Page 5 - Crappie NOW - August 2017

SIZZLING HOT CRAPPIE

with slightly-stained, deep water.”
Phillips has learned that during the
summer, the crappie will relate to structure
- drop-offs, humps, deep stumps and
deep, underwater trees – that you can’t
spot without a quality depth finder.
“I like a Humminbird Helix 10 HD
side scanning and down scanning depth
finder because I catch crappie with it,”
Phillips emphasizes. “When I get over
structure or a drop-off, I can tell the
difference between crappie that resemble
little leaves and other kinds of fish. I can’t
always catch the crappie I spot, however,
I know I’m fishing where the crappie are.”
Because Phillips fishes well offshore
in the main lake on the main part of the
river, he frequently has jet skiers, water
skiers and pleasure boat riders create
waves where he’s fishing. “So, instead of
using multiple poles and spider rigging,
I’ll fish with a single pole with either a
double or a single minnow rig straight
down to where I’ve located the crappie
with my depth finder.”

How to Find Crappie Before You Fish
Phillips also uses maps like
Navionics and Humminbird’s LakeMaster. Anthony Milner, who works with Jonathan
In the mid-summer, Phillips searches Phillips, says, “If I can’t fish for crappie with
for contour changes on the bottom – Jonathan, I’ll fish for catfish, since Jonathan
particularly humps about 14 feet deep knows where to find the big ones.”
out in the middle of a river that drops-
off to 30-40 feet. Phillips uses his depth
finder to scan all the way around a hump Phillips looks at lake and river maps and
to know where the crappie are ganged attempts to pinpoint structure, bottom
up. drop-off and/or a hump different from the
On cloudy days, Phillips may bottom around it.
pinpoint crappie concentrating just above “Often a sharp bottom break or
the hump. A bluebird day with bright, hot rise may concentrate crappie,” Phillips
sun means the crappie will be on the reports. “I check them out and fish a foot
hump’s shady side. The hump’s west side or two above the crappie.”
may hold crappie early in the morning, Catching crappie in deep water
since the sun rises in the east, with the during the summer months is much like
hump’s east side more productive in the picking cotton. Start at the top of the
afternoons. school, and catch as many crappie as
possible. Then move deeper into the
How to Change Bad Fishing into Good cover or the ledge, and catch the center of
Fishing the crappie school to keep from spooking
On a non-productive summer’s day, other crappie.
“If I have to fish the heart of brush for

5 Crappie NOW August 2017