Hit Lake Murray’s brush for fall crappie

Capt. Brad Taylor shares his thoughts

As Lake Murray’s water temperature cools down in October, Capt. Brad Taylor of Taylor Outdoors said the crappie fishing gets cranked up.

“October is a great month because you can catch crappie in a number of ways, really just about any way you want to catch them will work,” he said.

One way Taylor targets them this time of year is by fishing brush in the main river channel.

“Fall is kind of a magical time of year for Lake Murray because the shad start working up the river,” he said. “And the crappie follow the bait. If you can find the bait, which isn’t too difficult using electronics, then you can find the crappie.”

Live or artificial

And in the early fall, these fish like to stay right around the brush, but above it. Taylor said that’s good because it allows you to catch fish without getting hung up in that brush.

“These fish are predictable, especially in the first half of this month. They’ll suspend over the brush, and they’ll bite live minnows or jigs,” he said. “Probably the easiest way to catch them is tighlining minnows over the brush with a split-shot and hook. I like a No. 2 hook, but if the bite slows down, I’ll switch to a No. 4. When using live minnows, I like to have a variety of sizes, because during transition periods like the fall, crappie can change what they’re feeding on pretty drastically. If you want to cast and retrieve jigs over the brush, it’s best to scale down to 1/64 or 1/32 sizes.”

To book your trip with Taylor, call 803-331-1354 or visit tayloroutdoors.com. ■