The bass have been schooling pretty good here at Lake Nacogdoches. Thermocline is at 25ft. I tried 15-20 different brushpiles in various depths, from 12-25 FOW. Got skunked! I drove over some of the prettiest brushpiles you’ve ever seen in normally great locations with ZERO fish on them. All I could find were schools of bluegill posted up on them. Are the crappie out chasing shad with the bass in deep water?

Here’s a pic of a pile I fished hard with only nibbles from bream.

I think bass may school with crappie,...but crappie dont like it,....

Sure they do.

Try a jigging spoon in those schooling bass and see how many crappie you catch.

Or a deeper running small crankbait.

from my experience bridge fishing for crappie the bass do school around the pilings in the hope of eating a small crappie that I throw back. you can see them on the fish finder sitting right under the boat.

Strike King 3XD in a Shad pattern wil catch both bass and crappie when the bass are schooling.

It runs 6'-8' deep and is the size a big crappie prefers.

It is common for me to catch both crappie and bass especially during the summer months. A lot of brush piles that hold crappie will also hold bass. As mentioned above bridge pilings will also hold both bass and crappie.

I believe the schooling may be the reverse. Bass hang out with the crappie cause they love to eat them as much as we do.

If the schooling activity is taking place on top, then that's where the bait fish are. I'd suggest trying some timber or BPs in shallower water., like 10-12 ft.

Not so sure that they school together, but bass are there looking for an easy meal.

I am no expert , but from what I have picked up over the years , crappie on brushpiles are not actively hunting for food.
They are just holding on the cover and may or may not feed if a meal passes by. When they are actively hunting for
food , they will be chasing shad in open water , much like bass, but rarely on the surface.

good luck

MO

I know of two fish cleaning stations where each one has GIANT bass living under them,....and the love ribs meat.

channel cat love rib sections, also. Too bad we can't use them for bait.

MO