mid summer crappies

arrowdem

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ive never chased crappies mid summer so if anyone has pointers on how to get on them that would be awesome, i assume suspended off weed line breaks ill be out on cass lake the week after next for our honeymoon, and it would be awesome to get on some of those paper mouths as well as some walleye action mixed in! any info would be awesome!
 


Captain Ahab

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They can be tough. I found some suspended 10-15 foot down over 20-30 feet of water on a lake near Alexandria last year. They were suspended between two mid-lake humps. Even snap jigged a few with a #5 jigging rap. The locals came out after I was there a while and ripped lips with road runners. They said right before and after sunset was best.
 

guywhofishes

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road runners.

yep - or Beetle Spins

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but why - they are so mushy ;)

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or these little 1" berkely gulp minnows on an 1/8 oz jig
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or countdowns in size 6 across the tops of weed beds that top out 2-3 ft under the surface - I've had crazy good luck doing that on crappies mid-summer

goofy but true
husky_jerk_hj06cln.png
 
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LBrandt

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Have used little rattle-traps in perch colors with good results. used heavy split shots to get them down to right depths.
 

savage270

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They said right before and after sunset was best.

This. I have caught tons of mid-summer crappies in MN over the years and the only time it pays to fish for them is the last half hour before sunset until dark. Once the mosquitos start biting, the fish are about done biting. Its crazy how those bloodsuckers can find your boat in the middle of the lake.

I've never fished Cass, but I have also caught them on mid-lake humps casting small jigs 1/32 - 1/64 with a small minnow. I would assume you could just watch for a group of boats that materializes right before dark and that's where the crappies will be. Good luck and congratulations on the wedding!
 


Kurtr

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I just pull flickershads like i am fishing for walleyes and get a bunch of them down here
 

Duckslayer100

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I've never had to go real deep or fish late to find crappies.

You may have seen my report, but just last weekend we found them in 8-10 FOW outside of the shoreline lilly pads but inside cabbage. We fished from about 1 to 4 p.m. They must have been down at the bottom third of the water column, because if you gave your little jig a 3-5 count, it would get bit.

I'm a big beetle spin fan, as well as small jigs with littler spinners attached to the hook shaft. Tip it with a small twisty tail grub or paddle tail minnow of the miniature variety. I don't use bait for crappies unless it's ice fishing season.
 

johnr

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the return on meat ratio has always kept me from targeting them.
I like fishing, catching, and eating fish, but the cleaning of them little bastards is painstaking. I guess I have turned into my old man, time to get the boy cleaning the bounty.
 

deleted_account

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the return on meat ratio has always kept me from targeting them.
I like fishing, catching, and eating fish, but the cleaning of them little bastards is painstaking. I guess I have turned into my old man, time to get the boy cleaning the bounty.

You still fish?
 


Duckslayer100

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the return on meat ratio has always kept me from targeting them.
I like fishing, catching, and eating fish, but the cleaning of them little bastards is painstaking. I guess I have turned into my old man, time to get the boy cleaning the bounty.

Well sure, if you're keeping little 7 inchers. But get into 11s and 12s and the meat ratio is closer to that of a 15-inch walleye.
 

Fly Carpin

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Where you staying? There's a couple brushpiles in the bay out in front of Sunset Cove Resort in 15 feet or so. The slabs stack up on these after they transition away from the shallows. Also try the outer edge of the cabbage beds. Crappies and some dandy gills as well
 

Big J

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This is dumb.

the return on meat ratio has always kept me from targeting them.
I like fishing, catching, and eating fish, but the cleaning of them little bastards is painstaking. I guess I have turned into my old man, time to get the boy cleaning the bounty.
 

fly2cast

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Last year on a Minnesota lake we couldn't catch crappie for two days. Saw them all day long at around 16 feet but they wouldn't bite. Good thing I had Al Lindners book about crappie fishing with. In the book Lindner said that during the summer they won't start biting until they start moving into the shallows around 12 feet deep. Around 4 oclock on the lake they started moving up to the weed beds and would bite like crazy. Not sure that happens on all lakes but it was true where I fished.
 

Captain Ahab

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Last year on a Minnesota lake we couldn't catch crappie for two days. Saw them all day long at around 16 feet but they wouldn't bite. Good thing I had Al Lindners book about crappie fishing with. In the book Lindner said that during the summer they won't start biting until they start moving into the shallows around 12 feet deep. Around 4 oclock on the lake they started moving up to the weed beds and would bite like crazy. Not sure that happens on all lakes but it was true where I fished.

It seems almost every lake is different. I was at a crappie lake 5 years ago in the middle of summer and you could catch them all different ways all day. Heck you could just troll down the middle of the lake with #5 shad raps over 25 feet of water and catch them. They all have different personalities.
 


arrowdem

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Where you staying? There's a couple brushpiles in the bay out in front of Sunset Cove Resort in 15 feet or so. The slabs stack up on these after they transition away from the shallows. Also try the outer edge of the cabbage beds. Crappies and some dandy gills as well


we are staying at Stony Point ill check out the lake map and see what you are talking about.. thank yoU!

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have you ever tried catching the crappies off breaks along weeds with a light at night?
 

johnr

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fish bullies I says.

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You still fish?

haha, sadly I have had my boat in the water for a total of about 6 hours this year.

I am hoping to redeem myself the next 4 days, and put overtime in the boat to make up for my gayness
 

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