Open water fishing can be difficult and challenging. Two long-time Crappie Masters fishermen discuss this situation. Whitey Outlaw is from Carolina and is sponsored by Toyota, BnM Poles, Vicious Line, and others. Phil Rambo lives in Indiana and his sponsors include Power Pole, MinnKota/Humminbird, Tite-Lok, Southern Pro and others. They discuss catching fish in open water during late summer and fall.
Finding Fish: Outlaw uses a lake map and a graph unit that allows inserting mapping chips. The electronic maps give excellent detail of the water contours and many other lake features. He says fishermen who can purchase a Humminbird Side Imager can really save a lot of time and find a lot more spots to fish. With his Side Imager he shoots out both sides and down using it in combination with his mapping/GPS so he can mark what he finds, go back to the exact spot and fish it.
Rambo agrees. “Before I ever get to the ramp I’ve looked at a good lake map like a HotSpots map. I find spots in the depths of water I want to fish. I like to pick different areas so if the wind is blowing we can have a place where we can fish no matter which way the wind is coming from. We use a Humminbird 797 and with today’s technology we probably find ten times more fish. I don’t believe we would be competitive in the tournaments if we didn’t have the good electronics in our boat.”
Both fishermen like to look for flats in late summer and fall. Outlaw targets big flats close to a channel. “I think the fish are going to the same areas where they were in the spring but they won’t be as shallow. Actually, I will try big flats 12 to 16 feet deep just off of the main river channel. I really like the 12-foot range because that seems to be a good depth no matter where I go.”
Rambo begins his search in 10 feet of water. “It’s true the fish will probably be in open water although a few may go to the timber. I’ll adjust my depth according to where the fish have moved and that could be shallower in the fall.”
Catching Fish: You’ll find Outlaw spider rigging off the front of the boat. Unlike others, he doesn’t set the trolling motor a certain direction and lock it in. He prefers to wonder around in the area he’s fishing and when he finds good cover he stops and positions all baits into the strike zone. By going against the wind all he has to do is take his foot off of the trolling motor and the boat will stop. He believes more than one big fish can live on a piece of structure so why not leave the baits in there longer instead of continuing on after you catch one fish.
“In the fall the water is getting back to what I call ‘sweet water’ where there is more oxygen in the water and the fish are moving and active. They’ll stay that way until they move to their winter pattern in about November where I live.”
“The main thing is to stay near the river channel,” says Outlaw. “The fish use the channel as a highway so in late summer the fish are using it to get to the flats. A bend, cut or anything with good cover on it will be best.”
Outlaw will be using a double-hook minnow rig and usually have a jig on the bottom hook. “I’ll be using a Washoppah or Bobby Garland Jig. I’m excited about the new Garland Minnow Mind’R jig developed primarily to cradle and keep the minnow in place. This will likely become a very popular bait as soon as more people learn about it.”
“We’ll usually be longlining,” says Rambo. “That works on the 10 foot flats we’re talking about. We take off along the flat using our depthfinder and watching the pole. Our baits are trailing out behind. Generally, when we start seeing them on the scope we start catching them. Our baits are about 70 to 90 feet behind the boat. We use two 1/16-ounce jigs spaced three to four feet apart. If we need to get deeper we’ll add 1/4-ounce split shot. Two big shot will get the baits to 10 or 11 feet when going 1 mile per hour like we generally go.” His top baits for longlining are the Southern Pro Hot Grub and Charlie Brewer Slider.
Results: Fall fishing can be a great time of the year to catch crappie. Both fishermen outlined strategies for fishing flats with one choosing slow trolling while the other prefers longlining. Fall offers more than shotgun and rifle adventures so get out and enjoy time on the water chasing slabs during this great crappie fishing period.