Nighttime is the right time for summer slabs
Late summer evenings on lakes throughout the Carolinas, a “shift change” occurs with fishermen. As the midnight shift of crappie fishermen head for the water, most other anglers are packing it in for the day.
These nocturnal fishermen arrive at pre-targeted destinations as the sun slips into the western horizon, and by dusk, they’re rigged and ready with powerful submersible lights.
For many, the modern lights they use are the powerful, bright-green, LED rigs that offer the additional advantage of low battery drain.
And these fishermen enjoy fast-paced action on crappie during the time of year when crappie-catching is difficult for many.
Veteran night fisherman Pete Jordan of Wake Forest, NC, began using Coleman lanterns to catch nocturnal crappies in his youth. Now at 63-years-old, he says it’s as much fun as ever, and the modern equipment is light-years better.
The night crappie-fishing process has morphed into such an important part of his fishing that he now produces his own brand of crappie-fishing lights.
“I’ve always loved to develop, invent, and refine products related to the fishing industry,” Jordan said. “One of my first big products was a specialized light system for gigging flounder. But being a crappie fishing fan all my life, I worked on developing a better lighting system for attracting crappie.”
Simple approach
Jordan (www.ultimategreenlights.com) said the process of night fishing with lights for crappie is straight-forward. But it’s essential to have a system that produces a powerful light to attract fish, while also being simplistic enough to carry on the boat and deploy.
“Years ago, most fishermen used regular white lights for the night fishing process, and that worked fine,” he said. “With LED lights, fishermen have discovered the powerful green lights seem to be the ideal light attractant. The green spectrum attracts amoebas and other small aquatic organisms. This congregation attracts forage fish such as shad, herring and other species that feed on these creatures. As the forage species gather in big numbers, they’ll begin to literally swim in circles around the light. And predator fish such as crappies move in to feast.”
Jordan said he’s used these powerful green lights for more than 20 years with great success, as do anglers from around the country.
“Hanging lanterns off bridges and boats when I was a youngster was my favorite way to catch crappie at night,” he said. “We were serious because what we ate for dinner the next evening was based on what we caught the night before. We learned how to catch crappie during the summer and fall when traditional crappie fishing methods were tougher.”
Jordan said nocturnal crappie fishing with lights is not difficult, but it’s not a random process. A good lighting system is essential. But if it’s not deployed in the right place, crappie will not be around to be attracted. Anglers must key on specific spots.
“By August and September, the water temperatures are elevated and crappie are generally in deep-water patterns,” Jordan said. “Most are found in the mainstream part of a lake, or in the lower end of major tributary creeks. Deep water access nearby is crucial for having plenty of crappie in your area this time of year.”
The proximity of deep-water gets anglers in the right zip code for crappie action, but Jordan refines the fish-finding process in greater detail.
Tune it in
“I fine-tune my crappie hunt to targeting humps, points and ledges along the river or large creek channels,” he said. “They’re all potentially productive because of the deep-to-shallow water access. I also use my graph to search for schools of baitfish, as well as crappie, located in the vicinity. I don’t have to see a lot of fish on the graph in a specific area, but I want to see some. The light will attract crappie to my setup.”
Jordan said crappie use ledges and channels as underwater highways when seeking food. He sets up on these areas, and the lights lure crappie from considerable distances. They congregate when they find an abundance of food at the light source. And he’s waiting on them with multiple rods rigged and ready.
“Bridges, around bridge pilings, are also great crappie contact hotspots at night,” he said.
Jordan said preparation is required before fish-catching time because boat position, depth and bait presentation are crucial.
One generic favorite target Jordan fishes is a deep water, mid-lake intersection of a major feeder creek with the main river channel. He anchors the boat so he can be over the bottom of the drop in the deepest water, as well as part of the slope.
“Since the set-up is the place I plan to spend a few hours, not just a few minutes, it’s essential to get a good anchor setup so the boat stays as stationary as possible,” he said. “The wind may blow or change direction, and other boats may leave wakes at night. So a secure anchor setup is crucial.
Light it up
“I anchor before dark, with anchors that dig into the bottom for maximum holding ability. So boats passing with a large wake, or a wind shift, won’t impact boat position,” he said.
The best depths to anchor vary from one lake to another, but fish are usually caught well off the bottom, in the water column.
“Crappie often move shallow around the light, often feeding at 10 to 12 feet or less,” he said. “That’s why anchoring over deep water works. The fish adjust to their preferred feeding depth in the water column. By fishing multiple depths, fishermen can pattern the right depth, and with multiple rigs testing different depths, it usually doesn’t take long to figure it out.”
Jordan said the green LED lights are powered by 12-volt batteries. The lights need to be dropped only a foot or two into the water to do their job.
“The typical pattern is for crappie to congregate around the edge of the circle of light,” Jordan said. “Some anglers put the light on the end of a pole to keep it farther from the boat. Even 8 to 10 feet will do fine. I built a floating foam mat that I deploy. It is anchored in place by a brick I lower to the bottom. I then back the boat off several feet and anchor the boat. This way I can effectively fish the light using rods of multiple lengths with minnows, as well as casting ultralight rigs with jigs. Staying a short distance away from the crappie light seems to help production. But lowering lights directly over the side of the boat works fine too.”
If multiple anglers are aboard, he’ll have a light at each fishing station.
“Having rod holders is important, because each angler can watch multiple rods. And the more rigs fished, the more opportunities we’ll have,” he said.
“If fishing action is good, it doesn’t take but two or three rigs to keep an angler busy,” he said. “But I adjust the number of rigs based on the people fishing and the fish-biting action.”
Jordan said 8-pound test, high-visibility monofilament line is his preference. A No. 2 gold, Eagle Claw wire hook and a No. 2 split shot, placed about 10 inches above the hook is an effective rig.
“I vary rod lengths from five to 12 feet, because that enables me to fish different areas of the lighted water,” he said. “Sometimes crappie congregate directly under the light. But usually they hold closer to the edge of the light field, often several feet away.”
Jordan has developed a black light rig that enables him to keep lights on board low, to reduce any insect attraction. The black light makes it easy to see even minute bites on the crappie rigs. He said some anglers paint their rod tips white to help them detect the light bite of a crappie.
Minnows are the primary bait for nocturnal crappie fishing.
“Live minnows are ideal because they mimic what the crappie see when attracted to the lights,” Jordan said. “For night fishing during summer, I want a medium-sized minnow, but large minnows will work. I also catch fish by casting jigs on light tackle. I’ll employ the countdown method to get it at the right depth, then simply retrieve it. I’ll often work both type rigs until the action gets too fast.”
Minnow management is crucial during the summer when the water temperature is elevated.
“Keeping minnows fresh and frisky directly impacts success. So I use a large aeration system to keep the bait fresh,” he said.
Why “going green” should light up your night
Not all nocturnal fishing lights are created equal. Variables such as style, color and brightness require choices. Pete Jordan began fishing with gas-fueled lanterns a half century ago. He has seen, and learned, a thing or two about using lights for crappie in the past 50 years of fishing.
“My belief, through testing, is the green LED lights cast a longer light signature and are more effective at attracting organisms that forage fish eat, which in turn pulls crappie to the light,” Jordan said. “It’s a multiple-stage process to get crappie under the boat. It begins with attracting micro-organisms to the light. White lights certainly work, but I’m convinced green is better.
“The LED lights are the best route because they’re very bright lights,” he said. “I don’t use full-size boat batteries for these lights. Small batteries take up a fraction of the space and are lightweight, easily recharged, and will run the highly efficient LEDs all night if needed.”
Pete Jordan’s high-quality lights are produced in three sizes, all 12-volt, with a 1-year warranty. Go to www.ultimategreenlights.com for full details.
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