Surprisingly shallow summer crappie, found with Humminbird Side Imaging and VMC jigs
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Summer crappie, like other panfish species that are abundant and easy to locate in the spring, can be quite challenging to locate during the heat of the summer. A common summer pattern is to search open water basin areas for towering schools of crappie, contacting them by trolling crankbaits or jigs. Fishing can be fast as long as the angler maintains contact with the school; however, once the school "zigs" while the angler "zags", catch rates rapidly decline. An alternate pattern exists on current-influenced bodies of water, one that brings the crappie shallow in search of food, oxygenated water, and relief from the force of the current. These fish can be easy to locate with the use of Humminbird Side Imaging, and catch with VMC jigs.
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
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Patrol the rip-rapped shoreline of a river or reservoir during midsummer and you'll quickly see one of the reasons that crappies are drawn back to the shallows under these conditions: food! These rocky shorelines often serve as magnets for crappie-sized forage including young-of-the-year shad, shiners, minnows, and other small baitfish. These forage species are often found in HUGE numbers, and can be seen from the surface as well as with a Humminbird Side Imaging fishing system.
Rip-rapped shorelines can extend for miles, and casting at them blindly, even if baitfish are present, is a great way to spend an unproductive day on the water. I use the Side Imaging feature of my Humminbird 1198c to help me identify features along these shorelines that might hold crappies. A great example of a near-shore crappie magnet is shown at left. The left hand Side Image shows a rock ridge, about half way between the boat and the shore, that runs parallel to the shoreline. The ridge does not extend to the surface, as indicated by the fact that its sonar shadow (the dark area to the immediate left of the ridge) does not extend to the shore; the 455 kHz Side Imaging sonar beam can eventually see over the ridge, and image the shore and some of the bottom between the ridge and the shore. This ridge insulates the shoreline from the full force of the current in this area, and this helps to hold crappies, which tend to hold in low flow areas. Side Imaging allowed me to find this ridge without driving right over it, and spooking all of the shallow crappies that were associated with it.
My preferred technique for targeting these shallow, mid-summer crappie is to pitch jigs, especially VMC Hot Skirt jigs in 1/32 and 1/16 oz weights. VMC Hot Skirt jigs are tie on current-cutting, flat-sided heads with sticky sharp hooks, and are tied with a terrific blend of flashy materials that throw a lot of light. Their length is also a PERFECT match for the forage that these crappies are chasing. Pink and purple are my two favorite colors for crappies.
For example, the Side Imaging screen capture shown at right shows three large distinct clouds of small baitfish. These are comprised of small minnows, such as the 1.5" long shad shown at far right. These are crappie-sized forage fish, and they will help us pick the correct bait to target the crappies in this area.
Finding and catching mid-summer crappies can be as simple as 1-2-3-4: (1) find rip-rapped shorelines on a river or reservoir, (2) find forage and (3) find some additional structures to localize crappies using Humminbird Side Imaging, and then (4) pitch VMC Hot Skirt Jigs until you feel that tell-tale tick of a pig summer crappie inhaling the bait. Be sure to give these tips a workout before summer draws to a close and cooler water patterns kick into gear!
Check out this crappie bite on our Video Page, with a segment from Dave Carlson's Northland Adventures TV:
