Crappie Fishing Off Of A Lakes Bank

by Jason
(Texas)

How do I locate crappie off of the bank? I know how to catch them, I just can never find them. I usually fish for them at night or in the early morning hours on account of the summer heat. Please Help!! Any tips or suggestions you may have would be much appreciated. Thanks

Answer For Lake Crappie Bank Fishing Question

Hey Jason, let's see if I can help you out. There are about a handful of hot spots to find crappie on just about any lake. Some require a boat and sonar equipment to help locate them. But there are plenty of spots to find crappie from the banks. Here are a few tips that might help...

You said that you already know how to catch them. Great. Just for a quick heads up, I've noticed that some fishermen don't realize, or maybe just forget due to lack of patience, that sometimes crappie will bite very subtle, even to the point where they will be off the hook before realizing that one was ever there. Yes, I've been a victim of this. They key is light fishing line and heavy concentration.

I've had much success finding crappie around shoreline brush and near rock piles, usually in pocketed areas on the shady side. I would just drop my bait down in there (using a bobber when needed) and wait for them to come out of the cover and strike.

Underwater timber with tree limbs are cool places too. The sunken structure will often attract small baitfish, and crappie will eventually be there on the prowl. If you can't really spot those wood piles, try looking for little schools of baitfish because there must be some type of structure or something that they are relating to, which in turn should cause crappie to follow.

Other than that, look for other types of isolated structure. This can be rock piles, wood piles, stumps... one of the hottest spots will be hidden brushpiles. If you happen to know of or come across underwater brush, you should be in luck.

Those will be your best bets for finding crappie along the bank. Crappies are also known to run in small tight schools suspended out in open water. You can sit and wait with a baited hook under a bobber float, or cruise along the shoreline casting out different colored jigs until you find them.

Well, I hope these tips help to answer your fishing question for crappie fishing off of a lakes bank. If you have any other questions, then you can go ahead and post them here.

Feel free to check out our section on crappie fishing if you would like to have a look at more helpful crappie fishing tips and techniques.

Good luck freshwater fishing!