Finding slabs in HOT water???

Hey folks I've been driving myself crazy for the past two weeks here in East Texas trying to find summer slabs! We have officially hit that time of year were the water gets turned off and the oven gets turned on here in Texas. In all of my years as a crappie angler I can honestly say late summer fishing is out of my expertise. I know there are guys fishing during the day and catching nice numbers in this 85 degree plus water; I would just like to get a few pointers on what to look for, lure selection, and anything that you all find that you could share that you may find helpful. Thanks for all the help guys and gals have a great day!

I fished a tournament Sat. and the water temp was 89 degrees. the fish were there just mite have to go a little deeper and play around with speed. Hope this helps.

I've been catching fish in open water where I caught them last spring after the spawn. I'm drifting multiple poles with minners and jigs at different depths till I find a couple then I work that area. There is no real deep water in the lake I'm fishing, mostly 7 to 9 ft deep. Look for the shad or signs of fish activity on the surface. Water temp. Was 85 yesterday. Also move along real slow, about .25 mph. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by Davedirt

I fished a tournament Sat. and the water temp was 89 degrees. the fish were there just mite have to go a little deeper and play around with speed. Hope this helps.

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Sounds good I will give that a try. Your water temp is about the same as what I'm dealing with. Good stuff thanks!

My home lakes in NJ are at the 80 degree mark too. The most productive fishing I have had lately is finding structure in the deeper water and vertically jigging it/ drifting. Most of the crappie have been suspended above the structure. The lakes I fish are 20 feet deep max.

My time as a crappie angler is limited compared to most here but hopefully this helps.

In the summer time you won't be finding any crappie below the thermocline if it has set up in the lake.

There are many older postings here describing how to catch crappie in the heat of summer. Might start reading some the possible fabrications from a couple of these links.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...fishing-2.html

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...ml#post1207107

Good luck.

Some shallow lakes with low oxygen will have fish shallow even in 100 + degree temps .

I've been catching them under docks lately also might try smaller jigs. They like small and slow when it gets hot.