This summer is just about in the books but that's kinda hard to say with 100° days forecasted this week. One may think coming soon the crappie will start biting when in actuality they bite everyday yes everyday they will feed on something somewhere. There are steps we can take to feed them on almost every single trip we take year round, 1st step is to not be negative and get on the lake and what I feel ranks at the top is being willing to make changes. Don't go out thinking what you've read or heard that the crappie should be doing or how deep they should be during a time of year is the law. I've caught throughout this summer not fishing much deeper than 12ft down and a majority not more than 8ft down. The thermocline dictated what and where the fish were but the point is fish the crappie for the day you're on the water, use and trust your electronics weather it's just 2D or live tech. Depth means a lot to crappie and types of structure can also. I mentioned consistent and will tell you I don't care what anyone says about jig colors but what I've had to do to be consistently on fish Year Round is find the color jigs they could see and want to eat for that moment I'm on the water. You'll always hear of some that will say they only use one color pattern jig or will go to minnas but will not see proof they are on a consistent crappie bite.
I also like to brag this isn't a Lake Fork that I fish it's just a little ole Lake Houston that so many folks hate as the crappie will test your skills there.
This summer was the 1st summer I've full time guided and can say my techniques are proven worthy of a try and if you can consistently catch crappie in the summer the rest of the year is a breeze.....
I'm in this full-time guide thing for the long haul and if you'd like to come get a hands on experience of using livescope and finding and figuring Crappie Catching out Consistently regardless of the time of year hit me up to book a trip....
Here's a few pics.....

Congrats on your first summer guiding -- looks like you've been slaying them !! I've considered guiding when I retire but I hate cleaning fish

Very, very impressive! Summer is a tough time for crappie but it looks like you have figured it out.

The fishing this year on Cedar Creek has been awesome. I track every trip with my phone. The measure I use for consistency is catch rate (fish caught per hour). That's mainly because I rarely stay out much more than 2 hours at a time. While the air temperatures are still hot and water temperatures still around 80, I've not had any trouble catching limits.

My average catches per hour for the year is 9.93 (which includes those Jan/Feb months which drive my avg down). To me, that's evidence of consistent success. All that with only 2 jigs. Thump Chubby in ghost minnow color 10 months of the year and 1/32 oz white/chart hair jig in Aug/Sep. There are lots of ways to be successful. You like changing jigs/colors but I don't. I just search for aggressive fish. I've not seen any evidence that aggressive fish care much about color. I'm sure I could entice non-aggressive fish by changing colors/profiles etc... but it's just not my preferred way to fish. To each their own.

Fileting is not so bad once you get a system and the biggest thing is a cleaning table that you don't have to bend over too.....Thanks




Summer can be tricky but they eat ever day regardless of season.....Thanks


Well if Jan and Feb drives your average down you may need to make more changes than what you are but with limits in a couple hours I'd be hard to make changes also.....IMO
There's a lot of ways to catch crappie and when you're a guide you have to do what you have to do to put clients on fish and the one thing I haven't done as of yet is resort to minnas.....Typing how well you do is easy but to keep happy clients through all seasons with good sacks of crappie take making changes, a lot of them.....
I share what I do as I know it will help others and I don't limit them with only a couple techniques or tackle to try.....I use Limits Tackle baits in several sizes and color patterns and feel strongly it's a big part of my successes..... I don't have proof in the pudding but I do in pics of clients with good tables of slabs through this summer which is the toughesttime of the year.... And on top of that I rarely allow crappie under 11" to be kept..... Just my opinion, it's one thing for me to go out and put fish in the boat quickly but when I have to teach things as simple as setting the hook and still have to have my clients end up with good sacks of fish is another....
No peeing match from me..... Just simple techniques that will help others catch crappie.....
Fish On!

I definitely agree with this. I occasionally take friends and family out for trips and I catch a lot more fish by myself than I do when I take others. That's the other reason I'm not comfortable becoming a guide yet. When my parents were here last year, I would go out for an hour by myself before taking them fishing just so I could make sure I caught enough fish for a fish fry. There are so many things we take for granted that are really tough to teach someone in a just a few hours. Trying to explain livescope my 75 year old Mom last year was a tough one

I don’t like cleaning fish either but as a guide it sure beats the alternative!! Solid fish SK!!

No Doubt.... My big thing is I let my clients catch their own fish and it's definitely more work....A Lot More Work...


Always a good thing to have to put that filet knife to work.....Thanks SF....

A few more pics.... It's amazing seeing how happy clients are when they see they have put the smack down on some good crappie.....

that's impressive..good job man!

Solid season. Good job SK!

Grats on your first year SK! Summer crappie are no slouch.
“You done good Pilgrim”🤣

Thanks Y'all..... Fun Times!

nice work SK, I enjoy your videos.

Thanks..... more vids coming soon....Including PIP recordings from my 1243xsv.....