Best Bet…Crappie

Fall is quickly approaching and the water temps took a big nose dive this week and now our guides are seeing 63-66. This is moving crappie away from main lake areas and pushing them into coves and up feeder creeks in search of even cooler water temps and their food.

The lake will turnover at about 60 degrees surface temp. give or take a few degrees. Then all the crappie fishing will be shallow until early to mid-December. I tell all my readers that in the next two weeks the crappie fishing will be the best it is all year long. The period of mid to late October on through early to mid-December.

The bite is so good all you need is a handful of Deep Ledge Jigs and some Brushpile Jigs Brush Chubs. I always used the big stuff in the fall. Quarter ounce jigs will get their attention and a three-inch plastic not too big.

Let water color and either a sunny day or dark overcast day determine what colors you go with. I like anything with some chartreuse on it but those big quarter-ounce orange Deep Ledge Jigs really get it done on dark nasty days as do our black ones.

The crappie seem to be just inside the mouth of coves suspended just outside cover on the mid to south end of the lake. Numbers is the game there catch a ton to find nice ones still lots of fun.

The crappie on the north end are starting to move very shallow but still are very scattered. You can hit a dozen spots before you run into them but they will be much nicer fish as most are the big whites.

This will all change in the next couple of weeks as the north end will greatly improve and long boat rides aren’t needed.

Our full line of Deep Ledge Jigs and plastics are available at our on-line store. They are also available at Chip’s Marine located at the Bo-Woods exit on Lake Shelbyville. Howie’s Lakeside on Rt. 32 south of Sullivan and Gregory’ Resort located on the way into Lithia on the south end of the lake. Give them a try we ship them all over the country.

I tell anglers all the time the fishing is pretty good but believe me the fall fishing is by far the best. The biggest fish you will see all year. Just grab your favorite jig pole and go catch them.

Our guides are filling fast as the secret is out about how good Shelbyville is in the fall so give us a call and get one of the open dates reserved.

Steve Welch
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