1) When you start thinking about keeping catfish…
2) When you catch a dink, but reeling it in you are saying “oh this is a nice size one”…

You start keeping the blue gill.

When you reel in a stick of the brush pile like it's a 20" crappie!

At PK, for every Crappie I get, I get about 10 Bluegills and Shellcrackers. They run in the same school but the perch are much more aggressive and get the bait first most of the time. All that said, I think the perch are the best eating fish in the lake. They make a nice small fillet and fry up nicely. Much better than catfish or LM bass.

The last few Saturdays (my fish day) have been tough to get them to bite, but this Saturday, looks like they have moved off structure. Many spots that are normally loaded with crappie, were completely empty. I normally do not fish this late in the season, I'm getting ready for bird hunting, I normally just fish May thru Aug, I guess the summer pattern is over and they are starting their winter pattern? I looked at last year, I did not catch many end of August as well.

l know crappie fishing is tuff when I have to stop by the bait house for minnows.

Ain't this the truth! I hate having to use live bait.

Last Saturday I stopped to get minnows, but they were closed. Saturday before I got minnows, first time I have used minnows in years, I really cannot remember the last time I got minnows. When I got to a spot, I would first try a jig, after they got tired of that, I would drop a minnow.. When they got tired of that, I would move to the next spot. Probably caught just as many with jig as minnows, I expected minnows to do better. But last Saturday, did not see many fish on timber or brush piles..

I'll fish this Saturday, then I will probably be done till next Spring. I always tell myself I want to fish Sep thru Feb, I just never do. March I start thinking about Crappie again.

If you are not fishing October, you are missing out. Crappie get fat and sassy in Oct.

I tell people I love the start of Deer season, Lake is much less crowded


Mo

Might try. Where do you find them? Same summer spots, submerged timber and brush piles?

Follow the shad....

You find them all summer on brush piles and flooded timber, they are there resting, not chasing shad, the chase shad at night.

I fish the same spots during October as I do in August but somewhat shallower. Most of the spots that have artificial brush piles will have piles placed all along the slope from 20ft to 10ft, I still catch fish in October in 20ft but the bigger fish seem to be shallower. When the water temperature is between 65 and 70 degrees seems to be the peak time -- at least on my lake.

Thanks. I didn't fish this Saturday, first Saturday I have skipped in few months..Normally I take all my fishing electronics off this time of year, gear my rig for duck hunting. But think I will leave it on and do more crappie fishing maybe into the winter as well.