Thread: Summer crappie patterns

Now all the Ham&Eggers are gone and the true crappie men go to work you can still fill the boat just like spawning time if you got good electronics and know how to use them its no secret to catching them just dont stay in one place to long if the bigger ones arent there and as Odie said ya better have a bucket of minners with ya might save ya from a wash out If I can help any of you let me know

Absolutely have minnows with you. I caught more last Thursday on jigs than I had in my entire life!! about 10. Minnows, don't leave home without them!!

minners...they do best!:p:D

Summer crappie fishing can be extremely fun when you find them. The pattern can fall on two planes: one being deep brush piles, and the other being shallow timber. When you talk about deep brush it depends on the lake you fish. We normally fish brush no deeper than 15ft. on Oologah. In the timber I simply bounce around until we find a pattern. You would be amazed how shallow some of them slabs will be. I waste very little time when timber fishing, it's more of a dip and rip. If they are there you'll know it, plus I'm trying to fish as many trees as possible, and I'm looking for Big Momma or Daddy. I have found that the warmer the water temp the better the timber fishing. That means in the dead dog heat of the day you can be out there killing them, but you have to be safe. Don't be afraid to try different techniques for summer crappie. Trolling cranks on Oologah can be deadly. We have loaded up a ice chest on numerous trips trolling bandits (200 & 300 series). When trolling cranks remember you are fishing for crappie not sandbass, so slow down. We watch many sandbass fishermen trolling around us catching sandies while we are moving slower catching crappie. Summer crappie will let you know how fast or slow you should go. Slow trolling is also a method i use during the summer once we locate the fish. Don't put up the rods, but if you do that means I have a better chance a catching that Big one.

The consensus seems to be that minnow work better during the summer. Just curious, do you all typically rig minnows on a jig head or with a hook and split shot? Or does it depend on how your fishing it?

Originally Posted by schifendecker

The consensus seems to be that minnow work better during the summer. Just curious, do you all typically rig minnows on a jig head or with a hook and split shot? Or does it depend on how your fishing it?

I never use jigs with minnows. I just hook them up thru the bottom of the lips with a minnow hook and a split shot about 6 inches up. I used to put the split shot about 12 inches up but I found this gives the minnow too much line to roam around and get caught in the brush. Also, the deeper I'm fishing , the bigger the shot I use.

Originally Posted by meatdragger

I never use jigs with minnows. I just hook them up thru the bottom of the lips with a minnow hook and a split shot about 6 inches up. I used to put the split shot about 12 inches up but I found this gives the minnow too much line to roam around and get caught in the brush. Also, the deeper I'm fishing , the bigger the shot I use.

#2 circle hook the same way. If I find they are holding out from the tree or brush I still put the split shot a little higher but if they are tight, just like you said, you have to put them on a little shorter leash!!

It's no secret that day in and day out, minnows will out-produce jigs on Oologah, due to water clarity. However, I've found during the summer, jigs can produce some good fish and nice stringers buy changing jig colors during the day.

If the bite slows down on a particular color, change. I usually keep several rods rigged with different colors, and switch back and forth several times during the day.

Gman.