Presummer Period

Water Temperature: 70°F range

General Fish Mood: Neutral to positive

Resumption of regular feeding patterns marks the beginning of the Presummer Period. Water temperatures could be in the mid-70°F range or above. Presummer is the Calendar Period during which weedgrowth and food chains develop toward peak summer levels.

Feeding opportunities and patterns for crappies develop at different depths. Some fish are found in weedbeds, some on flats, some on breaks, and some are suspended—all at the same time. The Presummer Period is yet another time of transition for crappies. In deep southern reservoirs, crappies appear on primary and secondary points in the main lake, establishing ever-deeper patterns. Deep, timbered channel edges harbor steadily increasing numbers of crappies through this period, while the extreme shallows become nearly devoid of fish.

In northern natural lakes, crappies establish themselves in the habitat they use all summer long and show an increasing tendency to suspend farther from structure. In smaller lakes and ponds, points and turns along deep weededges draw increasing numbers of fish, and a classic summer pattern begins: Crappies suspend during the day, then hover near the deep weededge as the sun drops lower or the wind rises, moving to the weededges and over the weeds in low-light periods (evening, night, dawn).

The passing of the cool-water periods of spring into the warmest period of the year encourages crappies to switch to classic patterns that match the long, stable period of summer. A recent tracking study on Kentucky Lake revealed major differences between white and black crappies in habitat selected after spawning and in movement patterns. While white crappies quickly departed spawning areas and moved to deeper water near secondary river channel ledges and submerged structure, black crappies remained in the same type of shallow brushy habitat where they’d spawned. Interestingly, local anglers keyed on offshore patterns and had difficulty catching these increasingly abundant black crappies.