Fishing drop-offs with good cover at the right depth can be the key to summer crappie success, and Tim Huffman can tell you how to find them.

Summer crappies are not difficult to catch, but they do like a variety of depths and structures, so they can be scattered. However, a drop-off with cover is always an enticing holding spot for them.

What’s a drop-off? It’s a quick change in bottom contour. They are often a creek or river channel. In general, a quick drop is better than one that has a gradual slope. A drop may be one foot or 40 feet from the top of the ledge to the bottom. On a shallow flat, a drop of one or two feet can hold crappies because a crappie isn’t tall. Bigger drops in mid-depth or deep water offer more depth choices for crappies to move up and down in the water column. That’s a big advantage during weather changes and when boat traffic drives them down deeper. Therefore, drops in shallow, mid-depth and deep water can be good holding structures for summer crappies.

Techniques

Consider a good mid-depth drop-off being from 14 feet down to 20 feet. Several techniques work at these depths, with slow trolling multiple poles being among the most productive. Boat movement pulls baits along at a slow speed. When cover and fish are found, the boat is stopped with all baits in the strike zone. This technique is popular, but there are other ways that are simpler and fun.

Vertical Jigging

Vertical jigging uses one pole and targets specific cover. Our sample drop of 14 to 20 feet has stumps on the top of the ledge at 14 feet. The tops of the stumps are at 11 to 13 feet. A fisherman can use a jigging pole to drop a jig or minnow down to the stumps. By using sonar, you can keep the baits on or just above the stumps. Active fish will hit quickly while lethargic fish may take several minutes to bite.

Sometimes, fish may be down near the bottom at 20 feet. Again, jigging allows a bait to probe stumps, brush or other cover where fish are holding. The only change may be the need to increase weight as bait depth increases.

Keep the nose of the boat facing the wind to allow better boat control. When a stump is found, stop the boat by letting off the trolling motor. If you were going with the wind, the boat would blow over the cover, forcing you to have to turn the boat around, likely spooking the fish.

Gear includes a 10- to 12-foot graphite jigging pole, 6- to 8-pound-test monofilament or 15-pound-test braided line, and jigs or minnows.

Casting

Casting is a second technique. It’s fun because it keeps you engaged at all times by casting, reeling, setting the hook and reeling the fish to the boat. One of the best benefits of casting is allowing a fisherman to stay away from the cover being fished so fish aren’t spooked. Casting 30 or 40 feet from the boat is no problem.

Use the lightest jig possible for a slow fall. However, keep the weight practical. For example, it takes too long for a 1/32-ounce jig to drop 15 feet down. A 1/16-ounce jig provides a moderately slow fall while getting down to mid-depth water. Wind and current are additional factors. As they increase, weight must be increased.

Gear includes a 5 1/2- to 7-foot spinning combo, 6- or 8-pound test line and action jigs, including curly tails or paddle tails.

Electronics

Fishermen should use a good sonar unit and paper map, or a sonar/side imaging/mapping/GPS unit. Drops are easy structures to find by looking at a paper or electronic map. Drops have lines close together on the map.

Find a channel on the map and motor to it. Then, use sonar or side imaging to pinpoint cover along the drop. Most units will show fish are in the cover and how they are positioned. They’ll be suspended up over the cover, on top, to the sides or in the cover.

Factors

Sun and clouds make a difference in crappies holding shallower or deeper. In summer, crappies often hold up above cover along the top of a ledge during periods of less sun penetration including cloud cover, sunrise and sunset. They may get inside the cover during bright sunlight periods.

During the summer, on most lakes with little or no current, a thermocline will form in as little as 3 to 10 feet in shallow waters and 8 to 20 feet in deeper waters. All active crappies will be above the thermocline in summer, so do not fish below it.

Wind is a major factor. A slick, calm day can be difficult because there is nothing to mask a fisherman. The boat, wakes, noise from a trolling motor, vibrations and other noises will spook fish. A little wind is good. Strong wind is bad because it makes bait presentations difficult due to boat control problems.

The noise and activity on a lake can send fish deeper and they often become dormant. The key to summer crappie fishing is to go early and leave before noon.

Even a seasoned fishermen can learn something new. Check out the spring and summer issues of MidWest Outdoors, available now at the newsstand or by subscribing on our website.