To catch crappies, timing is critical. Dawn and dusk are key times to intercept active crappies in the most predictable locations. To predict movements and intercept crappies along a weedline, find irregularities.

Area A is an inside turn (cup) in the weedline where two different weed types (cabbage and coontail) meet. If crappies happen to appear on this spot early (as shown), most will be suspended somewhere between the surface and 6 feet down. If a hatch is occurring (particularly a mayfly hatch), crappies might be feeding on top, right over the weeds. If crappies are here late in the morning or early in the evening, they might relate differently, holding tighter to or inside the edge, or suspending adjacent to the weedline.

Crappies tend to move along a weedline as morning progresses, holding near breaks in the weedwall like Area B, where hard bottom (in this case a finger of gravel) interrupts the weedline. Some fish penetrate the weededge and find pockets, such as Area C, where the edge triples in size over a small area—hiding more minnows, nymphs, and zooplankton than do straight sections of the weedline. On cloudy days, other crappies at this point might suspend over the weeds or just outside the weededge.

Area D is a weedwall. By this time (7 a.m. to 8 a.m.), shallow crappies might be hugging the outside edge for shade on bright or calm days. Most continue to suspend about halfway between top and bottom, and fewer fish penetrate into the wall here, where weeds are too thick to afford easy movement for foraging. Crappies scatter along weedwalls, so it pays to probe the edge while moving slowly along.

As the sun climbs in the sky, some fish tend to move slowly away from the weedline (Position E), suspending slightly deeper. Activity levels are declining, but crappies are still catchable while slightly scattered or moving in a loosely associated manner. By noon, they have regrouped, suspending over deeper water (Area F). These fish are tougher to catch.