Finding summer crappies video: Crappies are a fun fighting fish and taste at the dinner table, and finding them during the summer can be made easier with the use of Humminbird MEGA Imaging. Jeremy Smith and Dan Lindner talk about how to find crappies at this time of year using electronics.
Mid‑ to Late‑Summer Crappie Mastery: Hard‑Bait Tactics on Subtle Bottom Transitions
Introduction
When the dog days of summer settle in, many anglers start wondering, “Where did the crappies go?” The answer, as demonstrated in this on‑water session with Dan and Jer, is that the fish are no longer transitioning; they are firmly set up on very specific structure. By combining thoughtful pre‑trip research, modern electronics, and a versatile hard bait, the duo locates and lands a parade of jumbo slabs—proving that summer panfishing can be far more dynamic than bobbers and minnows.
Weather, Light, and Seasonal Context
Crappies are notorious low‑light feeders, so the overcast skies on this midsummer outing are ideal. Stable, gloomy weather keeps light levels down all day, allowing the bite window to stretch far beyond dawn and dusk. With water temperatures and weed growth now at seasonal peaks, the fish have gravitated to dependable late‑summer haunts: deep weed edges, offshore humps, and—in this case—subtle bottom‑composition breaks from mud to sand in 21–23 ft. 
Pre‑Trip Homework: Using DNR Data
Before ever launching the boat, Dan scoured the state DNR’s lake‑survey database. The reports confirmed an abundance of oversized crappies, tipping the scales in favor of a trophy hunt rather than a numbers game. This simple bit of homework sharpened their focus and justified putting extra effort into sonar scouting before making a single cast.
Electronics First: “Drive Before You Drop”
Neither angler wet a line until side‑imaging and down‑imaging revealed tightly packed schools. High‑definition sonar showed classic signatures—bright white returns where firm sand met darker mud, with fish marks stacked right on that edge. Waypoints were dropped, the patrol route was set, and only then did the rods come out. The lesson is clear: in midsummer, time spent idling and interpreting your screen pays off in exponential fishing time later.
Bait Breakdown: The Rapala ® Slab Rap™
Forget live bait buckets. A single artificial carried the day:
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Profile & Sound – A hybrid between a lipless rattle bait and a jigging minnow.
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Versatility – Cast‑and‑crank to a counted‑down depth, then pause; or drop vertically on sonar‑spotted marks “just like ice‑fishing.”
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Hooking Hardware – Small but sticky trebles pin even wide‑mouthed slabs securely.
The duo continuously alternated between long casts over the basin and vertical drops when big arcs appeared beneath the boat. Each method produced “tanker” crappies without dunking a single minnow.
On‑the‑Water Highlights
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First Strike: Minutes after locating fish, Dan sticks a “decent” slab on the hard bait.
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Double Trouble: Rapid‑fire hookups force a quick dip into the livewell for photo‑op safekeeping—“The moose is loose!”
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Mixed Bag Surprise: Among the crappies, a bonus bull bluegill crashes the party, confirming how attractive the presentation is to all basin panfish.
Reading Bottom Transitions
Crappies in this lake were keyed to invertebrate forage emerging from soft mud, yet the fish themselves hugged the nearest sand fringe—an overlooked pattern for many summer anglers fixated on vegetation. The anglers’ sonar screenshots revealed:
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White Band = Harder substrate (sand).
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Darker Zone = Soft mud basin.
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Speckled Echoes = Individual crappies stacked like cordwood right on the seam.
Fishing that seam, rather than the weeds, unlocked non‑stop action and will likely hold fish from July straight through first ice.
Key Takeaways & Action Items
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Scout with Data – Use state or provincial fisheries surveys to target lakes with proven big‑fish potential.
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Electronics Are Everything – Drive until you mark bait and fish; save casting time for the spots that scream “right here.”
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Think Beyond Weeds – Bottom‑composition changes (mud‑to‑sand, clay‑to‑gravel) can be just as powerful as green weeds.
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Carry Versatile Hard Baits – A Slab Rap‑style lure covers depth quickly, doubles for vertical work, and eliminates live‑bait fuss.
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Fish the Edge, Not the Middle – Whether it’s weeds or substrate, crappies relate to edges; position the boat so your lure tracks the seam.
Master these elements, and your mid‑ to late‑summer crappie outings can jump from puzzling to prolific—no bait bucket required.
You may ask how anglers are finding summer crappies? Summer Crappies are set up in specific spots and can be relatively simple to find on any given body of water.
By midsummer, weediness, the thermocline, and water temperatures are well established. Crappies will be related to edges, whether it’s deep weed edges or some bottom composition transition from mud to sand.
Crappies tend to be low-light feeders, so mornings and evenings are always better. Days with overcast can be good from dawn to dusk and every hour in between.
The key is to use your electronics to search these areas to find large concentrations of fish. Often when searching for fish in a new lake, we won’t even wet a line until after driving around and searching all the highly probable edges. With today’s electronics, we can scan large areas in all directions, eliminating unproductive water and eventually finding fish reasonably quickly.
Live bait is great, but artificials can be killer. We often use Rapala Jigging Raps or Slab Rap this time of year. Crappies are pretty aggressive, and these types of lures can easily outperform live bait after finding the fish. Cast them out and count them down to the level where you marked the crappies, or position the boat right over the school of fish and vertically jig the lures.
Great electronics are vital for finding crappies. Again, with the Humminbird MEGA Imaging, we can scan in every possible direction. Often you’ll discover panfish relating to weddings — the classic first place to look for schools of fish. Another great area is to search for zones where the bottom composition changes from mud to a mud-sand mix. Find these spots around flats with a depth change, even if it’s only a foot or two. All over the country, these bottom content transitional changes can be unbelievably good throughout the year.
The next time you go fishing, resist the temptation to drive to where you think the fish may be and start fishing. Invest in quality electronics (like Humminbird) and keep the rods stored until you find fish.
