I used to be a spawn only crappie fisherman and a bass fisherman the rest of the time. In the last 7 years I have been bass fishing less than 10 times. I forced myself to try and learn how to catch crappie year round. I did that by reading every article I could find on summer, fall, and winter crappie fishing and fishing every time I got the chance. The summer and winter are now my favorite times to fish. There are a lot less people out fishing and it is a whole lot like hunting. If you know me, you know hunting deer is my other passion. Since this thread is about summertime fishing, I will talk about the pattern I have found during the summer. When the water temps approach the mid 80's and the water becomes still (no current) the thermacline develops. The fish will not go below the thermacline due to low oxygen levels. If you have a good quality locator and turn up the sensitivity the thermacline line is visible. It is a solid line on my locator. On Oologah, on the main lake, that usually is no deeper than 16 feet. Brushpiles in less than 16 fow are what to look for and the fish are usually suspended above the brush. My son and I caught them on brush in 6- 8 fow last summer. My favorite summetime piles on Oologah are in 12- 14 fow. I also have found fishing during the summer on Oologah that minnows out perform jigs. I am a die hard jig man but fish with minnows most of the time when fishing summertime brushpiles on Oologah. Dipping standing timber can be fun, with early morning and late evening being the best for me. If you can find them during the summer, you can load the boat in a very short period of time. Hope this helps and everyone else weigh in and give us some tips.

Odie