Normal for Crappies to Surface in the Day?

So we were fishing Kegs reef on Waconia yesterday. Wind was stout, a little hazy in the sky as the Canadian Fires were over us, sun otherwise was trying to peek through. We were in about 17 FOW when we saw and heard fish jumping in large schools off the water. I just assumed bait fish but the jumpers got closer to us, we noticed they were crappies. This happened from about 9AM until we left at noonish. Plenty of weeds out to that 16.5 foot mark so the crappies were right on the surface AND right on the edge of the weedline. Couldn’t keep them off a small crappie swim jig with plastics. Just cast and retrieve. Almost a fish every cast.

Is this normal summertime reef-located behavior for Crappies? Never seen it before. Perhaps as a coincidence, I was reeling in a crappie when the biggest muskie I have ever seen came a-chasin’ my little catch. He came right to the side of the boat. Had to of been 50 inch plus. Would Crappies stay on the surface because they are being hunted by muskie?

I wouldn’t consider it abnormal, or a daily occurrence. More of the conditions being right. I’ve had them suspended on Lake Mendota over 60fow and follow the shadow of the boat where you could see them.

Summer can be a great time of year to see crappies at the top. Insects and young of the year forage can be high up feeding on plankton or fine algae when water temps are just right and crappies will take advantage of easy feeding that this offers them. Should have tied on a small crank bait.

A week or so after a bout of high water on our local lake I found a clump of cat-tail bog that had been dislodged from shore and was floating over about 25 feet of water. That offered some of the best summer crappie fishing I ever had, just by staying along side and slowly circling that clump and casting to it. The crappies were all around it, tight to its perimeter and even deep underneath the roots. This was wide open deep water. Anything that offers those crappies food or shade and you’ll likely find the crappies there at some point during the day.

Those surface fish are fun though and thi doesn’t happen all the time. Right place, right time+ good for you!

I have seen this quite often when fishing on Tonka this summer, and last summer as well.If they are not surface feeding you can still sometimes pick them up on the graph just above the weeds.At times even when the screen shows nothing try dropping a small jig down and they will follow it up from the weeds.Like winter fishing they will oftentimes follow your jig all the way to the top and hit.Have picked up walleyes with bigger baits fished beneath the crappies also.A fun way to fish and you never know what you will encounter.