I don’t troll the lake. Rather, I seek out submerged structure and pick it apart. Deep water is always a key factor for me. I might not fish deep, but deep water will generally have to be nearby.
If you fish the lake in the spring, look back at where you had luck a couple weeks before the spawn. Lake Zumbro’s crappies will, and do, use the same structure in the fall as in the spring. In fact water temps will be almost identical between when certain structure is used in the spring and again in the fall.
Personally I don’t use minnows much. I’d rig two rods, one having a small float and small jig with a plastic, the other a small jig and plastic without a float for snooping out deeper haunts. Mini Mites are a favorite jig/plastic on that lake for many anglers, while I pretty much like Culprit Paddletails on a 1/32 head. Play with colors a little. For me the chartreuse head with a purple or junebug plastic is just about tops while the hot yellow head and a clear/sparkle tail works good in the Mini Mites. The Chartreuse head with a glow white body is another good choice for Mini Mites. If you want some meat, take a few waxies and add one to your jig. Another lure option I really like at this time of year is a jigging spoon like the Jigging Demon. Toss a couple waxies on it and give it a go….you might find yourself holding a new favorite bait.
Something you may want to think about is what other fish are you catching. If I am catching largemouth bass at this time of year, I move. If I am catching an occasional smallie, I figure I’m not too far from crappies.
Its been dry and the flow rates are down now. That along with dropping water temps means you need to slow down. You’ll do better if you forget the motion and pick apart specific water near structure. Basically anything near vertical with its feet in water of 9 feet or more should start yielding fish. They’ll have the feed bag on now so when you bump into them there will usually be more than a couple and they’ll be more than willing to hit.
Something else you might want to consider in the morning fishing is to fish where the sun hits the water early on and to try fishing shallower in the water column. As the day lights up the warmer water will be rising and crappies will follow that warmer water.
