what's the best time of year question

[mnrstrider]

What's the best time of year In your opinion for crappies, and when that time ends. Right now I'm hard press to say, that there could possibably be a better time, the numbers and size of fish I've caught recently are great, and It seems I'm spending less time finding the fish lately.

[huskiesplayer15]

These conditions:
a) when the wife says so
when the weather is beautiful
C) when the weather is windy and rainy
D) when you have rectal glaucoma at work
E) when the honey do lisy is just too long.
work, I think that is jigstickers one! He cant see his one-just-like-silly-me going to work today!
The best fishing is whenever you can get out!
I prefer to ice fish crappies, this is bassing time now!
Best Fishes
Chris

[CrappieJohn]

Fall, definitely fall. With spring a close second. There is something about being on the water when the maple leaves are dropping and the duck busters are out doing their thing and the pheasant hunters are dogging the sloughs. Fallcrappies are fat and aggressive. They'll hit like no tomorrow. If you have heard that fish pork it up in the fall and will charge about anything, you need to try crappies on plastics in the fall. Twisters as large as three inches are not too big. 1/8 and 1/4 ounce jigs are not too big. The whole month of October was created for the crappie fisherman, I swear.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

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[Matt Johnson]

I like early ice for slabs, than I would have to pick fall and spring as a tie for second. Spring is good because the crappies are very aggressive and you get the real dark colored crappies, very cool. And fall is good because you can land some pigs! These fish are staging for the winter and can get really thick. October is a good time to chase these fish.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[united jigsticker]

July-October...hands down.

Size, numbers, fast and furious bites...That's when it's at.

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[Corey Bechtold]

All of the above. There were some great points made by everyone(especially huskyplayer ). Truth be told, anytime you can get on the water (or ice) is the best time. If you want size than spring,fall, early and late ice are your peaks. Numbers may be better at any other time but that's what I like about Crappies. They can usually be found in anyplace, anytime. Watch moon phases as this can play a key role on some mini-peaks in feeding activity. Weather patterns can also turn on and off the switch. So many variables to limit ones self to one time of the year.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[mnrstrider]

I was fearing the answers, and for a good reason, I can't imagine it getting better, than it is now, but I'm sure I'll spend a whole lot more time on the water this year, since it's "cheap" entertainment.

Thanks for the replys guys

[CALVINIST]

Crappie Tom,

Where (what structure) can you find crappies in October? How deep? What times of day? I would love to get out and get a few slabs this fall.

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Calvinist
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[united jigsticker]

October, look deep. The same areas that you find the Crappies mid-winter is where you'll find them in October.

They will often be suspended in thick hoarded schools and can be easily detected on electronics.

I like to fish just above the top of the school, and there are many effective methods to entice these often eagerly biting fish.

One is a slip bobber rig with your choice of jig, etc. This allows you to suspend your bait over the fish while not having to hover over them with the boat. You can add weight to the rig to adjust for sensitivity and the size of your float.

Another effective way is to vertical jig them without a bobber. This method, I like to count down to just above the top of the school, and "yo-yo" the fish up for a strike, much like winter ice fishing.

Another method that works for aggresive fall fish is to freecast and count down to the school, and swim your jig above, or sometimes even through the school. Watch your line for any twitches, or premature stops as the jig sinks. Most often, this activity will indicate a biting Crappie.

Good luck, Fall tiem fishing is one of the hottest times of years for numbers, and most often, slab sized fish.

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[CrappieJohn]

Calvin....Crappies will begin to do a reverse of what they did in the spring and begin to shift to deeper water. They may not be deep, but that deep water will play a key role in where they are. I favor wood from late September until the cold or ice keeps me off the water. Bridge pilings in deeper water are also good...basically anything vertical in the water is what I tend to look for first. The later into the fall you fish, the more you need to begin thinking like ice-fishermen: start down sizing you offerings, add some real meat like waxies or small minnows if things get slow on plastic and hair, deeper in the daytime-shallower as the shadows fall. Weedbeds will give up lots of fall fish if the lake you are fishing has the weeds to support the fishing.

Where I spend the bulk of my time fall fishing, the waters have current- not a hard one usually, but very evident. Some will argue that you should avoid current when the waters chill down, but I never seem to have any trouble with the fish even where the current is strongest.

I guess more than anything, it is the deepwater/ structure relationship that gets my attention the most. If I had to narrow it down to one specific area, I'd look for visible and submerged wood, weeds or rock/concrete that would range from the top to the bottom in about 15 feet of water, but still near twenty+ feet as in a channel or a bowl.

Regardless of what you are fishing (plastic, bait, hair), presentation will be a toughie to figure out each day as it is now that the craps will get fickle after the intitial "feed-bag" fall spree that we see each year. Back to back cold fronts can raise cain with your fishing, whereas prolonged warm periods can turn them back on again for days on end. Without VERY consistant weather in the fall, expect each day to be a new adventure. Go prepared to fish every conceivable way there is if you want to enjoy success.

Fall crappies are a challenge, but fun. And if you are looking for the "wallhanger", fall is probably the best time to find one.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

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