Even though the outside temps are hot enough to make camel beg for mercy, summertime fishing in August and September can be some of the best times to be on the water. It might surprise most crappie anglers but I catch a lot of good crappie this time of year shooting docks in as little as 2 - 3 feet of water. First thing I look for knowing it is summer and the boat traffic is going to be brutal on Weiss Lake is the little out the way places that you don't see a lot of jet skies and ski boats. When fishing docks this shallow they will take a pounding by 3 foot waves when you have a lot of boat's running back forth. Little coves and pockets close to the river channel is a great place to look for crappie under docks. I like to wait to around mid morning before I will start shooting docks. I like to wait for the sun to get high and hot to push the crappie even tighter to the docks looking for shade from the sun beating down on the water. Another little trick for success at shooting docks is boat position. I like to approach the dock's with the sun to my face as to make sure I don't cast a shadow with my boat around the dock. Crappie are very spooky fish this time of year the more you can do to not let the crappie know your coming the more success you will have at this technique
"Equipment- . The best rod I have found for shooting docks is the BnM Sharpshooter. They have three available lengths in this rod but I like the 5 footer the best. These rods are designed just for shooting docks and even though it is an Ultra Light rod you will have no trouble pulling that big slab out from under his hidden water haunts. The reel I use is BnM's West Point Spinning Reel. It is very light weight reel and that helps keeping your combo light and manageable. In a full day shooting docks you may shoot 200 to 300 times the lighter you can keep your combo the better off you will be. I do about all my crappie fishing except for spider rigging with 6 lb. Sufix Siege line in clear and the neon Tangerine. The Tangerine is a neon orange line that is very visible when watching for those faint little taps.
"Lure- Lure color and type are one of the most important parts of shooting docks. The one that I have found that works great on every lake I have fished including Weiss is the Southern Pro 2 inch Crappie Stinger. The Crappie Stinger has a solid body with a whip / stinger type tail and holds up very well for this technique. The color that produces day in and day out would be Black/Blue with the chartreuse stinger tail. Southern Pro has available eleven colors in the 2 inch Crappie Stinger but for shooting docks with a lot of shade I like to stay with the darker colors. The size jig head you use is very critical in presenting the bait that catches the crappie but surprise. You want a light jig head for these shallow water docks and most time's I am using a 1/24 oz jig head. This lets the jig hit the water with very little noise and also lets the jig fall in natural slow fluttering manner.
"Presentation- I like to shoot the jig right at the dock pilings in the very back of the dock. Most time's the crappie will hit the jig within the first foot or two when on the fall. If you get no hits on the fall let your lure go all the way to the bottom and then start a slow steady retrieve back to the boat. A lot of times you will catch crappie as soon as your lure breaks the shadow line that the docks puts off. I like to work the dock very thorough shooting at every piling before moving on."Tips- Here are a few things to know that may help you when shooting docks in the summer. Like I said before look for those little out of the way places that don't see much boat traffic. Another key to shooting docks is to look for things on the docks like rod holders mounted to the dock lights close to the water. This lets you know that this dock is fished regularly and there is structure close by. If there is structure around the dock there will be crappie under it that the owner cant get to. Some of the best docks I shoot here on Weiss Lake in the summertime is docks that are in 6 to 8 foot water at the very end and are built on shallow water points with deeper water close by. Wait until the sun gets up high and hot around 10:00 am that is when the crappie will be holding tight under these dock.
Most crappie anglers put up there gear after the spring spawn waiting for the first sign of fall. Summertime can be just as good if you will try this technique, you just have to experiment with different area's of the lake but when you find those special docks they will produce crappie day in and day out all summer long
Thanks for your time and I will see you Weiss
Kelly Matthews
www.weisslakeguides.com