Can someone give me the in and out's of summer rigging? How far from the bank should i start? What to look for and where the crappie should be at?
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Can someone give me the in and out's of summer rigging? How far from the bank should i start? What to look for and where the crappie should be at?
Pretty broad question, and that means there's a broad range of possibles, variables, and potentials.
Personally .... I'd use my electronics to find out "if & where" the thermocline exists, in the area I'm fishing. Then I'd look for cover items (humps with stumps, standing timber, brushpiles, etc) that rise above the level of the thermocline ... and I'd run my baits around that cover & no more than a foot or so above the top edge of the thermocline.
I'd also search for areas that had large concentrations of schools of Shad ... and baring in mind the depth of the thermocline in that area ... I'd spider rig, push jigs, longline jigs, or push/pull cranks in and around those schools of baitfish.
I may start the day shallow ... on banks that had a lot of cover scattered along it ... as long as the surrounding terrain cast a shadow out over the water along that bank. But, once the Sun starts beating down on the water along that bank, I'll move to another "shaded" bank. Once I run out of those banks, I start looking deeper or farther off shore.
The fish are going to seek "shade" for concealment and ambush potential ... either from objects blocking direct sunlight penetration, or by going deeper in the water column, where the light penetration is minimized. They are also going to be "where" the baitfish ARE, or where they instinctively know where they're likely to BE (at some point during the day). Water & weather conditions will almost always dictate where fish will be, and what mood they are likely to be in.
I agree with CrappiePappy whole heartily. It won't be a flip the light switch on and immediate success but I believe you'll get there. Remember to use time on the water, weather good or bad has a learning curve. Now get a good setup and go to it.