Fishing for Fall Crappies | Lure and Fish Finder Tips

Consolidated and easy to find, the fall is arguably the best time of the year to find and catch crappies in the Great Lakes States. Wired2fish’s Ryan DeChaine provides a detailed rundown on how he locates huge schools of fall crappies using the gamut of fish finder technologies and how to catch them using a simple selection of lures that excel in deeper water.

FEATURED TACKLE (retail links)

While most would vote spring as the best time of the year to catch crappies, DeChaine argues that the fall is more consistent regarding fish location. In many northern natural lakes, crappies move into basin areas as early as mid-September and start forming the largest schools of the year. And unlike cover-oriented fish, basin crappies are sitting ducks on fish finders, so you can easily position yourself on or near the school and present your lure to hundreds, if not thousands, of fish.

BOAT & ELECTRONICS

With deep water comes new challenges, namely the ability to quickly get your lure down to the fish in deep water. DeChaine shares his favorite lures for deep-water crappie hunting. Just as importantly, he demonstrates how to trigger fish by engaging with them on his sonar. Forward-facing sonar has been a game-changer here, as seeing fish interact with your bait in real-time allows you to manipulate your presentation to trigger the bite. Rod action and line significantly impact bait performance and hooking retention in deep water. DeChaine explains how a light braid, coupled with a light-power rod with a slower taper, improves performance.

A word of caution. Barotrauma is a risk to panfish caught from deeper water. DeChaine focuses his efforts on shallower lakes or basins, usually 25 feet or less, to prevent killing fish he doesn’t intend to keep.

As an Amazon Associate, we may earn income when you click on an Amazon link. We also earn affiliate commissions off of other partner links. For a list of our affiliate partners, visit our retail partners page. Your link clicks help us fund the work we do for the fishing community.