Quinte Fishing

Here in alot of the lakes in NY we have a pretty good population of crappie, and often enjoy catching them, they are a great eating fish thats for sure. even though the water is different the fish are still the same so im sure the tricks to catching them are also the same.
first part. find them....... thats always the hardest part and there pattern change depending on the time of the year, in the early spring they always like to move in shallow my favorit way to catch them then is to move in on the flats an use small stick baits rapalas in blue and silver, or black and silve seem to work the best. remember they have a very soft mouth so no hook set is required. just let them do there thing and take the bait. often times we will catch them in only 1 foot of water in the spring so a light rod with long casting light line works best so you can cover alot of water....... a slow approch is always best keep moving til you pick one up then work that area good where there is one, there is always more. cast and twitch the lure back. let it stop, and float up to the surface , and twitch it back down. I like to keep the bait moving but slow and spuratic.
late spring into early summer the outside edges of the weed beds are always perductive. im always looking for spots where the deep water isnt to far from the edge of the weeds. i really dont think crappie like the real thick cover so they always seem to be just on the outside of it, my go to of choice then is ultralite rod 2 pound test with tube jigs brite days dark colors seem to work good,,,,,,,, the trick there is always watch your line they just love to hit on the drop, and usually will hit comming up so as your jig is dropping if your line does anything funny like slacken or move sideways raise your rod, and real the fight is on,,,,,,, remember . soft mouth dont hoss.
Mid to late summer is the hardest finding them they school. and move in a pack usually working the water with tubs and small spinners way outside the weeds is good. anyplace close to or in deeper water. they seem to like cooler water in the summer months and yer only gonna find that where its deep, or in well shaded areas, like under docks and bridges early morning as the day goes on they will move out deep close to clims and susspend.......
A killer trick an old timmer once showed me was to take a long lead of line with a bobber on it, and once you catch a deep water crappy you attatch it to the line and toss it back in, then you just follow the bobber around and cast around it, the crappy will move back into the school, and the bobber will keep you on the fish , just dont forget to pick up your bobber when your done *LOL*
Another trick used in late summer is live minnows and bobber,,,,,,, again crappie have a very sensitive mouth so the bobber of choice is either a very small light stick type or if you can get them a porccupine quill bobber, and a very small jig head........ trick is watch the bobber, crappie almost always hit comming up. so the bobber wont go down like one would expect, rather it just lays over on its side once the weight of the jig is no longer there......... pick up and reel, never set the hook
Sorry when it comes to fall and late fall fishing, im of no help there, im either catching walleye or hunting deer *LOL* . hope this helps someone.. Grizz