So, now what?

[CrappieJohn]

Eight weeks ago people were looking to enjoy a spring bite on the crappies and sunfish. In another eight weeks people might be searching for these fish once again. As we get into the month of August we are oftentimes looking at the end of the summer rush and start seeing the pannies do things we don't correlate with being the beginning of the fall transition. They can be very predicatable at this time of year or, as in the transition from ice to open water, they may seem to have disappeared altogether.

Early fall fish can be amazing close to shallow water and that often will confuse anglers who were getting them deep the week before. Warmer shoreline water will draw huge shoals of the spring's forage hatch. These micro meals are feeding on the plankton and wee bits of bugs that find favor in the warmth. As the fry move into these areas the crappies will be on their heels. I have watched as crappies force the fry up onto water so shallow that the crappie's pectoral fins are out of the water. And this taking place on days when the temps are hovering around 80 degrees! While sunfish are not near so venturesome, they too will begin to fall into the feeding chain only hanging back in slightly deeper water.

This is the time of year when a person has to go armed to do war: The tackle should reflect the full size spectrum and live bait should likely be brought along so every possible feeding senario can be covered. Two and three inch twister tails may be favored over 1 1/2 inch stuff and a three inch fathead might do more damage than the tiny "pin" crappie minnows, all this only to see size preference switch on a blink.

Crappies are good at reversing themselves according to season. Often we can stay right with the schools of fall fish by going in the opposite direction of what the fish took in the spring from the spawn period into late post spawn. The fall fish will again visit the vertical wood in deep water as well as the that wood found in shallower water. Weedbeds that held pre-spawn and spawning fish might begin to see crappies re-appear about mid August.

One of the little qwirks that crappies can have is shade. On bright days a person may not be able to find a crappie in any water with sun beating directly down on it, but by moving or casting into shaded water they might begin to hammer them even if the water is only three feet deep. I have seen it where one side of a vertical submerged log will be shaded and you can catch crappies on that side of it. Cast to the opposite, sun drenched side and nothing will even venture so far as to even sniff.

We'll soon be in that time period where the fishing can seem to be tougher than a week before, but by understanding how these fish adjust to seasonal influence placed upon them(not so much influences placed on us) the game of hide and seek with them can be tipped more in the fisherman's favor. Remember too that the fall time is when they will begin to pork up for the long winter. Feeding activity can be a day long event. And like spring fishing, the low light periods might be better at times. What you put in the water to catch fall fish may need to be much larger than what you think they can even eat. By the same token they may not take anything much larger than what you's use during a tough bite under the ice, hence the need to go armed to the teeth.

I like to keep a notebook with places where the fish were willing in the spring and then I reverse it in the fall beginning with when I start to see the crappie activity go to work on the young of the year forage as compared to the actual spawning. By using this as a timeline to follow crappies can be fished right up to ice-up and then we begin a whole other journey again.

If you find the fall panfish and crappies to be more a mystery than a meal, try this approach and see if you don't make connections you maybe passed by in other years. The fall fishing can be far better than the spring fishing and is something to get into if you can stay with these ever mobile fish.

[Corey Bechtold]

Good post Tom! As for presentations (plastics) what would be some of the offerings you would throw at these late summer/early fall fish?

Me, I would look at fishing vertical if and when possible as these fish can really stick to cover or break lines. Some of my best luck has been with the Power stuff in the 1.5" to 2" sizes. This year I plan on trying some more 3" baits to see if I can up the size of my catch.

Good job again,

Corey Bechtold

[CrappieJohn]

Fishing a vertical presentation would be preferable, thus a slip float might be a good tool. Where I fish I almost always use a float, only a fixed one as like in the spring. Oftentimes maintaining a specific depth will be an essential portion of the recipe to success.

The weather can be as big an issue for fall fish as spring fish find it to be. After cooler water arrives a solid cold front can shut the door on fishing for a day or so. As in spring fishing sizing down the plastic may be the surest way to illicit hits.

As you know Corey, one of my tools for this fall fishing is a very thin hair jig. They can be fished alone, with a waxie or dressed up with some scented product to get tenetive fish interested. I like cod liver oil for scenting the hair jigs. The hair jig is a deadly tool for backwater crappies and sunfish when they begin to come into the shallow water hunting the small foods.

Food and comfort drive these fish right now, but like spring there will come a point in the water temp ladder where the warmer water will become a key element in location and holding fish.

I am finding active fish hitting on plastics really good right now. Stub Grub and Rats are very good at getting fish and the Culprit Paddletail along with the Exude Micro Shads have also been sticking their share....notice the size declination in the plastics mentioned and you can see the progression I make in searching to downsize. A scented product like the exude 1 and 2 inch twisters are still solid options. As the water cools be looking to get rid of the iradic tail action of the twister products and lean more on the subtle actions of the Rats and Stubs and their slow fall rates. Flicktails will also begin to pick up fish, especially during immediate post-front conditions.

After locating fish is taken care of, I will generally begin by using the mid range sized baits to do my "feeling out" process to determine what the bite will be like and what sizes will be tolerated. Again, I let the fish dictate the tempo of my fishing. People who have fished with me know I can be a bait changing fool when the bite is washy. When I come onto something that appears to produce the best, I really lean into it.

This particular time of year....the fal fishing....can demand constant change to stay abreast of the fish.

[Matt Johnson]

Tom brings up some excellent points in this article. Fall fishing definitely throws a twist at us, but it can be counteracted with a little change in technique and activity.

Great post Tom!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson