As the warmer weather continues into July, Crappie regain strength and activity, but disperse themselves into smaller secluded schools. These areas  are typically in deeper waters of 17 to 28ft. and directly related to structure. These areas are generally referred to as "post-spawn hideouts." Areas such as this are typically found along secondary creek ledges near intersections with the deeper river in reservoirs. When Crappie congregate in these areas this can be some of the better activity of the year for devoted Crappie Anglers who explore the depths with quality electronics. This period typically lasts from late June through the end of August in the Southeast.

As water temperatures begin to cool in September, Crappie tend to make a second migration to shallow water, but skip the "staging" ritual. Many fish move out and scatter on flats, or humps with water depths of 10 to 16ft. and feed on the young of the year bait fish such as Threadfin, Shad, and Silversides. During this period, depending on water clarity, Crappie may move as shallow as 4ft. in significant numbers. Continued decreases in water temperatures as a result of fewer hours of daylight trigger bait fish to spend less and less time being surface active. This also directly affects Crappie in that they begin their very slow migration back into deeper waters. Through my experiences this period in the Southeast spans from mid- September through mid- November and typically comes to an end after the first frost. By the time the first "pond ice" arrives, Crappie have migrated to deeper water areas that may have been productive areas during the Summer / post-spawn.

As water cools even more, a deep water pattern of structure fishing remains in effect through the entire Winter with some of the best possibilities of sacking a lake record Crappie during the months of December, January, and February. Typically during this period a larger bait tends to attract more attention. Line sizes and bait weights can be increased, but the speed of presentation must remain slow. Another secret to catching Winter Crappie requires paying attention to weather. On overcast days, fish will remain deep near bottom or the structure they may be relating to, however a clear calm sunshiny  day may cause Crappie to migrate vertically and suspend over deep water as shallow as 6ft. which is commonly ignored by many fishermen during Winter.

So the tell is that, Crappie is not a season sport but an all year sport for the devoted Crappie Angler. Those that go year around know what I am talking about and for those of you that just fish come Spawn time you are really missing out on the best of times.

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