Deep-Water Blow-Downs on the Main River

EDITOR'S NOTE: To catch hot-weather crappie, a fisherman must know what causes crappie to leave their deep-water haunts and move into shallow water when the temperature climbs high enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk. I fished with Phillip Criss, a crappie guide from Adger, Alabama, to learn more hot-weather crappie fishing.

At our third fishing spot during a day of hot-weather crappie hunting, Criss and I moved to a tree that recently had fallen into the water on the edge of a steep bluff. Criss explained to me that crappie would hold in this area because they'd have shallow-water cover that broke the current and concentrated baitfish on the edge of a deep-water drop.

"Any place you can find a current break in shallow water on the main river channel that can hold baitfish, you'll have find an ideal hot-weather crappie spot," Criss reported. "One of the real problems is that in many lakes during the heat of the summer a current doesn't come through the lake until later in the morning when the weather is too hot for most anglers to fish. I like to fish at that time of day because I won't see other fishermen on the lake watching me catch crappie and then later stealing my fishing spots."

Most anglers, but not Criss, believe you can't catch crappie from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the hot summer months when the temperature climbs over 90 degrees. Therefore Criss chooses the midday as his favorite time to crappie fish.

To contact Phillip Criss about crappie fishing, write him at 504 Smith Camp Loop Adger, AL 35006.

Tomorrow: Highway To Hot-Time Crappie