Unlocking Early Summer Slabs
Fishing shallow in July
When most folks are stockpiling fireworks and buying new bathing suits in anticipation of Independence Day festivities, Randy Pope is doing what he does best: catching crappie. The fish have long since finished their spawn by the end of June and classic crappie wisdom is to follow the fish out to main lake channels, trees and deep docks. However, big fish can often be caught into early and mid-July in shallow water by anglers who know where to look.
"Unless you are faced with an ultra-clear lake, you can catch crappie in five feet of water in early July," says two-time Crappie USA and five-time Southern Crappie Association champion Randy Pope. Fishing with a 5'6" ultra light rod and 4-lb line, Pope shoots 1/32 oz. Little Nippers and 1/16 oz. Fuzz-E-Grubs into the shade of shallow docks and retrieves them slowly. He also flips the small jigs alongside trees and brush piles in the shallow water and allows their slow falls to trigger strikes.
"Everybody knows you can catch crappie around brush piles in July, but most people don't realize that those brush piles can be shallow," says Pope. "There are fish in the deep water, but I've caught lots of crappie in the pound-and-a-half range up shallow this time of year." Some of the best areas this time of year are docks or standing timber that are in shallow water but very close to deep water. In these areas, big crappie may be caught all year long in shallow water before the sun heats the water in the early morning.
Bank fishermen can benefit from this information too. Spawning fish were up shallow doing their business, but they may remain very close to the same depth when they finish. Another thing to remember is that crappie could be three feet deep over 20 feet of water or they could be nine feet deep over 10 feet of water. The point is, sometimes a simple adjustment to depth by moving a cork can be the difference between a jig dangling uselessly over a fish's head and it being hooked in the roof of his mouth. That's why so many people don't realize that they fish are still there when they stop catching them.
When the average fish begins to get smaller, Randy will head to the deeper water where the temperature sensitive crappie have relocated, but he stresses that this doesn't have to occur right after the spawn. In the meantime, the feeding frenzy of post-spawn crappie is tough to beat.