Cooling Crappies

Cooling Crappies

By Ben Leal

October in Iowa…nature, as a whole, begins its transition from summer to fall. Average daytime highs will reach 68 degrees while lows will fall to the upper 40’s. By then end of the month we will see a 10 to 15 degree drop in those averages. Fishing for crappie is one of the many delights of fall. Crappie will gather in large schools again and begin to fatten up in preparation for the coming winter. So grab a sweatshirt or two, load up with your favorite crappie arsenal and get ready to fall into some awesome crappie fishing.

Finding the Crappie
On the lakes and reservoirs usually targeted by crappie anglers, crappie typically stay in or near the thermocline. “We still have a thermocline as September gives way to October” noted, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Management Biologist Ben Dodd. “Water temps are still in the low 80’s. After the fall turnover, start looking for crappie in deeper water and structure”. Shallow-water action might be good during cool, low-light periods, but crappie rarely venture to the “dead zone” below the thermocline. For this reason, pinpointing schools of summer fish is relatively simple; find the cool, oxygen-rich water that forms the thermocline and you’ll find crappie.

Cooler weather begins lowering the surface water temperature. As the upper layer cools, it becomes heavier and sinks. This action forces warmer, lighter water back to the surface. This water subsequently is cooled, just as the previous surface layer was, and descends as it cools. This mixing or “turnover” continues several weeks until the thermocline disappears and all water in the lake is roughly the same temperature. This mixing effect also replenishes oxygen in deep water.

The end result is that fish formerly restricted to narrow bands of acceptable oxygen and temperature no longer are limited in their movements. Crappie once barred from the coolest depths because of low oxygen levels now may roam freely to much deeper water. Likewise, where once fish could not spend extended periods in extreme shallows due to high temperatures and low oxygen levels, after turnover, even these areas are acceptable. Crappie may now be found deep, shallow or anywhere in-between.

When fall rolls around they think about eating more. One way to find these fish is to slow troll with a couple rods rigged with two jigs in depths ranging from 10 to 20 feet of water. If you have a lake map, try finding those break lines that follow creek channels where they fall to deeper water. A good spot to look for these fish is where there is a distinctive bend or point in the channel. These areas tend to hold fish, both predator and prey better.

Once you’ve located the fish, drop a marker or create a way point on your GPS. Come back to that spot and concentrate on active fish, vertical jigging is usually the best tactic. If the school of fish is on the move, keep trolling to stay on top of them. If trolling and jigging doesn’t produce as well as you’d like, and there is enough wind to push your boat along, try drifting through the school. Your success may simply be dependent on your presentation.

Tackle and Tactics
If you talk to a dozen crappie anglers, you’ll likely get a dozen different opinions regarding the best ways to catch them. Best jig color, line size, jig weight, best rod and reel combo and so on. The reality is that you and your best friend can be in the same boat using two different techniques and you’ll both be catching fish.

In general, crappie anglers prefer long ultra-light rods with 4 to 6 pound test line loaded on their spinning reels. Crappie can be great fun on ultra-light gear and also the light line aids in getting those smaller baits down into the strike zone quicker, especially if the bite is on.

There are a couple other things to consider when using light tackle; small baits still tend to catch bigger fish, in this case the occasional largemouth bass, catfish and other predatory fish in the lake. Secondly, if you are fishing around structure where you might get hung up, losing a jig or two is a definite possibility.

As an alternative to ultra-light tackle consider going to a medium light action rod and loading your reel with 8-pound monofilament. With this tackle you can usually free snagged jigs by pulling steadily on the line, opening the soft hooks on your jigs. And in the event you happen to hook into a larger cousin of the crappie you’re fishing for, you’ll have a bit more backbone to bring that fish to the boat.

For crappie I lean toward a 1/8-ounce to 1/16-ounce jig head with a 2-inch curly tail grub in white or chartreuse. One of my favorite color combinations is a pink jig head with a white grub. Putting these two colors together have worked extremely well. When I use a smaller 1/16-ounce jig I also tip it with two 1-inch Berkley Gulp! Alive! Black Shad Minnows. I thread the first one on to the hook and then hook the second through the head of the bait. This gives an illusion of a couple bait fish swimming together. This is extremely effective if the crappie are schooled up holding tight to cover. Use a small stick bobber to suspend your bait at the right depth for the fish. Small subtle twitches of the line will give you all the action you need…as soon as the bobber disappears beneath the surface, set the hook!

Using live bait such as minnows and wax worms will also produce at this time of year. You can use both live bait and plastics by tying on two small jigs in tandem on your light gear. On the bottom use a small jig head with your preference in plastic colors and on the second jig above slip a minnow on. As an alternative to using two jig heads you can tie on a small minnow hook above the jig.

“Anglers should think about using smaller gear such as ice fishing tackle, as the water temps really cool”, mentions Dodd. “They also should consider trying those areas where they usually do well ice fishing as fish begin moving into winter habitat in late fall.”
The key to tackling the tackle question is “don’t get stuck on any one approach”. Experiment until you find what works for you, and what’s working for you that day. Patterns change, so be prepared to change as well.

Weather
Okay, this is October in Iowa so we all know that weather can play a big role in our outdoor adventures. As October roles in weather patterns can be pretty stable but as the month wears on we’ll see our share of cold fronts come through. One thing that every angler should get in the habit of doing is checking the barometric pressure. Pressure changes in the atmosphere will affect how active fish will be.

Let’s say we’re experiencing a prolonged period of high pressure and the fishing has been good. Then a cold front heads our way. Ahead of the front is low pressure, and the fish can sense that the barometer is about to drop. So, right before the high begins to dissipate and the barometer falls, the fish respond with a change in feeding patterns. They’ll often feed heavily right before the pressure drops. As it does, they become more uncomfortable and feed less aggressively. When the front passes and high pressure moves back in, the fish may not feed aggressively for at least 24 hours since they’re still adjusting. I keep my smart phone handy and as I’m getting ready to start my day I’ll check to see what’s going on with the barometer, it helps in deciding my strategy for the day.

Make a Day…
“The fall bite can be very good if you get on some fish”, said Dodd. “We’ve observed a major drop in fishing pressure this time of year. If anglers are looking for a peaceful trip that can produce a nice mess of fish, fall is a great time to get that boat out one more time before winterizing”.

The air is cooler and the colors are changing throughout the state in October, a combination that offers anglers a great chance to spend some last remaining days out on the lake. Winter is on the horizon and fish will begin feeding in preparation for the coming changes…a recipe for a great day of fishing…Tight Lines!