Have caught some nice ones trolling around for pike, looking for tips on getting them intentionally, got some great ideas from Tom already-Anyone troll plugs? I know they suspend a lot in dark water, what about lakes that are very clear? Also who finds them on SI? Not hard to find huge schools of small sunnies but how can you tell the difference between sunnies and crappos?
Thanks
If you’re marking schools of whatever down in the water column over deep water but not on the bottom, tie on a three way with a foot ling dropper for a 1/4-3/8 weight and a 5 foot leader for a floating Rapala about a size seven and run that thru the school. Summer crappies will chase BIG baits when they’re following water temps or a thermocline. Take off the front hook on the Raps.
If you use a bit more weight you can either speed up some or you can use a larger Rap. Yozuri makes a few nice minnow sticks that are smaller and effective.
I trolled run of rip-rap in a Mississippi backwaters for years with Raps on three ways looking for walleyes and caught as many crappies as walleyes….using a size 13 Rap. These were always very large crappies. If I am in a boat during the summer heat and the water temps have gone way up and schooled crappies won’t pay any attention to a jig/plastic, the three way with a mid sized floating stick generally gets the nod.
I seem to do much better with smaller cranks that have a chubbier profile when the water is still half cool to cold. Sticks are chasing baits and even semi-lethargic crappies will chase to a degree if the profile is more minnow-like. One just has to make a few passes at differing speeds to figure out what speed will elicit hits.
Tom,
How do you know how far down this rig is fishing?
For example; I was out this past Sunday and saw fish 12′ down over 26′ of water. How do I know how much line to let out with this dropper rig for those fish at say 1.5 MPH?
We were fishing and tubing with the family and I was scouting water at the same time. We stopped to swim midlake when I noticed the school. Threw a bobber rig at them and caught one. They were crappies. Wife got crabby because it was family water time not fishing time so I stopped. Just wondering how to target them trolling.
Jigging raps rule…..if you can stay on the school. ANYTIME I see suspended fish, this is my go to unless it’s ultra clear water and the boat may spook them.
I like Tom’s 3 way idea too. Going to give that a try.
Tom,
How do you know how far down this rig is fishing?
For example; I was out this past Sunday and saw fish 12′ down over 26′ of water. How do I know how much line to let out with this dropper rig for those fish at say 1.5 MPH?
Maybe 15 feet.
When you’re trolling suspect crappies you won’t be moving all that fast. I let the rig down at idle and watch the drop on the locator. The goal is not to pull thru the school but just above it since crappies’ eyes are situated to see things above them as well as ahead and whatever is moving above them will be silhouetted against the bright. Crappies will rise and strike very easily.
Most often you’ll not be moving not much faster than an idle/troll so that you can pick up some random blips of the three way above the weight, they’ll appear as stacked on the locator. t that speed a regular Rap will not swim much deeper than the three way on a 4-5 foot leader. If you watch the image of the weight on the locator you’ll want it to track maybe three feet over the top of the school and slowly let out line to run it deeper as speed requires until you get hit. Mark the depth of the weight and that’s where you’ll want to return the line to after un-hooking a fish.
If you have a good wind, get up-wind of the school and kill the gas motor and use the electric to position your boat and drift over the school. Two or three people fishing over the side of a boat on a drift towing sticks can really have some fun.
Not always but Crappies will be in more of a xmas tree shape and Sunnies will be more spread out and flat. In my experience the bigger Crappies seem to school loser then the small ones in open water. I have a log that I took the time to make trolling different weights, speed, over different depths keeping track of how much line I let out to contact bottom. When using a spinning reels I count back reeling and wright that number down, does not have to be exact just close.
Do you see these fish suspended way up on cleat lakes too?
In my experience the bigger Crappies seem to school loser then the small ones in open water.
Crappies will often stratify according to age/size with the largest fish using the water that offers the most food and comfort. The larger fish will push lesser fish out of the best. Larger crappies will also often occupy the outside edges of a school too. If you know there are larger crappies to be had and you’re seeing mainly smaller fish, move either higher or lower or further to the outside of the fish you’re marking as the smallest crappies will likely be in the central part of the school with increasingly larger fish away from the core.. Larger fish generally are outnumbered by younger fish which can make it seem as though the larger fish are schooling looser.
Do you see these fish suspended way up on cleat lakes too?
Black crappies really like shade and on clear water lakes they may have to go real deep to get away from the sun’s brightness if the water is flat. In the heat of summer one might not find a decent bite on a clear lake until just before its totally dark. If the lake is relatively shallow crappies will burrow deep into submerged weeds during the day where they can continue to feed on larger bug life and minnows. Sometimes a slip-cork with the bait hanging right at the tops of the weeds will pull crappies out to hit on a clear lake especially if there is some wind. I’ve always favored some decent breeze on a clear lake to ruffle up the surface and help diffuse any strong sunlight.
White crappies seem to have far less of an aversion to sunlight than black crappies and will behave different than backs do with regard to suspending. Whites seem to be far more mobile, way more willing to roam and do so shallower when the skies are high.
Troll weedlines with small spinners, once ya catch one pound the area with tube jigs or beetle spins.
I don’t find crappies school too much in summer out in open. They’ll come off the weeds out over deep water right at sundown on typical weedy MN lakes I fish, and by that time it’s getting late to put the Hammer on em.
Yup, this time of year its hard to fish first or last light-that will change soon enough.
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