To learn more about fishing for crappie, visit https://johninthewild.com/books/#crappie. For a free copy of “The Crappie Catcher’s Cookbook,” visit https://johninthewild.com/free-books.

On my recent summertime trip to Lake Eufaula in Alabama I had three objectives. I wanted to learn how Robert Outlaw and his wife (See Days 1 & 2) consistently caught catfish all summer long in water 2-5 feet deep. I also wanted to learn how, where and when Tony Adams was catching 4-5 gallon crappie all summer long by day and by night. I also hoped we would catch enough fish for a 4th of July fish fry. My son John and I successfully accomplished all three goals I had.

“What many casual fishermen don’t understand is that fish have to feed all year, whether the weather’s hot or cold, and whether you’re fishing at night or in the daytime,” Tony Adams explains. “Crappie like to hold in water that’s cooler than the surface temperature, in or around underwater structure where they can attack bait fish, and during the summer months they’ll school and hold in the same places most of the summer. Fishing the spots where the water temperature is comfortable for the crappie to hold in, there’s plenty of underwater structure for the crappie to hide and feed in, and we present a bait that crappie will eat – minnows, jigs, spoons or jigs tipped with minnows – then catching summertime crappie doesn’t present that big a problem.

“Something I’ve been working on lately is making sure that I have protected areas to fish for crappie, no matter what the wind and weather are. Because Lake Eufaula is a big lake, and wind and rain can come up quickly, I want to have places all over the lake where I’ve built fish attractors that my customers and I can fish out of the wind. I not only want to be able to fish out of the wind but want to have spots built so that no matter which way the wind is blowing, I know I can go to a place where we can catch crappie and not have to fight the waves. I’m also building spots for night fishing in the summer. A growing number of anglers want to fish for crappie at night, so I must have spots where I know crappie will be holding for those anglers to catch.”

Every year Adams cuts cane, puts that cane in buckets, fills the buckets full of concrete and sinks them in sections of the lake where he knows crappie will hold. He uses some of his buckets to refurbish old spots to make them more productive and other buckets to build new places in protected waters and for night fishing. Once again, Tony Adams is the classic example of the old saying, “The anglers who work the hardest are usually the luckiest.”

You can contact Tony Adams at 334-688-7505 or [email protected]. He also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tony.adams.5477.

While in Eufaula, I always stay at Lakepoint Resort in the Alabama State Park (http://www.alapark.com/lakepoint-state-park), where the rooms have views of the lake, and the food is delicious. Contact the sales director, Sone Kornegay, at 334-687-8011 to learn more. Email [email protected] to learn more about Alabama Black Belt Adventures which cover fishing at Lake Eufaula.