WOOD At times, summer crappies can be found in deeper wood, particularly in clear- water lakes and deep, slow current holes in major rivers. Setting up over the cover allows you to fish it efficiently without startling crappies.
When targeting wood in 15 to 30 feet of water, I spot-lock over the cover, then hover a jig vertically. A portion of a tree might extend out into 50 or more feet of water but could have branches that reach up to within 25 feet of the surface. It’s those upper branches that I want to target.
Whatever the case, I’ll use a 1/16-ounce jig, adding a No. 3 split shot a foot or so up the line if needed to maintain some feel. When fishing vertically I opt for a more subtle body, like a Bobby Garland Slab Slay’R or Baby Shad . If the bite is tough, I’ll add a Berkley Crappie Nibble . A 1-inch Berkley Gulp! Alive! minnow is another good option when you know fish are present but are reluctant to bite. Thread the minnow onto a light-wire jighead.
Often, I’ll use the jog/spot-lock feature to creep along the length of a brushpile or series of deep cribs, easing the boat forward 5 to 10 feet at a time, the jigs swinging as they catch up. Bites are often light in this deep water, typically nothing more than an unnatural weight on the line.
TACKLING SUMMER CRAPPIES The best fishing starts with the right gear. One can certainly get by with value-priced rod-and-reel combos when fishing for summer crappies. My deep-water trolling rod is a 7 1/2-foot, light-power, moderate-action casting rod paired with a modestly sized baitcasting reel. The reel is spooled with 10-pound test Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line. While a spinning rod would be fine, the baitcaster allows the three-way rig to free-spool to the bottom when I’m setting up a troll.
For casting, hovering and trolling (port and starboard rods), I use 7-foot, light-power, moderate-action spinning rods teamed with 1000-size spinning reels. The reels are spooled with 10-pound-test Sufix Nanobraid line. The thin line allows light jigs to be cast adequate distances. I use a 3-foot section of 8- or 10-pound-test Gamma Edge line as a leader, joined to the braid with an Albright knot.
This article was featured on the June-July 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
