Early Summertime Crappie by Brad Wiegmann

It’s moving day for crappie across the lake. Notice has been given and with the spawn over, the crappie are headed to summertime habitat. Depending on the river or reservoir you are fishing, crappie may head out to deep water to spend summer around submerged cover or structure.

Of course catching spawning crappie was easy. They were shallow making every piece of cover a great place to fish; however, as summer approaches and crappie head deep many anglers can only wonder where the crappie are located.



To be successful, a crappie angler has to locate natural structure or cover where the crappie have migrated to for the summer. The other solution is to build your own brushpiles offshore in a productive area. Matt Loetscher, Living the Dream Guide Service – Toledo Bend (www.ltdguideservice.com), has a mixture of natural and manmade brushpiles he builds to attract crappie to so his clients can catch crappie on guide trips.

“We use a lot of green trees to build our brushpiles. The trees still have leaves on them that provide shade for the crappie to live during the summertime. They also like to hide in the shade and ambush prey along with attracting baitfish,” said Loetscher.

Loetscher noted crappie anglers can do it with natural trees and stumps. Of course, Toledo Bend reservoir where he guides has an overwhelming number of standing trees and stumps. Shade by either one during the summer months is the key with sweet gum or willow trees with green leaves being the best ones. Note that anglers should check local, state, and federal regulations to make sure sinking brushpiles is legal before doing it.

As for what depth to fish, Loetscher focuses on 10- to 12-feet on Toledo Bend. “Now the boat maybe sitting in 20- or 30-feet of water, but I want the bait or lures to be in 10- to 12-feet deep where the crappie like to hang out. They are like a flock of birds around these trees and like to suspend in that depth range,” said Loetscher.

Interestingly, Loetscher has a foolproof way of setting the live minnows or lure in the correct strike zone. “I have them set their minnow or lure on the surface of the lake and open their spinning reel bail while raising their arm upward. That puts them right in the strike zone at ten or twelve feet deep every time. All an angler has to do then is hold the rod still and let the bait do the rest,” said Loetscher.

Not surprising Loetscher keeps his approach simple when fishing for crappie during the summertime. “I rarely use a slip cork; I like to tightline a live minnow straight down using a size #2 Aberdeen gold hook and a heavy size #0 split shot weight I pinch on about four inches above the hook. The heavier split shot lets the minnow get down quickly to where the crappie are holding, keeps the line tight even on windy days, lets me see the strike better, keeps a fired up school of crappie biting and you can drop it to get a hook to get unhooked,” said Loetscher.



When using lures, Loetscher likes Bobby Garland Crappie Baits Baby Shad (www.bobbygarlandcrappie.com) soft plastic lure in electric chicken, monkey milk or a shad pattern. In stained water conditions, he changes to black/chartreuse especially early in the summertime. A 16-ounce jig head in chartreuse is normally what Loetscher will use. Every once and a while, Loetscher will attach a split shot above the jig head to get it down fast and keep it deeper.

Another essential piece of gear is fishing line for Loetscher is Mr. Crappie monofilament fishing line in Hi-Vis Yellow. Not only does the yellow fishing line make it easier for Loetscher’s clients to see the strike, but Loetscher can also detect a strike and tell his clients to set the hook.

On a final note, Loetscher noted in early spring crappie migrate to deeper habitat or his brushpiles slowly. “Crappie will go to submerged brushpiles more and more as the summer heats up. The hotter it gets, the better the bite gets offshore and around my brushpiles,” said Loetscher.