I enjoy catching all fish species, but when it comes to eating fish, I prefer crappies over all others. They are easy to clean, fry up well and can be caught pretty much throughout all seasons of the year.

Without a doubt, summer crappies are trickier to locate and catch than they are in spring when they are in shallow water. However, they are still available if you search in the correct places.

For most of my summer crappie angling, I target weed beds, with cabbage weed being the most productive. Cabbage weed is very attractive to fish and will hold more than just crappies and bluegills. Bass, walleyes and northerns all spend time in cabbage beds during the summer months.

Not every patch of weeds will hold crappies, however. I typically focus on weeds in 8 to 12 feet of water. I don’t want weeds that are so thick I can’t get a jig through them or pull out a fish if I do catch one. A little sporadic growth is better than too thick.

To locate crappies, I usually troll small jigs over the tops of and through the weeds. Your electronics will tell you where the weed conditions are the best, as weeds show up readily on the sonar screen. The crappies hiding in weeds usually do not.

Although I use a variety of jigs, 1/32-ounce jigs with a drop spinner attached to the head are my favorites. Pink or orange heads with a white plastic tail work well most days. I add a small split shot 18 inches above the jig to help get the jig down to the tops of the weeds.

As for bait, a piece of Gulp or a wax worm gives the jig some added scent. Minnows or minnow heads also add a little scent, which can help on some days. Many times, straight plastic is all that is needed.

By trolling at about .6 miles an hour, I can cover water quickly. When crappies are found, I mark the spot and cast the area instead of trolling. However, there are many times when trolling seems to produce more fish than casting.

Once an area with fish is located, I find that crappies often utilize that same area year after year provided the weed growth is similar.

There is one lake we fish in the summer where the crappies suspend over 20 to 25 feet of water and are not found in the weeds. These fish are difficult to catch on small jigs. We have far better success with suspended fish by using a slip float and minnow.

Summer crappies are definitely trickier to catch than springtime fish, but it is not impossible. It may take some time to locate fish, but once you do, fishing can be very productive.

Picking the right lake, with the right weed structure and a healthy population of fish, is also important to summer crappie success.

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