10 WAYS TO CATCH THE BIGGEST CRAPPIE OF YOUR LIFE

Fish Deep With Tiny Jigs (Postspawn)

According to the late Bobby Martin of Warner Robbins, Georgia, an expert crappie fisherman, "The way to catch crappie in the summer is to fish deep. That means most of the time, you can forget about trolling. However, there are no hard and fast rules in fishing. In other words, always fish deep in the summer unless you encounter some kind of water condition that prevents you from doing it. Let me explain. There's a place on Lake Eufaula on the Alabama/Georgia border where three creek channels come together. It's about the only place I know of in the nation, even in August, where an angler can always catch crappie.

The fish concentrate in this particular region, because there's cool water from three different creeks running into the lake at the same spot. There will be a 10- to 15-degree temperature difference in this area all summer. Although the rest of Lake Eufaula may have 85- to 90-degree water, the water here is a constant 64 to 70 degrees from the surface down to about 6 feet. The fish will be 4-1/2- to 5-feet deep-even in August. This site also has humps on the bottom with trash piled on top of the humps. The crappie have cool water, structure and cover all in one place. Since the water here is always stained, the light penetration doesn't bother the fish either. It's one of those spots where you don't have to fish deep to catch summer crappie. Another effective technique is to vertically jig drop-offs in deep water. Actually bass angling and crappie fishing are not that much different. Usually you can find both kinds of fish holding on the same type of structure at the same water depth at about the same time of the year.

"During this hot weather, fish a 1/32-ounce jig on 4- to 6-pound-test line, since crappie seem to want a smaller jig when they're holding in deep water. Of course when you're fishing a 1/32-ounce jig in water of 12-feet deep, you have plenty of time to talk to your buddy before you jig reaches the bottom. But watch your line, because you'll see the bite rather than feel it. Remember, crappie are generally more aggressive when you're fishing light line and little jigs in deep water."

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