How about some gurus explaining to this dummy why during the peak of summer the crappie seem to move off the BPs and move to the standing timber, at least for me. Thanks Daniel

Give me timber over brush piles any day, smaller fish seem to be on brush piles.

Not all lakes fish the same capt.
In my humble opinion it`s been my experience that during the DogDays of summer,on lakes that are inundated with Timber ie. Pecan orchards ,Bois d arc, etc .the fish will tend to gravitate towards the trees because they are a natural structure.Where as BP`s ,more often than not are man made. But hold on just one minute that is not a hard fast rule because on some lakes on river systems current flow will create a brush pile. I think of these as stop overs they are not permanent because a good flood will change their location but timber is pretty much stationary & Fish are more comfortable in a more natural stationary environment. They just wanna be comfortable just like us human beans. which lake are you targeting specifically?

My thought centers around the thermocline. If the brush pile is below the thermocline fish will looks for cover above. Exception are the catfish. Just my opinion.

I had run that idea thru my hard head.

Every lake is different in my opinion. Timber will always hold better quality fish when compared to brush but brush will still hold big fish. White crappie lakes, the timber (if present) will hold more and better fish. Black crappie lakes, the brush/rocks will hold more and better fish.

I have never been a big timber fan but I have really learned a lot about it this year and I feel like I have a good grasp on it. I have been running most of my trips lately on timber and will continue to do so when I can.

UV rays during summer can be extreme.. crappie move alot of times in orientations to avoid the uv rays because they can damage thier eyes and it makes them uncomfortable... a wide or tall tree can block alot of the uv light and as the sun moves thruout the day , all the crappie has to do is move around to the other , shady side of the tree..
when you think in terms of crappie locations and why they are where you find them, always insert UV LIGHT penetration into the equation.,. The reason you find crappie under docks in bright summertime is the same.. they are avoiding the intense uv light,,, JMO

I can show you piles loaded with fish but your only gonna get one maybe two bites. With thermocline in the summer I think the fish can move up and down a tree a lot easier to be comfortable than on a pile but who knows!

Timber

maybe they are scared of that huge flathead that lives in the brush that keeps eating their friends.

I believe that the short answer is they're following the bait fish. They choose the location and structure that gives them the best option for ambushing bait fish.

Lots of variables with "Comfort" being the common denominator

Great info here!!!!