CRAPPIES WHEN THE SUN IS OUT

[MACHINIST]

I have a few good night pots for crappies but cant seem to find them in the middle of the day,always at nightime,dusk and dawn but not in the daytime.The places I fish are shallow 9-10 fow or less with lots of weedy and rocky spots,were would you guys fish for them in the daytime.Another lake that I fish I can get them in the daytime but dint do so well at night.I have tried the same tactics on my night spots that I use at the lake above but it doesn't work.Any suggestions?

[Van_Cleaver]

Super Bowl Sun my brother and I were fishing for panfish on a local lake. About 3:00  on a sunny, warm(50), day I started shooting holes with my  Vex, as we were getting ready to go.  When I marked fish (22fow), it was a crappie. Was jigging with a Fat Boy with maggots. We stayed with the school for an hour and iced about a doz. The lake was deserted and we were catching crappie in the bright sunshine! My suggestion would be to look for deeper basins, and creek channels that adjoin the areas where you find them at night.

[bigredonice]

My suggestion would be to look for deeper basins, and creek channels that adjoin the areas where you find them at night.

definetly...they will suspend off of the first major drop off adjacent to the shallow water where you are catching them at prime time

[MACHINIST]

COOL THANKS GUYS!!

[iceintheveins]

BigRed and VanCleaver hit it pretty much on the nose. Day crappies are harder to find and you have to move a lot to stay with the schools. They will almost always suspend well off the bottom. The confinded open water near the drop off from shallow shelves into a deeper basin is a good spot to find crappies. I would look in about 25 feet of water and start jigging about 5 feet off the bottom and experiment until you see fish come through on your vex. Then fish your jig at the levels you see most of the crappies come through. A school of crappies is easy to identify because of the way they behave. Usually 2 - 4 at a time on the finder, suspended and slow moving but moving nonetheless. The mark is usually pretty distinct too, even for smaller crappies.
During the evening they will suspend in the shallower waters, usually 25 feet or under. But they can still be over fairly deep water. Tiny glow spoons or teardrops tipped with a waxie or maggot work like a charm. I would say probably half of all crappies I see on the screen will hit. Usually your line will just go slack or you feel on tiny tap. Just set the hook firmly but sharply with a short lift. They are comparatively easy to hook compaired to a bluegill or pech.

Tyler

[MACHINIST]

THANKS MACKDADDY

[C.C.]

Just yesterday I was catching crappie's while I got a sunburn. It was around 16' of water and most of the fish were @ 11-12'. Hali jigs and kastmasters tiped with waxie's . Cought 90% of what I marked.
       Jim

[fishboy899]

Yup usually they suspend.  I have one spot though that first ice you can catch them in 10 fow right on the bottom.  I have caught crappie on the bottom in 10-15 fow during the day but not like I do at dusk.  I also think people overlook early morning for crappie I have found on one particular lake that this time is better than evening fishing.

[TroutFishingBear]

I have never really  caught crappies in the morning (I think they probably shut down after the dark feed) but I believe it. I usually can start catching them around 2 in the afternoon or so. They do everything that bigred and mackdaddy said they do pretty much. I just have on thing to add. When you find as school, first catch the fish that is highest in the water column, and then move down, to avoid spooking.

[walleyeslayer]

i move around alot in the day.  they seem to concentrate near weedy areas in the daytime, near a dropoff.  thats what ive discovered.  i found a shelf on my home lake, it drops off to 30 ft pretty fast,  at the top of the shelf is that cabbage like weed, grows kinda tall....i fish right at about 10 ft, i use a kastmaster spon to draw them in, jig it like crazy till i see them on the vex, and switch to a jigging rap.  sometimes i go alittle deeper, they usually only show up long enough to catch 2 or 3, then move on.  at sundown i  use teardrops, glow in the dark, and set it about a foot below the ice (deadstick)  then i run around to different depths, using my vex to see if theyre suspending, they move everywhere at night

[Shrek]

We do not target crappies but catch them at the same locations and times while walleye fishing,foot off bottom. Usually we can see them suspended above bottom they must follow our rigs down as we lower them through.