I think it’s what your best at or what’s triggering the bite that day. Post front bites here on Eufaula…big shiners always catch more & bigger crappie than do jigs. E.B. uses both when spiderriggin and the numbers back that up. Huckabee is jig only, and I suspect so is Barry. Speculate on this theory…a moving/swimming bait vs. a stationary bait? I believe on days they wont move to get a bait you have to slow WAY down. But on the peak feeding times your catch rate triples on jigs because there’s no hook baiting downtime? It’s been a while since I’ve fished Oolagah and we did good on jigs most of the time. And falling water levels present a tough day for jigs on any lake.
Has anyone had any luck on the summer patterns yet? If I get a chance to throw the boat in this weekend I’d like to throw out a minner and see what happens. Fishing report this week had Hugo water temp at 73, for some reason I think it is higher than that, but I am pretty sure in the shallows on the north end and river channel it is more. There is a good stand of timber that is 6 -10 fow off the river channel before it goes into the lake that I would like to try out some of these guerilla tactics. Any thoughts?
I’m having good luck catching fish on the summer pattern in brush as shallow as 10 feet. I would look for brush or timber in the 10 to 15 foot range and drop minnows down beside it off the bottom a little. You should catch some fish. Good luck and let us know how you do.
I fish all year round, and use the same pattern unless it is spawn. I fish structure in 8-14 ft of water depending on the lake level. The crappie are always just off the bottom around this structure, and when I say around I mean that you don’t need to fish right in the structure. I think the crappie cruise around and and around the structure, because sometime you can get a bite and then nothing for a few minutes and then another. This can go on for a while and then you may catch several fish before the pattern starts again. So i don’t know, but it seems to me they are either going around or in and out, what ever. I have caught fish at Tbird in the same structure in this same pattern all year round. I have caught them in 104 degrees and 36 degrees out of the same spot, sam depth. So all my ideas from years ago about how to fish crappie i threw out the window about 10 years ago when I put my fist structure in the lake.
Man I have enjoyed reading this thread. I love to talk patterns and techniques. Here is some summer patterns: Shallow dippin’ pattern (jigs) 1ft visibilty or less in 1-5ft of water, Deep brush piles (without a doubt Minnows)8-20ft and deeper (clearer water), Crank baiting pushing or pulling (Muddy-clear). Night fishing with submersible lights (Minnows in clear water), and the Huckabee pattern(jigs, 3-12ft stained water). With all these patterns we fish lets remeber the most important things. The Therma-cline and bait fish. I spend the majority of my trips teaching people new techniques the most popular one is spider rigging jigs and minnows. In the summer I spider-rig very little simply because I haven’t had much success with it like I do in the fall, spring, and winter. I love to get out try new things, that is what makes our sport awesome. EB
Brian, You know were fixin to get some major current through the bridges this coming week? Whats your take on a current pattern?
Get on the rip-rap there will be tons of fish around the bridges. The rule of thumb is when the water is high fish the rip-rap. When the water is low find the wood! EB
What about all of that red, muddy water this week…Hwy 69 bridge near Hwy 9-A bridge? What a muddy mess! How long do you think it will last? We went camping for 4 days this week and it got gradually worse. We left Eufaula today. Is it coming from OK City’s flood?
This has been a tremendous read and help. I’m really looking forward to trying this out myself now in the very near future.
yes…it’s coming from the North and South Canadian rivers
Don’t crappie prefer muddy/stained water?
Hey Peke,
After vacation you should check out Oolagah cause the bite has been pretty good there and real close to home. The water is fairly clean below Winganon. And this is off topic but do you raise pekes? We have a cute male thats just over five weeks if you know anyone interested. He’ll be ready for a new home in July.
Sorry…off topic.
Well I wouldn’t say we raise them…they seem to be in charge. We are just there because they can’t reach doorknobs and open dog food containers! 
We also have two collies…all dogs have been fixed. My first peke lived over 18 years. We have two pekes inside with the two collies outside…except when the heat gets over 95…the collies come inside.
Our vet says she wants to be reincarnated as one of our dogs!
So you breed pekes? We’ve never had a male before. Can you PM me with a picture. I love pekes personality.
Peke
Froggie,
I will check out Oologah when I can get some time and talk my husband into going. Had some trouble with my boat last week so I have to figure it out first.
Peke
Peke
I’ll work on sending you a pic. Sorry bout the boat. Mine’s given me an issue this year but I think I got it resolved.
CrappieGuru,
I was wondering if you weigh down your cranks? I’ve seen people use a 3way swivel rig to be able to use like a 2-3 oz lead to get the crank down deep. Just wondering…I am green around the gills and oologah is my home lake..trying to get as many tips as possible.
Thanks
As EB said “Great Read”
Thanks to all who replied. I have a lot to learn.
Okfishing,
I typically don’t weigh down my cranks. The only time I’ve done it is when I fished a tournament up at lake stocken. The only reason we did that was because the lake is clear which caused the fish to be 20 plus feet deep. Plus we were using 14ft slow trolling rods to push them not pull them.
Great read. I’ve been the Mississippi River in WI for Crappies. This thread has opened my eyes to try some new things. But I have found Crappies in the evenings hanging out is mid to shallow depth weed edges near break lines/drop offs. Usually using plastics or minners.
Great information from all.
You really know you’re addicted to crappie fishing when you fish for them year around. Without a doubt fishing during the summer is the most predictable for me. The way I look at is, how does the weather affect me while I fish. The winter has deadly conditions and is by far the worst conditions that affect how well I can fish. On the other hand the summer is tough too but I can always fish from daylight till noon and be off the water before it gets too hot and I’m totally comfortable while fishing. It’s also a lot easier to jump in the water and cool off if I need to. The crappie are really predictable in the summer time too. The crappie want shade and they get that from brush piles and standing timber. I know where my best brush piles or standing timber are and I know they will be there. There are several methods that almost always work and all I have to do is find out what they like best or do several of them at the same time. On a normal summer day I will try to get to my brush pile before the sun comes up. I’ll position my boat 10 to 15 yards away from the brush pile and I’ll cast a 1/16oz weedless jig past the brush pile and drag the jig as slow as I can back through the pile. I can usually catch the biggest fish off the pile casting because the big crappie rule the pile. Casting usually works for the first 30 minutes to an hour after sunrise. After that I’ll move in a little closer and pitch a jig with 10 to 12ft of line out and let it pendulum back to vertical straight under the rod. When the early jig bit slows I’ll go to minnows. I set up 3 or 4 rods with a splitshot a foot up from a minnow hook and start at a depth of 8/10ft and fish those straight down. After I have those rigged and in the water I use another rod to drop shot another minnow. I use a small bell sinker and a hook on a 2/3" loop knot 18/24" above the bell sinker. I cast this rig all around the pile and slowly drag it along bottom and let it set for 15 to 30 seconds after each drag. I try to leave enough slack in the line to not spook the fish when they pick it up. Usually during the summer I find it very difficult to fish with this rig because I’m catching so many fish off the other 3 or 4 rods. I usually go through a half a pound of minnows before noon and a normal day would be 30/50 keeper crappie on any given summer day on Oologah. That’s why I say the summer is the most predictable time to catch crappie. A rule of thumb I use on my minnow rods set straight down is to change the depth deeper when I haven’t had a bite in 15/20 minutes. Dropping the hook down another 2/4" works almost every time. I immediately start getting bites again. The fish move deeper into the pile as the day gets hotter. Fishing with minnows is not as fun as jigs, but at least you can usually catch some on jigs really early in the morning. Also, If you can be lucky enough to be there when a thunderstorm blows in, things can get downright outstanding.
