Postsummer Period

Water Temperature: Rapidly cooling from annual maximum

General Fish Mood: Neutral to positive

The Postsummer Period is a reversal of the Presummer process, occurring at the end of summer when waters begin to cool. Hot days with dead-calm periods followed by cool nights are typical. Days are growing noticeably shorter. With less sunlight, the ecosystem begins winding down. Food production grinds to a near halt.

Ongoing predation by all species continues to reduce the now-finite food supply. Weeds begin to thin out. Insect hatches dwindle in size and number. Water levels in rivers and feeder creeks may reach annual low points, forcing fish into the deepest holes.

Crappies generally respond to this changing environment by holding tighter to cover and showing less tendency to suspend. Fish a weedline or timberline and you may not spot a single suspended fish on sonar. Pitch a jig to those edges, however, and you just might catch a boatload. Now it becomes necessary to fish them in order to find them, rather than depending on the depthfinder to locate schools.

Once again, crappies begin to concentrate more. Key spots become the edges of prime cover, making them easier to find and catch. Key locations tend to retain crappies for extended periods. A hot bite generally repeats itself for weeks on the same spot during Postsummer, but it all comes to an abrupt halt when the lake “turns over.”