Crappie fishing is almost always better with the light as low as possible. The early-morning and late-afternoon periods always produce more bites during the summer.
However, fishing at night can be very productive, especially on clear, full-moon nights.
Since crappie are cold-blooded, the waters cool slightly at night and crappie will be more comfortable and feed more. Night-fishing for crappie is ideal during the summer when crappie are frequenting brushpiles in deeper water.
Mark Danque of Chapin, a long-time crappie pro, enjoys fishing at night for crappie.
“On full-moon nights, the fish are very active while fishing stationary with lights or trolling minnow-tipped jigs,” he said. “Generally, the fish will be shallower in the water column and sometimes as close as three feet from the surface.”
Danque will troll in the same areas he fishes during the day, but he’ll increase his speed to make his lures run closer to the surface where the fish will be holding. He relies on his electronics to show the depth of the fish n the water column and how close they’re relating to the brushpiles.
Typically, fishermen remain stationary at night, equipped with lights either submerged in the water or floating, pointing downward. The light system creates ideal conditions for attracting insects, minnows and larger gamefish. All ends of the food chain are at work with the beams of light attracting all sorts of life. Crappie will come up to feed within a few feet of the surface or all the way towards the bottom if that’s where the submerged structure is located.
In addition to setting up above submerged brushpiles, other good places for fishing at night will be around bridges, creek channels, and docks situated in or adjacent to deep water.
Editor’s Note: This story is found in the June issue of South Carolina Sportsman, now on newsstands. Be sure and pick up your copy today for more information about upping your odds of success.
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