I’ve found my favorite. Lake Somerville is a little over a mile away but been worth the trip. I live between Fayette county lake and Lake Bastrop which are great bass fishing but that’s about it.
The few trips I have made to Somerville I’ve been catfishing. But I want to catch crappie and have very little experience with crappie. I’m 57 and did nothing but bass fish most of my life with some catfishing. It’s been 20 years and I’m just now getting back on the water. Back then I had a new big Triton bass rig but I advanced position’s at work and had baseball and volleyball games to attend.Had to retire from a job of 22yrs. Due to health. My rig is now a 1983 16’ extra wide and deep flat bottom with a 1992 40hp Yamaha. I drug it out of a field went through the outboard and used it a few times then spent the last year rebuilding the boat. I have a good floor so it’s nice and quiet. I don’t care to go 80mph anymore and love my little aluminum boat and enjoy all the time working on it with my own two hands.
Hand steer bow mounted trolling motor. Small Garmin striker plus4 that I’m still learning about. And I use the Navionics app on my phone. Nothing fancy no big graph or spot lock. Not yet anyway. The Admiral is still getting over what I’ve spent so far. 😂
I’m going to Somerville Saturday. I usually go during the week with little traffic but the weather is going to be good for a day on the water and looks no good for next week.
I have a map showing the lakes brush piles and found the ones that show to be good this time of year for crappie and using gps coordinates going to make me a map for Saturday. Winds are showing to be slow early morning then up to around 8mph late morning all from the south. I plan on mapping enough spots to where if someone is on one I’ll go to the next. So far most of which are on the south side. If I start catching fish and they move with the wind I’ll get to the north side. Or should I start on the north side? These are all main lake structures. Unless y’all advise me to go elsewhere? I figured close to deep water since the surface temperature is in the 80’s but what do I know that’s why I’m here. Help! I really don’t want to get skunked. Y’all might tell me I’m better off trolling for sand bass after you finish reading this.
I’ll probably be solo and want to put out several rods so I’m going to have to anchor. What’s the best way to do so? I don’t know how easy it is to spook crappie or if they’ll settle down and come back etc? I’m using my trolling motor to ease up to the spots. Do I anchor away from the spot on the deep side and pitch towards the pile or if deep enough anchor with bow facing the wind coast past the structure and lower the stern anchor and pull myself back on top and fish straight down?
I’ll have minnows and worms. Most all my rods are med/heavy for catfish with hi vis braid. I’m planning on
using the smallest monofilament I have for a long leader with a 2/0 snelled hook hanging from the mono about
a foot above a sinker but that’s only good for fishing straight down. I have a couple of rods med that have
12lb test Berkley trilene. One of my catfish rods has a fast action tip and is sensitive to a bit. The others are
med/fast so they can load up on a circle hook again for catfish.
I need advice on my rods as well. Should I leave the catfish rods in the holder? Oh I also have two never used Black widows for crappie. I for get how many feet they extend. They’re like fishing with a cane pole and I was told they’re for shallow spawning crappie when my friend gave them to me.
That’s my story and I appreciate y’all reading it.
And any knowledge shared that will help me catch crappie. They are my wife and I favorite table fare.

Downsize to a 1/0 hook, just use the one medium fast rod with 12 lb test, don't overthink it. Once you get on top of the brush pile, drop a buoy and just keep on the trolling motor trying to stay near it and watching your graph for high spots and low spots and of course the fish, they will have a sweet spot on them where the most crappie are. That spot is normally the highest. Once they stop biting, move to the next brush pile, depending on how many brush piles you plan on fishing, try and set a goal to catch at least 5 crappie off each one, don't spend more than 30 minutes on each one unless you are just whacking them. You will get pattern going that will show you what's the best depth, close to main creek channel, near a point, you will figure it out.

Thank you so much for the reply I appreciate it.
All I had to go by was a Hook-N-Line paper map three years old. It shows in September to fish the west end which is the shallow end. I do have some spots there as well. But I found an old post that said he was a guide and I had the same summer we just had. He had recommended the south east corner so I think I’ll start there.
The map shows 50 some odd places the corp of engineers put cover out. Some man made some brush. The map shows the gps coordinates for all of them so I’m making a map on the Navionics app.
Picking several places though in case it’s crowded.
TPW weekly fishing report said crappie are biting on main lake brush piles. That at least tells me something.
I’m choosing places 14-15’ deep right on a ledge where it drops off to around 24’.
Thanks again and I’ll go to 1/0 hooks and minnows. Worms for bluegill that I need for cut bait. But crappie first and my fishing partner is back from the north so it’ll be two of us holding rods.

good luck on the trip. david gave ya solid advice. Crappie can be finicky as ELL . just enjoy time on water, one tip is keep close watch on rod tip & line. IF you seen line go SLAK set hook.

fish are starting a transition period right now, so they can be just about anywhere.,. as time goes on, alot of the crappie will go very shallow, like 2 to 4 feet.. if you fish main lake piles in 12 to 24 feet and catch just a few crappie, and small crappie, this means the fish are leaving the deeper piles, and moving shallow, and or to creek channels...the small crappie are the last to leave the deeper piles in fall .
with cooler temps the fish are roaming alot, many in open water alone or in small schools... some lakes that have suitable creeks, see a large migration of crappie into the creeks, and rivers.. some very deep lakes, the bulk of the crappie stay in the main lake , with a smaller percentage going into creeks... if the water in the rivers and creeks is too clear, or muddy, the crappie dont like to go there,., no nutrients, no baitfish.. I look at fall as the second spring,, BUT, in fall I start shallow, and work deeper, which is opposite of what I do in spring.. you wont catch as many crappie in fall off of very shallow cover, but you will catch very nice sized fish.. finding a large flat, and drifting across it with a few poles with double jig rigs at different depths can be an effective, relaxing way to find fish..
as the water gets colder, the baitfish and crappie will be found deeper.. 18 to 32 feet seems to be the depth I find them in.. with around 26 feet being prime...what you are looking for is small or medium cover that sits on or near a ledge ,, it doesnt have to be very large, just one tree or stump can hold plenty of fish.,. also when the crappie are deep, in late fall and winter, many times they like to sit directly on the bottom. I like to let the jig go all the way to the bottom, then lift it abt 6 inches, and many times, thats when I get the strike.. scientific studies indicate the crappies eyesight improves in cold water, so I like to use natural colored baits, in white pearl, blues, pinks.. I also step up the size of my baits.. bonehead tackle makes plastic jigs that are the perfect size. blue shad I think is the color I used last year and was the go to color.
. study the map, and look for large flats, that have a drop off near or into the main river channel..
Think in these terms. crappie feed primarily at night,, what the gamefish are doing is running baitfish up onto the shallow flats at night to feed... shad go to these large flats at night to feed on micro organisms to feed.. many times big largemouth bass, hybrids and white bass are all feeding in the same areas, and once the feed is over, they go back to the main river channel, in deeper to rest and digest the food.. with baitfish being concentrated sometimes the feed window is very short.. often times its early morning or late evening.. so timing is a big factor..
once the coldfronts start coming in, the wind plays a big factor in where crappie will be.. you should be looking for the calm water areas of the lake.. crappie dont like alot of wave action or turbulance..a large cove,
that doesnt get direct wind for most of the day, , that has a creek or river channel running into it, is prime.. with the wind primarily coming out of the north in late fall and winter, u can study a map and pick out some high probability areas. also many times you will find large schools of crappie, ghosting large schools of baitfish out in open water,, just following them around..
pay attention to where the birds are hanging out on the lake,, cormorants, terns, gulls.. they keep tabs on the baitfish locations, and gamefish wont be far away.. heres the good news,, once you find these locations where crappie are hanging out in winter, you can usually go back trip after trip and they will be in the same areas. then its timing thier feed schedule is the thing u have to try and figure out.

Thank you for all the good advice and for sharing your knowledge. The lake definitely has some flats and humps. You mentioned drift fishing that’s primarily what I set my boat up for but for catfish. Last week I saw some birds and as I got closer I noticed they where standing up. Then I saw the sand. That hump sloped down to 24’ of water in no time. I had my wife troll us up close to it while I baited five rods with shad. I could see the shad making little white caps on top of the hump. I put the sock out and started our drift. In about 15’ of water all but one rod started popping not pulling like a big catfish. Before I knew it all my bait was gone. I started to tie on a spoon and or crank bait and start casting but I stuck to my catfishing and moved.
I figured it was sand bass probably a hybrid or two. Never thought about crappie..
Thanks again I appreciate it.

Douglas

No crappie today but it was a good day to be on the water. Started at 6am and every place we went to that I had mapped out had a bass boat sitting on it.
We were heading to one spot with no body on it. I killed the outboard and was trolling up to it and zoom a bass boat come flying in and stop there. We went from the dame to where it starts getting shallow in the other end.
I told my partner let’s head back and check out a point we passed. We got to that point and people where lined up cast netting. I never seen so many cast nets. The point had a slow drop to it and I couldn’t find anything at all on the Garmin.
But the other side of the point was a big flat I’d never fished. So we decided to drift fish it.
I caught a nice channel cat that straightened out my crappie hook. Then I caught a small drum and threw it on ice. My partners 6lb line kept getting broke off as soon as something hit it.
We drifted out to the main lake (about an hour and a half) and I looked at Dave and said it’s getting hot. No brush that we knew of to fish.
I changed rods and used the drum for cut bait and said we’re going to drift it again.
Brought home some channel cat. I had one I didn’t measure or weigh but Dave had to net it for me.
We’re going back on a Monday so we can try for crappie again. There’s got to be some spots open then.
At least I didn’t come home with a skunk on my back today.
I’ll be putting the great advice to use I received from y’all here real soon.

Awesome thread.

Before I left the house I would use a Good lake map .Navionics or whatever and look for points of interest ie. FLATS ,Points ,River or Creek channels, go to the lake and start looking for baitfish in these areas.Find the baitfish and the game fish shouldn`t be too far away. If Creeks & River Channels are the highways then Flats & Points must be the dinner table.I look at flat as a table for fish to feed on just like you when you eat you eat at a table. If you find a Flat with fish there they are there for a reason especially if the bait fish are there.IMHO Brush piles fishing ... I would suggest casting the outer perimeter for the more agressive fish first before vertical fishing because if you vertical fish first and get tangled you run a risk of shutting the pile down by spooking.Just my opinion

if the area looks like it should have a brushpile on it it likely does.. look in pockets on either end of a point, on the point itself, on humps, on channel ledges, in front of or right next to large trees, fish standing timber out from lines of timber in slightly deeper water, look for isolated rock piles,, also if the lake has a bridge, look for brush next to bridge pilings.,
also in areas you find largemouth bass, theres usually crappie in the area as well, for the baitfish.
spend a morning just riding around, finding and marking spots, then in the afternoon go fish them..
leave the catfish stuff at home..dont be distracted wondering what the catfish are doing. doing even think abt them. just focus on the crappie..
break the lake down into sectors, and concentrate on one area, searching it methodically and thoroughly before moving to another area, if wind permits.. sometimes small cover and structure can hold plenty of fish,,, ive seen this grow more common since the implementation of livescope technology,., the larger, easier to find cover gets fished alot more frequently than it used to. fish adapt, and move away from it, but they are still inclined to relate to cover and structure..
look for the lifeline in the water column, what depth are u noticing most of the baitfish hanging at? if your searching deep water and not seeing much life, move shallower. or vice versa..
when your moving from one area to the next, take your time, and watch your sonar, and you will find plenty of spots if you pay attention incidentally. I usually move around a little faster than headway speed, and find something new almost every trip....
keep in mind, with the lakes being low, most of the piles folks put out in 12 to 21 feet may be alot shallower now. in good areas, folks like to put a shallower pile out and a deeper one out from it, so if u see one sticking out of the water, look for one out a bit deeper.
fresh piles give off nitrogen bubbles.. so if your in an area, and see bubbles coming to the top, its likely fresh brush, or an under ground spring.

EXCELLENT!!!

Everything y’all are saying makes since. Sounds like I need to have a lot more patience and do more hunting. Like you said hunt in the morning and fishing the spots in the evening.
Leaving the catfish attitude at home is super hard. I just finished rebuilding my boat and during the process concentrating and studying catfishing. Mostly drifting.
I did keep other fishing in mind since Somerville holds crappie , sand bass , and hybrid striped bass along with big catfish.
Weather permitting then we’ll plan a trip during the week so less boats. Go in the morning and scout. To keep from getting to hot wait at the marine for evening.
I have a question about evening fishing.
I set the boat up for night fishing as well.
I went and bought a big green led submersible light. Do these help? What are y’all’s opinion on using such a method for after dark?
I’m also thinking of placing my own brush piles. Is there a better time of year for this? I have access to Willow trees.

Douglasdzaster first things first. GET this on your PC or Iphone! www.webapp.navionics.com Once you`ve done this you can look for places of interest to hunt before you even leave your house thereby eliminating wasted time on the water & maximizing your effort when on the water. Places of interest should include Main lake points where brushpiles are sunk by those that want to find them easy. Island perimiters are another good place to look for BP`s .I believe Somerville has a couple or three , Timber with depth & Creek & River channels! Get use to looking here when you can`t find fish. This is how Predator & Baitfish fish transition from one season to another looking for more oxygenated and comfortable water on a lake ie: Spring to winter,spawn to post spawn . During Transition period you may find them (CRAPPIE) on Flats hunting in packs if baitfish are there . These may not be hard fast rules on every lake but logical principals if nothing else. Fishing with a "BIG Green submersible light " is a super was to pull in bait fish& a lot of anglers trend towards using it which is fine . I have one & I use it however I like to use it during the NEW MOON .Here`s why. GFather explained this to me. During the new moon the BIG Green submersible light doesn`t have to compete with the natural light of Nature making it the relevant light in the area. Logical right? I don`t know but it has worked for me under bridges & in Timber BIG Time when there is no moon in the sky. Willows are .IMHO,the best choice for brush piles because they tend to last longer. Fish smarter not Harder

Thanks for the reply I appreciate it. The darker the better for the submerged green light. Question: a lot of people say once the water cools off that’s it for night fishing. That doesn’t hold true for crappie does it? Could I use my light at any new moon?
I do have the Navionics app on both iPad and iPhone. We were there on a Saturday and every spot I had tagged had a bass boat on it. There may have been a tournament.
Also my first time using the app , still learning my new Garmin striker plus 4. We weren’t exactly running wide open throttle. 😂
I need to look at the spot we found all the bait fish and see if there’s a channel because there was timber in the back of it.
There’s also some other spots that have submerged timber on the app that I’ll mark.

I would wait until very early spring to set out brushpiles.. 8 to 14 feet for spawn crappie, and 14 to 21 feet for post spawn, summer crappie. if u plan to fish in winter, 19 to 32 feet of water.. cedar trees last a long time and hold alot of fish in the right locations. willow and oak are good too. stay away from river cane, bamboo and pvc condos..
in the catfish game, your used to either baiting holes out, or picking the mouth of river channels to anchor in during heavy influx of water into the rivers and lakes., and some drifting.. you mostly wait for them to come to you, or you happen across them in a drift..
crappie fishing is like the real estate market.. location, location location.. crappie can move around alot, and the hunt is alot of the fun, and biggest challenge.. the anticipation, the pursuit. when you locate a good school of crappie, the anticipation grows even more, to figure out what they want to bite on.
over time, plenty of time, unless you find someone who doesnt mind sharing locations , you will find plenty of likely spots, to find and catch crappie.. you have to either put your time in, or know a guy.. ha
nightime is a great time to search for brushpiles and submerged timber,., without the glare from the sun, and no boat traffic, the wind usually being very mild, it very relaxing to get a few root beers, and a bag on pistacio nuts, and just cruise around the lake, marking spots.. now dont expect there to be anything on the brush at night, because they mostly leave the brush at night, to chase baitfish around into rivers and coves, and up on flats.. if you dont have side imaging, get it,. it will save you many hours of searching. if your cruising around and go thru some deeper areas, and see deep trees or brush in good locations, mark them, and put an identifier on them like WP winter pile in your waypoints titles list.. use your time on the water to get as much information as you can.
I would make a prediction. if you stick with it, and start finding and catching crappie, everything else will be second fiddle for you as far as fishing goes.. I used to be a bass fishing fanatic, but after getting crappie fever, I rarely even think abt the bass anymore.. im always wondering what the crappie are doing. its the challenge,,
I know a couple lakes in my area very well. but if I spend a week or more not fishing them, I have to figure things out all over again. this usually takes me several hours, or even the whole day but I can usually put something together.
if crappie were easy to catch all year, and you could go catch a mess every time you went out, then eat them, it wouldnt be much fun after a while.
ive found that most crappie fisherman and woman tend to be very friendly and helpful, to a point, so if you see some crappie fishers at the boat ramp, try talking to them,,ask general information,, a good way to start is asking if they found the fish to be very active during thier trip.. if they feel like talking ask if there was a certain depth they did well in. just these 2 articles of information can be VERY valuable...a third question could be, did u find the fish to be very scattered or concentrated.... this will tell you if you are likely to find large schools of crappie on brush or in trees, or if your going to likely be doing the hit and run thing, catching an active fish or two off of a certain spot, then moving on to the next.. and the next....
sometimes the really good fisherman, who are secure in thier abilities to find fish, will give you alot more information then you asked for. The folks who act like they just went and hid gold bars somewhere in the lake, or sunk a body,, and wont even have a casual conversation abt fishing, arent worth your time, and will likely give u false information.
I also ask bass fishers if they found the fish to be active, because usually if the largemouth bass are feeding good, the crappie are doing the same. ,, . JMO