Late open water provides a good opportunity to locate crappies as they pre-position for early winter. Once found, you can keep on catching them after the lake, river or impoundment freezes. For example:

River/reservoir crappies move out of main lake current in late fall, often entering small, connected lakes (via a channel), backwaters or bays. A modestly deep basin hole will draw fish: perhaps 12 to 20 feet deep in a clear lake situation, or as little as 4 to 6 feet in the dingier water of a river backwater. It all depends on what’s available to the fish.

In most cases, vertically jigging a 1/32-ounce jig, dressed with a 2-inch soft bait, crappie minnow, or both, does the trick. Just locate a pod of fish out across the basin of the hole, and use a combination of drifting across them, or hovering above them, to present your lure on or just above their noses.

Lower your jig to bottom, close your spinning reel, grip the line with your forefinger to sense light bites, and lift it a few inches to a foot off bottom. Hold it there for a few seconds, then lower it again. Bites often come just after the jig touches bottom, so pay attention. Set the hook when you feel anything unusual, like the jig suddenly getting heavier than usual.

If your electronics reveal fish slightly higher off bottom, simply lift and hold your jig just above their heads to get a response. You never want to fish below the fish, but rather than at or just above eye level where they can see it and react. A light-action spinning rod and reel spooled with 4-pound-test line will do the trick.

In shallower situations, forward facing sonar can detect fish hovering in or near shoreline cover like fallen, submerged trees. This either requires 1) stealthily dipping your jig into their location using a long pole, or 2) positioning back from them and using a short cast with a slip-bobber setup to tease fish from along the outer edges of the cover.

Once ice forms, crappies are likely to remain in these areas for some time. A short walk out from shore atop early, safe ice will put you back on top of them. Now, just use a simple spud bar or hand auger to open a series of small holes in their location. Employ a short ice fishing rod rigged with a tiny ice jig or spoon, tipped with a wax worm or small crappie minnow, to continue catching them.

After the first early-ice flurry subsides, fish are like to move around a bit, and you’ll be forced to follow or relocate them along their path. But if current is present in the main body of water, they are likely to remain within the general area rather than return to cold, flowing water. Basically, you have them cornered until spring thaw.

For more insight and tips for fishing throughout the year, check out the articles in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.