Fall is just around the corner. While most people are thinking about the upcoming hunting season, fall is a excellent time to think about Crappie fishing. These crappie fishing tips will help you locate the Crappie and put some fillets in your freezer for the Winter!

As the water cools off in the Fall, hungry Crappie move from their deep water Summer hangouts to the cooler water of the shallows as they follow baitfish toward the shore. It’s not uncommon to find Fall Crappie as shallow as 1 or 2 feet deep along a bank in the Fall. Once the first few cold fronts of the year move in, start looking for Fall Crappie near the first drop off away from the bank.

Fall Crappie can be very aggressive. You may have to experiment, but I like to find Crappie using jigs using either the Spider rigs or floating with corks. As I drift along the drop off, I’ll put the corks at different depths until I find the Crappie.

Any seasoned Fall fisherman knows that the best time to be out on the Lake is just prior to a major cold front hitting your area. This is the time you’ll be happy to be out on the lake chasing Crappie. These are the times that Crappie fishing can be better than the Spring spawning season. Whatever you do, try and not miss a chance to chase Crappie just before a Major front hits your home lake.

Post cold front Crappie can be hard to get to hit your bait. I typically use smaller jigs and minnows. If the weather warms up after the cold front, look for Crappie to become active as soon as a week after the passage of the cold front.

Slow drifting small jigs and minnows can be just the ticket to get post cold front Crappie to hit your bait. Don’t forget that post cold front Fall Crappie become less active and will not chase a bait very far. Even more so, many times you’ll have to have the bait right in front of their mouths.

Look for Crappie along South facing shorelines after a Fall cold front. South shorelines heat up faster, thus attracting baitfish. Where’s there’s baitfish, hungry Crappie won’t be far behind. Don’t be afraid to fish right up against the bank, especially if there is a South wind blowing baitfish up on the bank.

When the South winds start pushing baitfish against South shorelines, you can find Crappie by using a float and jig setup. You can fish faster with jigs than minnows plus you don’t have to worry about a Crappie knocking your minnow off a hook. If you find the Crappie spread out, you should switch to a Spider Rig to snatch up the Crappie.