Fall Crappie Bite

Hello Fellow Crappie Fishermen,
I've been a member since Jan 2011 but have not been very active on the forum due to 3 kids/work/todo lists/etc.
I'm from central Illinois and love taking my 9 yr old son Crappie fishin at our local lakes.I'm not posting this
to ask for anybody's "hot spots" because i know these are sacred, but am asking for advice or recommendations
for Kentucky Lake in October.We'll be going down there in 2 weeks and have not fished down there in the fall for
4 years.We're staying on the Northwest end of the lake and the lake is so big we're trying to limit running all over the place to find fish. Any advice would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks again

Not trying to keep any secrets, but fishing in mid to late October is really weather dependent and can take a lot of running around looking. when you aren't on the lake a lot.
I'd start looking for brush in about 12ft of water along the creek channels, fishing minnows and jigs. Generally closer to the main lake is better. If you don't have any luck there, try both deeper and shallower on the same kind of spots. You may even find them close to the bank hanging around in 5ft of water near the main lake. My guess is the water will be on the warm side for late October and the fish may even still be on the main lake a lot.

But it all comes down to the shad. If there are shad in the bay, the crappie will be nearby. This is where SS or SI can be a huge time saver. You can run into a bay on a fast idle and look for shad schools and bail out if they aren't there. Fish will move during the day, and you may find a bay empty in the morning and loaded by afternoon.

Beautiful time of year to be on the lake. I started taking my son down there spring and fall when he was 9, and we have a lot of great memories. Many have nothing to do with fishing. Blink of an eye and he was gone away to college and we are lucky to squeeze in a couple of days once a year. Enjoy it!

I appreciate the info CatFan. I have a feeling we'll be on the move alot but hey I have alot of great memories when I went with my dad, and really I don't remember the size or how many we caught but just the experience of being out on the boat on the lake with him is what made it great.Catching some big slabs is always a plus though!I'll post some pics if we get into them.Thanks again

Where will you put in at and what size boat will you be using. The boat could determine where you can fish safely.

We will be putting in at Moors and I have an 18' stratos w/ 150 hp Johnson.

We too will be down there starting the 18th of Oct. We are staying at Big Bear. We have been going down the 3rd or 4th week of Oct for several years now. Its our favorite time to go. Boat traffic usually isn't too bad. It does seem like the last 3-4 years has been busier that it used to be. I can remember going down and only see a few boats all day. Still its nothing like the boat traffic in March April. We quit going down in the spring. Just too crazy. I like the peace and solitude. As far as fishing we usually do pretty good. Might not limit out every day but we always manage to find fish. And some dandies. You are going to be right at some great fishing areas. Good luck and maybe e will see ya down there. We usually hits Ralphs (restaurant at Moors) for lunch at least one or two days while were there.

I had planned on being down there that weekend, but some family and work issues have come up that may derail that. If I do go, I'll get in touch on here and share my phone number so we can exchange info.

If you can make it that sounds like a plan CatFan.

We'll keep an eye out for ya crappie&shrooms,what kind of boat will you be in?

We will be arriving in the late afternoon of the 18th. Will be there till the 27th. We will have a Ranger 185VS. Mercury XR6 150hp. Blue / silver / white bassboat. Most likely there will be 4 of us in it. My wife and I and another couple. Possibly may only be a couple of us in the boat sometimes. The wife's are pretty much fair weather fisherwomen. LOL. Unless they are really biting. Then my wife will be the last one to leave the lake. LOL. Im guessing it will be a little challenging the first couple days. Looks like a pretty major cold front moving in about the 19th.

Well let's hope the cold front holds off til after the 28th, but we'll only be staying til the 20th.Now the Crappie classic will be on the 23rd-26th so get out there and catch em while you can before all the other boats get out there.Well maybe we'll see ya there.Hopefully good weather and good fishing.