Editor’s Note: Depending on where you live in the U.S., the crappie spawn may be occurring or finished now. After the spawn, most crappie fishermen usually shift their attention to other species or seek the comfort of their air-conditioned homes. If they do venture out later to take papermouths, they may fish only after dark when the air and water temperatures are lower, and the slabs can be attracted to light.

Avid angler Charlie Ingram of Eufaula, Alaba   ma, finds that one of the main advantages to fishing the jigging spoon for summer crappies is that the jigging spoon’s weight allows you to fish vertically on top of the cover where you’ve found the crappies. You can work the spoon through tree limbs and bushes that you may not normally get through with other crappie lures. For instance, if crappie are holding out near the top of a tree blown down in the water, the only way those fish will see the bait is when it penetrates through the treetop and drops to the trunk’s bottom side.

Most anglers fear catching crappie in thick cover because they think they won’t be able to get the fish out of the cover. However, this doesn’t happen with Ingram’s spooning-for-crappie technique. “I’ve never had a problem bringing a crappie or a bass up through a treetop on a jigging spoon,” Ingram says. “I take my time and let the fish wear itself down. Then the crappie generally will come right through all the cover.”

Another advantage to fishing the jigging spoon in thick cover during warm and hot  weather, according to Ingram, is that you can also take big bass. “When you’re fishing the jigging spoon in heavy cover along the creek and river channels,” Ingram explains,  “You’ll probably catch everything that swims. I’ve taken saltwater stripers, hybrid striped bass, white bass, bluegills, carp and many catfish. The jigging spoon culls nothing but small fish.” Too, Ingram does not have to change tackle to switch from bass fishing to crappie fishing.

To learn more about crappie fishing, check out John E. Phillips’ book, “Crappie: The Year-Round River Fisherman’s Bible” at https://amzn.to/2mxWIt4, available in Kindle and print and in Audible at https://adbl.co/382m0SR.

Tomorrow: What Equipment and Other Methods Catch Crappie