Question: Darrell, what will the fishing conditions be like during September and October on Weiss Lake?

Baker: Although the rest of the country considers September a fall month, in much of the south, September is still one of the hot summer months. So, the fishing will be slow this month, until the weather cools down. The crappie I’ll be catching in September will be out on the river-channel ledges, holding from 18- to 22-feet deep. Some of the crappie will be suspended above the brush, while some will be holding inside the brush. With the water temperatures still high this month, the crappie will be finicky and not willing to chase baits. To catch these crappie, I’ll fish slowly with minnows and trying to put the minnow right in front of the crappie’s face. I’ll hold the bait extremely still, and if I do move the minnow, I’ll shake my rod tip and not move the minnow more than 1 to 2 inches at a time. One of the big mistakes many crappie fishermen who fish this month make is moving their minnows 1 or 2 feet at a time. But that won’t elicit nearly as many strikes as moving the minnow more slowly and only coming up 1 to 2 inches at a time.

Question: What size minnows do you use at this time of year?

Baker: I prefer 2-inch minnows in September, but in October, I’ll use a combination of sizes, from 1-1/2- to 2-1/2-inch minnows. I’ve found that while the crappie may be aggressive on some days in October, they may still prefer smaller minnows. I’ll carry both sizes this month, so that regardless of the size the crappie want on the day I’m fishing, I’ll have it.

Question: Will you be trolling at this time of year?

Baker: No, I’ll be tight-lining minnows straight-down into the brush piles and the stump rows along the main river channel. As we move into October, the cooler the weather and the water temperatures become, the more aggressive the crappie will be. At this time of year, I’ll catch the crappie out on the channel ledges, bumping the bottom with minnows in water depths of 8 to 16 feet. But the crappie still will be structure-related, holding in brush piles, stump rows and stake beds, as well as holding close to deep water.

Question: If you’re taking out clients crappie fishing during September, how many crappie do you expect to catch, and what size will they be?

Baker: Remember that here on Weiss Lake a keeper crappie has to be 10 inches. So, we’ll be targeting 10- to 12-inch crappie. If we catch 20 keepers in one day this month, we’ve had a really-good day of crappie fishing. But as the water cools, and we move into October, we oftentimes can catch 20 to 60 keepers per day for two people with 60 crappie being the limit for two anglers. As we move into October, I’ll catch crappie using several techniques. I’ll catch them bottom-bumping (fishing straight-down) and spider-rigging (slow-trolling). In October, I also catch crappie shooting docks. I’ll catch the most and the biggest crappie on docks close to deep water. If I can locate docks around the river channel with 5 to 10 feet of water at the front of the dock, often I’ll find good schools of crappie and can catch them by shooting jigs under the docks. During the fall, probably 50 percent of my customers want to shoot docks for crappie, and 50 percent want to channel-ledge fish for them.

When I’m shooting docks, I’ll use B’n’M SharpShooter rods, and when I’m tight-lining, I prefer the 10-foot B’n’M Buck’s Jig Pole. I like the 10-foot pole, because it lets me get the minnow well away from the boat, it’s more limber than the other poles, and it has a more-sensitive tip. This B’n’M pole allows me to feel the bait better when it’s down at 18 to 22 feet. During September, the crappie are lethargic and sluggish, so when you get a bite, it will be very slight. Therefore, you need a super-sensitive tip to be able to see the bite on the pole. I don’t use floats. Rather, I’ll use the B’n’M poles as my strike indicators, because with these poles, I can see the bites more quickly and easily than I can with a float. I use a minnow rig with a 1/2-ounce weight tied to the bottom of the line, and up about 12 to 18 inches above my sinker, I tie-on a No. 2 Eagle Claw snelled hook. The snelled hook holds the minnow out from the main line better than a hook that isn’t snelled, which gives the minnow more action.

To fish with Darrell Baker, visit www.weisslakecrappieguides.com, or call him at 256-927-2232 or 256-557-0129, or email him at darrell@weisslakecrappieguides.com.