Crappie Fishing Strategies For Fall Crappie
October 14, 2008
Fall is the time when most Outdoorsmen think about hunting. However, for many of us Fall is the time when we want to get out on the Lake and go Crappie fishing. Fall can be an excellent time to fill the freezer with Crappie.
After the first few cold fronts of the Fall move through your area, look for feeding Crappie near the first drop off away from the bank. If you’re fishing a South shore, you may find Fall Crappie even shallower than that. South shores typically heat up quicker and therefor attract baitfish. Where you find baitfish, you’ll soon find hungry Crappie right behind them.
Fall Crappie can be very aggressive. You may have to experiment, but I like to find Crappie using jigs using either the Spider rigs or floating with corks. As I drift along the drop off, I’ll put the corks at different depths until I find the Crappie.
When is the best Crappie fishing in the Fall? Just before a big cold front is too hit your area. I’ve seen Crappie turn on as far as a week before a cold front was suppose to hit. However, you’ll likely see an increase of feeding activity a few days before a Major front is expected to blow into your area.
Post cold front Crappie can be hard to get to hit your bait. I typically use smaller jigs and minnows. If the weather warms up after the cold front, look for Crappie to become active as soon as a week after the passage of the cold front.
Slow drifting small jigs and minnows can be just the ticket to get post cold front Crappie to hit your bait. Don’t forget that post cold front Fall Crappie become less active and will not chase a bait very far. Even more so, many times you’ll have to have the bait right in front of their mouths.
The good news about Fall cold fronts is that typically the cold weather doesn’t last long. If Crappie turn off feeding for a few cold days, be back on the lake when the weather starts warming up. The Crappie will be turned on and feeding heavily. Make sure you’re there to take advantage of this feeding frenzy.
South winds can blow baitfish against the shore, presenting easy pickings for hungry Crappie. Use a Spider Rig or a Float and Jig rig to target these fish and fill your live well! Floats and jigs can be fished faster than minnows, plus since there is not rebaiting, you can keep your jigs in the water longer, catching more fish.
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