Crappie

[carp master]

what is a crappies favorite habitat for the four seasons especially summer?

[Nathansdad]

My experience is in the summer the smaller crappie will be in the weeds. The medium to large crappie will hold on the deep weedlines. The large to true slab crappie will suspend over deep water.

[fisherdog19]

I would say to look for the deep weed edge. The crappies will be where the food is and in the summer the food is in the weed cover. You may see many size classes in a school but some times you will see them school by size. Early in the summer, look to the first break adjacent to where they spawn. Once mid summer rolls around they may move to other areas.

[OnAFly]

Spring - Shallow weeds

Summer - Some in shallow still, most in deeper weeds

Fall - Suspended over deeper basins

Winter - Still suspended until the move to shallow in the spring

Good advice by Fisherdog19. Many times if you can find where they are in one season, they will be near by later on. Find a bed they sit on in the spring and just off that bed is a good place to try in the summer. Check out in the nearest deeper water to that summer spot in the fall, and might find fish on the first try. Of course, every lake is different and not all will follow this. But, it's a good starting out point.

[slurpie]

I can seem to get them spring and winter thw summer seems to be the toughest time to get them for myself. Remember to be selective in the spring if you get them on their beds.

[Nick Kuhn]

I think it'll depend on the lake you fish. On a clear lake that has a deep weedline often you'll find them there. If the lake is very dark and the weedline is found in shallow water then I tend to find them suspended just off break lines.

[fishnowworknever]

I was on Christmas this last weekend and caught a few in 6'. That lake is extremely clear (18-19').

[magic_minnow]

IN MY BELLYYYYY!

[mr_jman]

Every book I have looked at, and my experience is that summer is the toughest time of year to get them. They are my favorite to chase but during the summer I wait till evening and work the shallow weedlines. Even after dark with lighted bobber or slow retrieving lures like a Crappie Thumper, larger Beetle Spin, or Road Runner!

[Jim Uran]

Deep weeds always get mt vote, I find the deepest weeds I can, preferably near a shallow feeding flat and deep water. Find these three things together and you are in good territory.

[waterbound]

This past summer I caught a ton of crappies as part of a great mixed bag of sunnies, crappies and rock bass. The biggest crappies were 13, maybe 14 inches and the smallest about 10 inches. I won't say what lake but I'd be willing to bet at least some of the guys on this forum have fished it before. Fishing out of a canoe with an ultralight casting 1/16 or 1/8 oz jigs with a white curly tail grub. The key was to get the canoe over water just deep enough that the weeds weren't visible anymore and cast back over the weedbed. If I had to guess it was probably 12-14 feet of water.

[pikestabber]

Crappies move throughout the day, too. If I find a heavy weed bed (cabbage, etc.,) adjacent to a fair drop, I concentrate there during midday, as well as bumping out to locate schooled fish suspended in deep water, but you can bet these fish will move in shallower toward sunset and put on the feed bags just outside of thick weed beds and other emergent vegetation such as lily pads and bull-rushes. Experiment with depth, too, but more often than not I fish the upper part of the water column in most all of these situations (e.g., in a depth of ten feet, I might have slip float with a crappie minnow thinly hooked in the back with a light-wire hook 4'-5' down. To put this into perspective, I have caught crappies in anywhere from 3' to 23' in the same day. The key is to learn when to target them at various depths.