The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Gabby’s Fishing Fever

Nighttime is right time for crappie


I love to fish at night for crappie — always have always will. There is just something special about fishing at night for crappie.

Whether fishing out of a boat tied off or just sitting over deeper cover with a pole out with a bobber under an old Coleman lantern, fishing for crappie at night is about as good as it gets to me. But this is just the way I was raised and the type of fishing I still love today.

I have also fished at night for crappie off several boat docks in Kentucky and Tennessee — some small docks and some huge ones — and always seem to catch a few good crappies. This type of fishing is so relaxing and peaceful. Fishing for them at night allows you to get away from the heat of the day and the heavy daytime traffic on the lake and docks.

I seem to catch bigger crappie at night by fishing off deeper wood cover. This type of fishing is very basic and effective. All you need is some type of light to allow you to see what you’re doing. I prefer a lantern, but anything will work.

For bait, a bucket of minnows or colored artificial baits work well. I have used pretty much all types of baits for nighttime crappie fishing over the years, and my favorite is still a live minnow under a bobber. You just cannot beat this for a bait, and it will almost always get a bite.

However, small colored tube baits and jigs will work well when fished slowly up and down around or above cover like wood or weed beds. I have seen fisherman do this off docks at night and catch some huge crappie.

If you have not fished for crappie at night, give it a try soon.

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