Tim gathers the primes way to find summer crappies from crappie experts.

Lily pad jungles
“Reelfoot is a unique lake that will have areas covered up with lily pads,” says Louie Mansfield, Grizzly Jig Company owner.

“The pads are a good place to catch both bluegills and crappies at the same time.”

He also says that spring is the best season, but you can still find crappies there in the summer.

“I like to look for wood and pads together, like around stumps, duck blinds and near trees.”

Russ Bailey, host of Brush Pile Fishing TV, says pads are good from the Deep South to far northern states.

“I find a lot of fish positioned at the base of the pads,” Bailey said. “We have a misconception that a crappie will only feed up, but they will take a tube bounced off the bottom. The fish seem to stay close to the bottom until the water starts cooling in the fall when they’ll suspend up more.”

Bailey chooses ultra-light presentations and uses a 10 1/2-foot B ‘n’ M pole, 6-pound-test line, a 1/32-ounce jig head and a large Southern Pro tube.

“I like a big tube this time of year, but stick with a lightweight head. That lets me use a tiny ice float to detect the lightest of bites. The float keeps the right depth so the bait can be fished straight up and down or pitched out to get it farther from the boat.”

He says he likes to keep the bait on or near the bottom and pops the float to make the jig hop and then rest again.

Want to learn more about crappie fishing in the summer? Check out the July issue of MidWest Outdoors magazine, available now at a newsstand near you. You may also subscribe to MidWest Outdoors online or by phoning 800-606-3474.