Fall Crappie Fishing – 3 Effective Tips In Catching Fall River Crappie
Not having any luck when it comes to fishing crappie in the fall? It’s really frustrating when you go crappie fishing during the fall because they’re just all around the water and hard to find.
Anglers will go to lakes and reservoirs and crappie will typically stay in or just around the thermocline. Fishing in shallow water is fine during the cooler periods, but crappie rarely heads out to the “dead zone” below the thermocline. Look for cool places in the water that provides the thermocline and you’re going to find crappie.
Everything changes when fall begins. The cold weather lowers the temperature of the water and this pushes warmer, lighter water back to the surface. Because of this the crappie once limited to oxygen and temperature are now able to move more easily.
Some waters don’t go into this transition and rivers are one of these cases. The angler will need to be creative in order to catch some crappie. In this article we’re going to take a look at some of the more creative tips that you can use.
1. Find Crappie’s Comfort Zone – If you want to be a successful crappie angler — regardless of the season — then you need to learn the places where crappie are comfortable at staying. You might think that it’s easier to catch crappie in the fall because they basically just live anywhere in the water but there are still other factors that you need to consider such as oxygen content, light penetration and food sources.
2. Use Standing Timber – When the water starts to clear, crappie likes to hang out on standing timber. In this condition, crappie can move shallow or deep as water and weather conditions dictate. During cloudy or windy days when light doesn’t pass very far through the water, crappie might be between a few feet of the surface. In sunny days, you might find them right under the bottom. You just need to adjust your strategies accordingly.
3. Handle Cold Fronts – A passing cold front can really spoil your crappie fishing. They can still be caught but you have to work extra hard for it. It’s obvious that you can’t control the weather but what you can do is adjust your presentation when the weather isn’t friendly. Crappie likes to go near structures during this condition. If you want to catch them, then you must lay out your presentation to a vertical style, keeping the bait in front of the crappie longer and in a specific depth range.
The transition from summer to autumn can be quite a headache for most crappie anglers. I hope you found the tips in this article to be informative and I wish you more success with your crappie fishing in the fall.
