Everyone has been talking about it.. but no one has explain what it means in detail..

What is Summer Crappie Pattern Fishing? Is it a depth? Structure (Timber VS Drop off VS Hump?) Is it the jig preference versus live bait? Fishing the Thermoclines?

I have an SI unit and what should I be focused on? And does the 'summer' pattern change from lake to to lake i.e. Ray Robert VS Cedar Creek..

Thank you in advance for your comments.

It is a combination of depth and structure that the fish go to during the summer months.

Usual Summer patterns include: Timber, Bridges, Brushpiles and even ledges or docks if the lake has them.

Summertime patterns for the lakes you mentioned...

Ray Roberts-
1. Is a pretty deep lake (compared to Cedar Creek) so most of the Summertime crappie go deep. The fish don't go as deep as they would in the winter though.
2. RR has a TON of timber that alot of crappie get on during the Summer.
3. It also has bridges that hold crappie most of the year.
4. There are also plenty of brushpiles on RR that are good during the Summer.

If I was going to fish Ray Roberts during the Summer, I would fish timber (15-30 ft deep), the bridges (under the cross members) and brushpiles (in 15- 40 ft).

Cedar Creek-
1. Is alot shallower than Ray Roberts, but the same principles apply just not in as deep of water.

2. CC has bridges that usually hold fish under the cross members as do most lakes.
3. It also has alot of brushpiles that would be holding good numbers of fish.
4. One thing that is different between Cedar Creek and Ray Roberts is that Cedar Creek has docks. The docks produce alot of shade that the crappie like to get under in the Summertime.

If I was going to fish Cedar Creek during the Summer, I would fish docks in anywhere from 8 or 9 foot and deeper, brushpiles in the 15-20 foot range and also the bridges under the cross members or shooting them.

Hope this helps some.

Great advice Anthony! Note that Ray Roberts has plenty of brushpiles in the over 30' range as well I have done well on in the summer months.

Great advise, I couldnt have said it better.

I fish RC 100% of the time in the Summer.....
Middle May to first week of June they load up the timber...
We fish brushpiles & timber from 20 - 30 ft deep....
They usually hold in 16 - 21 ft.....
The bridge we catch em as deep as 31 ft deep...
My 2 cents...... hope it helps...
Go get em ! ! ! ! !

Great post and advice Anthony

Dang Anthony, that was good!

Hey Anthony, You guiding yet? Good job!

This kid is good aint he!


Great advise Anthony!

Yeah...he's been on this forum...what, 2 years? Man, I need to go fishin' with him.

What about from June 25th to July 3rd??

Thanks everyone! I have read my share of crappie articles.

when yall say stack up in timber, do you just sit and toss road runners at random trees or is ther certain timber you hit? if so with what? prolly dumb question...lol

It depends.... sometimes the fish get on a certain kind of tree and sometimes they just get in a certain depth. I fish timber vertical and work from shallow to deep until I start catching fish. Then, I only fish the depth that has been producing the most fish. Usually, the good trees are isolated from the rest of the trees and have lots of limbs going everywhere. I think jigs are easier to manipulate through all the limbs more than a minner, but that is just me.

Paul has a great video that explains this alot better.
http://www.hancockoutdoorproductions.com/catalog.htm

I am brand new to crappie fishing. Anthony, I really appreciate the detail in your post. Great job. You mention reading many articles. Can you recommend any? I hope to learn more from your experience. Thanks