Page 8 - Crappie NOW - November 2018

NON-TRADITIONAL PLACES

fish. Aided by a slight wind, he drifted several ignore the possibilities.”
times, dropping B’n’M Double Minnow Rigs
(www.bnmpoles.com) with shiners and Barge
catching 28 crappie. Ignoring obvious structure, even if it is an
“I have never experienced anything like unusual, can be a mistake as well.
that in shallow water, especially on Pickwick,” Alabama pro Gerald Overstreet, who catches
Whitehead said. the majority of his crappie in heavy current
on the main portions of the Alabama River,
Hot, Shallow Crappie was fishing the Tombigbee River in calmer
The fish live even shallower on conditions several years. Enjoying a day
other fisheries. Crappie Masters (www. of casting and retrieving a jig under a cork
crappiemasters.net) president and owner to laydowns and stumps along the bank,
Mike Vallentine regularly targets shallow fish Overstreet (Overstreet Guide Service, 251-
close to his Missouri home and also on the 589-3225) was catching the occasional fish
road when he travels to tournaments. along the way.
“On my home waters, Truman Lake in Forced to maneuver around an old
Missouri, even in the heat of summer with 85 partially sunk barge tied up to the bank,
or 90 degree water temperatures, we look for Overstreet flipped a cast near the structure
shallow stumps in one to four feet of water,” and immediately watched his float disappear.
he said. “Those crappie will be there. That’s He soon discovered the mother lode of
very common and it’s very common all over crappie was positioned not around the wood
the country.” where they were supposed to be but rather
On the road, Vallentine only fishes the under the old barge.
Alabama River about once a year. However, “There was no brush or wood around,”
he has learned that plenty of crappie hold Overstreet said. “They were relating to the
shallow on the stumps and standing timber barge.
on the river just about year-round. “The fish were just under the edge of the
“There are plenty of crappie to be caught barge but would come out and take the jig.”
out on the main river and in some of the
deeper creeks,” Vallentine said. “But there Final Notes
is a portion of the crappie population on the These fishing experiences illustrate that
Alabama River that seems to live shallow crappie are where you find them. While that
just about year-round. Through experience, statement may be overstating the obvious,
that’s something that I have come to expect. even seasoned fishermen stubbornly adhere
You can catch fish in two or three feet of water to pre-conceived ideas about where the fish
when the water temperature is approaching should be. Crappie are creatures of habit
90 degrees in a hot Alabama summer.” and are generally found in the same places.
Vallentine eases through the wood The fish, however, will hold in non-traditional
structure and dissects areas with a one-pole areas that stray from the ordinary.
approach. That day arrives when crappie are difficult
“I’m not here that often,” he said, “but I’ve to locate. It may be time to try an unusual
never failed to find at least some fish up approach, shallow vs. deep, grass vs. wood,
shallow. They seem to find everything they or current vs. still water. The results may
need to live – food, shade, plenty of oxygen prove surprisingly but more importantly
– in the hotter shallow water. rewarding as well.
“For crappie fishing, people generally
think deep first, but shallow fish on the
Alabama River and other places are always
a possibility if wood structure is present. - Greg McCain
Most people just don’t know it and tend to

8 Crappie NOW November 2018