The temps are reaching blast furnace hot this week.
What's your go to pattern for finding and catching mid-summer crappie?
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The temps are reaching blast furnace hot this week.
What's your go to pattern for finding and catching mid-summer crappie?
Attachment 468395
Deep brush or timber .... at night ... under lights ... soaking minners under a float at the edge of the lighted circle of water. (old school way)
Deep brush or timber ... at night ... flippin jigs with Livescope. (new school way)
In either case, I'm mindful of the thermocline depth (if present).
Choice is yours .... no wrong way to do it.
Pulling cranks mindful of the thermocline…or watching fishing shows in the AC.
SHADE ! ......best bet , you and the fish will likely be in those areas avoiding that there monster light ....
as stated there are tons of ways to do it , but to be sure if it's much after 9 am , shade is a good place to start after them .:highfive
Our lake it's brush piles and structure in 6 to 10 fow but near a drop offs, deeper water, and or river or creek channel. Fish rarely are caught below 15 foot of water. in my home lake no matter how hot it is. I caught two 15 inchers a week ago and both were only about 3 foot deep.
I always fish under bridge pilings this time of year. They provide structure and shade for me/fish. It's the only place I can fish past 11am without baking in the hot sun.
My bud hit Fork in the open water timber yesterday, had to leave at 10 am , no breeze and pushing 100 …
Plus them fish on the timber are super spooky and finicky and need someone stealthy dropping minnows on them in many cases .
I really wanted to go tomorrow. But they have guilted me into working. I had 40 hours in this evening when I clocked out. But they have taken in a months worth of work, and it’s all coming due. Part guilt, and part I don’t want anyone else over in my space messing up stuff for me to have to deal with Monday. But may go Sunday. Fish should be where they always are this time of year, shadowing schools of shad in 20-30 foot. Put the Bimini up, play radio, troll crankbaits. I just hope the catfish have moved on somewhere else! Hate the slimey jokers with a passion.
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Hi was 103 in SW Ark today. Heat index pushing to 120. Had Mess fried crappie out if the freezer. Too dang hot to go fishn. I’ll get bak mad at em when it cools off. This is what freezer are made for ����
cranks under the bimini
I’m surprised he made it until 10. The sun and heat have really been something this year!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
Bob
Go out later in the morning,( crappie are somewhat lethargic early morning due to feeding in the cooler pre-dawn hours). Bites seem to pick up closer to 10:00 or so for me. I fish a shallow, pretty murky lake. Don't hesitate to fish very shallow water, (5 or less). even with 90 degree water temps. If the baitfish are there the big crappie will be there also. You won't find too many dinks this shallow as these waters are full of cruising gar too.
Unless you're extremely skilled in stealthy boat control while Livescoping, a casting technique of some sort will probably be more productive and spook less fish. Spiderrigging with long poles, preferably 14 feet or longer, would probably work well too.
One last thing is comfort in the boat while fishing the summer heat. I have a Millineum Umbrella holder on a spare seat post that I can switch to a hole on either side of my center seat position. I use an inexpensive 6 by 7 foot rectangular umbrella from Walmart. I can also adjust the umbrella to lean back away from me for low sun conditions, I also use it on favorable weather days to just shade my electronics to see my screens without glare. Works great! I have a half-gallon Igloo jug I fill completely with ice then filtered cold water from the fridge. It stays right by my feet all day. Probably the single most important thing that allows me to fish in this intense heat is an 18 volt Ryobi Fan. I put it on the floor right in front on my right side. I angle it almost straight up on me.
A week or so ago I started about 10:00 AM and fished most of the rest of the day in 108 heat index and no wind. I was extremely comfortable and managed a nice limit of summer time slabs while having the whole lake to myself. I was watching boat after boat running to the ramp and leaving by 11:00 as the heat was bearing down.