Crappie Honey Hole How To Create Your Own

How to create your own crappie honey hole

Crappie love brush piles . If you prepare correctly you can prepare your own crappie “honey holes” .The key is to create crappie structure that only you have the location. You can sink brush, plastic and even home made pvc brush piles. The very best brush to sink is “willow tree” branches. They seem to create month long crappie honey hole swarms, I am not sure why, it just my experience. Make sure you cut long cuttings with at least 7 to 10 branches at least 3 foot long with lots of small little branches. Sink you branch cuttings or any of the other artificial structure you plan to sink, with a cement block or something heavy so it sinks directly below where you put it in the water. Also , the brush won’t shift if it is anchored down. I always use a cement block with a short rope about 2ft long, tied to the main cut branch. Crappie are just like bass they like to sit in cover structure and wait for their prey.

The best time to create your crappie honey hole is in the fall and very early spring (right after ice out).
For best results create your crappie brush farms in three different depth locations. Mark your locations to sink brush in the shallows, mid depth locations, and deeper water. Make sure you find a spot that is not easily fished. Make sure you drop your brush when no fisherman are watching. If your honey hole gets a lot of fishing pressure the crappie may move out to other fishing locations. I always look for places that would not interest casual boaters. You are probably asking why? Well by using three different locations you create crappie honey holes for different parts of the fishing season. I you can find a spot where the bottom starts deep and gradually goes to shallows you can build your three locations inline. Just mark each location with a GPS point, that way you can come back again and again without wasting any precious fishing time. If you have young children this is an excellent way to get them interested in fishing. Kids are impatient, but if you take them to a honey hole where the action is almost instant, you will nurture their interest in a wonderful sport.

This technique will work no matter where you are located at. Crappie love brush and structure as their habitat no mater what part of the country you live in. Make sure you check with your local laws to find out what is legal to sink for structure.

If you are ready to catch a regular batch of crappie whenever you go out fishing then get out and create your crappie honey hole now! Good luck with your fishing see you later.

I build lots of honey holes as you call them. Here fish do leave if they are overfished. Usually in a livewell , in a cooler or on a stringer.:rolleyes: An area usually only holds so many fish for a certain length of time. They don't always replenish quickly.
As far as brush willows are good .but I also use Persimmon. My favorite method is to build stakebeda that last longer from Cedar or hardwood boards. This is extra good for kids as verticle boards used in stakebeds reduce hangups. Also short (2' tall stakes) are harder to pick up unless you have a high dollar sonar or are real good at reading your depthfinder. We use depthfinders and GPS to locate ours. If they can be hidden ,you will generally catch more slabs than than fishing ones that always get hammered.;)