Any tips for Lake Wylie crappie fishing this time of year?

Hello, I am primarily a bass angler, and I fish wylie about 4 times a week. In 20 years of fishing I have never caught a crappie. I have always wanted to catch one. Me and my buddy just recently got a boat and for the past month have been fishing hard for crappie with no luck. We have tried everything and everywhere. Honestly at this point we are pretty frustrated with figuring these fish out. We see people loading up with the slabs when we are back at the ramp. Can anybody help us with how to fish for them this time of year and where? I dont expect pinpoint locations obviously Im on the south end of the lake and dont know what coves to fish, how deep, and what to use. Thanks

I don't have very much firsthand Wylie experience to share, but I can give you a blanket answer. In short, this time of year you should be able to catch crappie just about anywhere. Although that makes it sound like the easiest time to catch crappie it does not necessarily mean such. The spawn is actually one of my least favorite times to fish. I'd much rather fish pre or post spawn than this time of year. The fish are all over the place and they are moving. Some fish have laid and some have not, but they are all transitioning somewhere.

One of the easiest way to target crappie right now without having a vast array of rods for trolling or tightlining open water is to target shallow fish. Both male and female fish can be found shallow this time of year and casting a jig with or without a cork above it to the bank will usually result in success. Minnows can be used on a hook or tipping a jig as well. Target any cover and structure you can find to include shallow brush, blown down trees, docks, rip rap banks, points, etc. Crappie love shade and if you catch a fish work that area thoroughly because there's normally more than one. Another option is to start looking at deeper brush if you know where any is. As fish finish laying or cold fronts hit they typically pull back off to a nearby ledge or move towards the mouth of the creek. They will hold on brush piles in these locations and in the next month or so more and more fish will finish laying and move to their summer time brush haunts in deeper water.

Crappie fishing can be pretty hit or miss this time of year. You might wear them out one day and struggle the very next. Just don't get to frustrated, fish with an open mind, and read reports and articles on websites like Crappie.com to get an idea of where the fish "should" be. Use that information to flatten the learning curve and use experience on the water to figure them out. Be warned..... when you figure them out, you might sell all that bass gear LOL

Thanks CB! Good coverage on crappie fishing. Go up to the Big Allison pier and watch and do what those guys do. The crappie will be moving in and out to the banks to spawn. From the boat I would use a cork with a minnow about 2-3 foot under it with a small split shot and cast to the banks a retrieve it slowly back to the boat. Let the cork sit a second or so then twitch it slowly back to the boat. Crappie are still a little ways off the banks. Once the water hits the right temp for a reasonable amount of time and steadies out then they will be on the banks doing their thing. Not all spawn at the same time nor the same depth. Good luck, keep searching in the back of the coves and creek areas with structure. :popcorn Let us know how you do!:highfive

Go to the back of almost any creek where the water comes up to 15 ft or so. Put minnow s on the bottom and wind it up 4’ , some higher or lower.
Drift around, something good will happen.
Use enough weight to keep bait mostly straight below the boat


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Basically cast everything on the banks like bass fishing but with lighter gear, small baits and slower

Especially this time of the year....crappie will move during the day. You might find fish on the graph holding 8' down in 15' of water at first light and by noon they'll be undetectable on the graph but inside of 5' of water ready to beat the banks. Trust your electronics and fish accordingly. Think "outside of the box" and wave as many different colors of jigs in front of them. They'll tell you what they want. And.....if youre marking fish but they wont bite....MOVE! Don't waste a whole day fishing for something that wont bite. Look elsewhere for some that will.;) That way....atleast if you go home empty handed atleast you can say you tried. It aint nothing for me to move 5 or 6 times during one trip to the lake. Usually it's by water but I have also moved from ramp to ramp before too. Just remember.....it's called "fishing"....not catching (sometimes).:)

It’s funny you mention that about the Allison pier. I actually went there a year ago and watched some older man fishing for crappie. He had a boat too but he said the crappie love it year round there because there are so many downed trees and stumps you can’t see in that area. He was using a little black and chartreuse grub on a jig head no bobber. He also had a strange retrieve but was catching them nearly every cast in the dead of winter. I also think my main problem is that we have been fishing too shallow and the water hasn’t quite warmed up. We have also been staying in one spot just expecting them to be there when they are not.

Right now, I would without having to spend a lot on equipment if you don't have it already. Tight line in deeper water near the channel ledge or along a bank in 20 - 30 foot or even less. Use about 3/4 oz. or 1 oz. and move slowly along. You want to be straight down near the bottom as possible. Use a jig or minnow or both above the lead 18 inches or so. You should find some crappies early or late evening. If you got brush of your own and know they are there cast a jig or split shot and minnow over the top slowly retrieve and all around because they down always hold over the top, they may be near the sides of the brush. Get lazy like me and set up at a spot at night and have some fun. I'm tired of the wind on my days off so I'll find a night that the wind isn't so bad and go. :Rofl They are getting on the bank now but moving in and out so keep up with them on the movement and you'll catch them. :popcorn