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Hey y’all – hope you’ve been whackin’ a bunch of slabs! We’re back with another Target Crappie loaded with juicy crappie content.

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Let's get into it!

Change your baits 'til they bite

It's so crazy to me how fussy and picky these dang swimming filets get once July hits. You talk about dog days – we're in it, man! 🥵

I've been seeing Beaver Lake, KY guide Payton Ursey hauling in some serious summer crappie. He's got the pole timber bite dialed in so I gave him a shout to see what the secret sauce bait-wise is.

How important is changing baits when those summer crappie aren't reacting?

> "That's one of the biggest things people don't understand. They don't know to change baits, downsize or change their retrieve method. 

> "They'll throw it down there, the fish don't want it, and then they'll take off to the next spot. But if you sit there and spend a little time going through a couple different baits and presentations, you can usually get some of those fish to react.

> "This time of year, the ones that are on that pole timber are pretty good fish. You'll also get into what we call 'black piranhas,' where there'll be a bunch of black crappie on that pole timber. 

> "They're either really aggressive or they're not, and they're usually all around 9.75-12 inches. They can be even more picky. The white crappie are usually the better fish to go after on pole timber right now."

How important is finding the right profile?

> "It's extremely important. I remember last year I was throwing everything I knew at them and just could not get them to bite. 

> "They'd follow it and chase it, but they wouldn't eat it. I finally just went crazy and put on a 'Grenada gold' Itty Bit Slab Hunt'R from Bobby Garland. That's a gold and orange color – just something random.

> "I put it on an Itty Bit jighead. I think it might have been a 1/32-oz, then I put a 1/16-oz splitshot above it. I sent that down there, stopped it right above their heads, and just eased it down. They went to hammering it. 

> "Another time, I finally put on a little gray hair jig with a splitshot above it, threw it down there and bam, sacked them up. That's why it's always important to keep different things in your boat. 

> "Before you leave a spot that's got good fish on it, try 2 or 3 different things."

What has been your most consistent bait this summer?

> "I'm a huge Baby Shad or Baby Shad Swim'R guy. They've also got that new Slab Stalk'R. There's a color called 'easy money' that I think is going to be a killer summer color.

> "I think it looks like it's somewhere in between a shad and a sunfish. In the summertime, there are also bluegill fry swimming around, and that's probably why I caught those fish on 'Grenada gold' that day.

> "Our crappie here really zone in on those bluegill fry because they're running around, swimming around and they're stupid. They're just easy to get. That's why I think 'easy money' will work pretty good."

How often are you changing jighead weights?

> "I'll go from a 1/32-oz all the way to a 1/4-oz. It depends on the bites I'm getting. 

> "If it's windy, I'll have to go heavier to get it down there. Sometimes you'll get one of those days where they don't care what size jighead is on it. Then it just kind of depends on how long you want to sit there and wait on your bait to get there.

> "If you throw it down there and they all haul butt, you might want to do something different. You might be too heavy. My main thing is changing my colors, changing my jighead weights and changing my presentation. 

> "I'll have 4 or 5 different rods sitting there ready to go for different things. I'll cycle through all of it, and then I'll move to another spot.

> "You're just trying to find something that gets those fish to react. Sometimes you'll catch a few fish out of a spot and then they'll quit biting. If you do something dramatic at the end, you might get 1 or 2 more to hit before you leave."

When you're fishing timber, does the way the fish are positioned on the timber change how you present the bait?

> "They'll either nose up to that timber or they'll all be facing away from it with their tails toward it. 

> "When they're nosed up to it, dropping the bait down through them and then bringing it back up past them is best.

> "When they're out looking around, I think that's more when they're feeding. Then you can bring the bait past them and get a good bite that way."

"I'm scanning with that trolling motor on 10, and I'm going until I see one."

That's AL/MS guide Eric Cagle on the program he's been running this summer on Grenada Lake, MS.

Eric said there's no thermocline on the lake right now to "cut the lake in half" so the fish are real scattered. Here's how he's staying on 'em:

> "The first thing I look for in the morning is the shad balls. If the shad are scattered out, then the fish are not up feeding. When those shad tighten up and get in balls, that’s when they’re trying to stay protected.

> "If I’m in an area that’s got a lot of scattered shad, I keep moving. When I start seeing small balls of shad balled up tight, I know they’re balled up because those fish are coming up."

How much of your day is spent on the trolling motor looking for fish?

> "All day. My foot never comes off that trolling motor.

> "We go until we see one, present a bait until he reacts to it, then we go find another one.

> "It’s run and gun – present the bait to as many fish as you can until you get the right number."

With the hot water, what kinds of areas are you focusing your time on?

> "We fish a lot of ledges and points over here in the summer.

> "Those fish are either going to be up on top or they're going to be out deep. Sometimes they'll kind of hug the drop.

> "We focus on ledges and dropoffs this time of year and go back and forth to see whether we're seeing more fish up shallow or out deep. I kind of zigzag between the top and the deeper water and figure out where they're at that day. It changes every day.

> "If there was a thermocline, it cuts the lake in half for you. You'd see 10 times more fish because they'd all have to be up.

> "Every day we'll catch 4 or 5 keepers 3' under the surface with the water temperature in the high 80s. Then you'll catch some 18-20' deep [later].

> "We're still catching limits every day. You've just got to hunt them."

Are there bait or presentation adjustments you’re making depending on where the fish are concentrated?

> "I start with the same stuff I have confidence in every day – a 'night stick' BoneHead 2.5-inch Slim Stick to start with, and we’ll change profiles throughout the day.

> "If we have 3 or 4 fish look or follow and not eat, we’ll change it up until we figure it out. We might go smaller or bigger. It’s different every day, but we start with about the same thing every day."

Don't overwork your urchins

The bass guys are popping these things like a jerkbait, and I was curious about how crappie guys are fishing the ones that have been coming out.

I talked to BaitFuel's Bailey Boutries about their new NanoSpike at ICAST – he said "popping" might not be the deal for crappie, especially pressured fish. Here's Bailey in this Target Crappie vid:

Quick reminder: The NanoSpike and a bunch of other ICAST baits will be out this fall or beginning of next year.

> "The most important factor we've learned through our testing on crappie is not overworking this bait like you see people do in bass fishing. 

> "You see [bass guys] out there snapping it really, really hard to trigger those bites. But when it comes to crappie, you don't have to do that.

> "We're just threading this onto your standard crappie jighead and letting it pendulum through the water column. It seems like the less you move this bait, the more bites you're going to get."

And:

> "This NanoSpike comes supercharged with BaitFuel and has the BaitFuel powder in the bag. That's going to help you get some additional bites on those pressured fish.

Fish "weightless" minnows?

Would you go to those lengths for some summer crappie???

Dale Hollow, KY guide Preston Cleary would! Here's Preston on the Crappie Connection pod talking about filling limits when it gets HOT:

And yes, sounds crazy, but...

> "When I switch over to live bait for black crappies, I'll go really light – usually 2-lb test, a small #6 to #8 hook and a glass bead above the minnow.

> "I hook the minnow right through the nose and basically let it free-swim and hover just above the school of crappies. A lot of times those fish won't eat it right away.

> "They'll come up, look at the minnow and drop back down. Then they'll come up and do a little more 'window shopping' and slide back into the school again. Eventually, though, one of those fish will usually come up and finally take it.

> "The biggest thing is how you set the hook. You don't want to jerk on them. A lot of fish naturally eat their prey head-first, but when a crappie swims up and grabs that free-lined minnow, you don't know exactly how it has the bait sitting in its mouth.

> "Instead of snapping the rod, start reeling slowly, then gradually reel faster and lift into the fish. That lets the hook load up naturally, and I've found that your hookup ratio goes way up when you do it that way."

Definitely going to have to get in touch with Preston next week to see what other summer tricks he's got up his sleeve!

Btw – if that light hookset is so crucial for this deal, then mono could be the deal for it? IF you're hunting for some 2-lb line like I am after reading that, check out Seaguar's new Brawlr mono. It comes in high-vis if you're the line-watching type!

Fish gold baits everywhere?

Even in clear water. Check out this map from Jay Kumar's BassBlaster. Everything brown or dark brown is where they've found golden shiners – so it might be a color to stock up on or at least try?

Here's a rundown of some sweet gold crappie baits from Tackle Warehouse:

'Black gold' Berkley Finisher 4

'Ayu' Eurotackle Z-Spender

Oly 2" btw. 👀

'Glitter critter' Bobby Garland Itty Bit Mayfly

'Space guppy' Z-Man Micro Shad FryZ

'Goldmember' BoneHead Tackle Stump Bug

Goldmember you say? Must be a dutch bait! 🤣

1. Check out the 🔥 new BoneHead Tackle colors!

From top to bottom: 'southern sunset', 'gum drop', 'minner', 'purple ghost' and 'hologram ice'. That 'southern sunset' looks sweet!

2. CA: Hensley Lake kicking out crappie

3. AR: crappie bite going down on...

> Lake Maumelle: Crappies are stacked on brush in 17-20' and the bite is fair. Jigs, swimbaits and minnows are producing. Water temps are running 89-92 degrees, and the lake is 9.33' below normal pool, so use caution when launching and navigating.

> Bull Shoals Lake: Crappies are mainly holding on brush in the creeks in 20-30'. Minnows have been the best bait lately.

> Beaver Lake: Summer patterns are locked in with water temps pushing 90 degrees. Crappies are being caught trolling, with the best overall fishing happening early in the morning or late at night.

> Millwood Lake: Midday heat has the crappies sluggish, but the early bite can still be excellent.

> Lake Atkins: Look for crappies suspended in the dead timber. Jigs and minnows are the recommended presentations.

4. TX: Reminder – fishing licenses expire Aug 31...

...unless you have a year-to-date licence.

5. NE: Drought = sketchy Lake McConaughy accesses

DNR recommends using private accesses only. Apparently, trucks are sinking in the mud in Spillway Bay access! 👀

Headline of the Day

LA uses alien insect to suppress giant salvinia spread in lakes

Hopefully it's not a bunch of these guys! 🤣

Shorten your bait before you change it

From an oldie-but-goodie American Crappie Trail vid:

> "I'm actually taking a couple segments out of the body of this [plastic] to shorten it up because we're getting a lot of short strikes. The fish are coming in and just bumping the tail of the bait, so we're shortening it up...to hook some of those fish that normally wouldn't get hooked.

> "...a regular-sized [bait] and I've taken 2 segments out of the body and just cut them off with scissors. 

> "That gets the hook closer to the end where the tail is. These fish are coming up and striking the end of that jig without getting the hook in their mouth, so sometimes shortening it up can help you get a hook in those fish."

"Its name sounds like a schoolyard insult, it answers to roughly a dozen aliases – papermouth, speck, calico bass, and the wonderful Louisiana 'sac-a-lait,' meaning 'sack of milk' – and it is, at heart, a dinner-plate-shaped panfish."

– From a World Atlas post on what they say are the best lakes in the country for growing big crappie.


Crappie are being finicky right now in the heat, so I'm sure they've been called worse! 🤣

How about a double double-fist from LA crappie pro Dante' Sezer! Sounds like he's on 'em on Lake Monroe!

National Professional Anglers Assoc.

MN-FISH