The most-commonly recommended techniques for catching mobile crappie in August are all trolling tactics — power trolling, tight-lining double minnow rigs and trolling crankbaits.
“I love to start at the main points that stick out around the mouths of Bean Creek and Wallace Creek on Enid,” said Marigold\’s David Nasser, who prefers power trolling over the other two methods. “Most of the flatline crankbait trollers know to troll the points, but they don\’t troll far enough off the points.
“My best spots have deep water in the 24- to 28-foot range. I usually won\’t put the baits out until I get to at least 22 feet, and then I\’m going to run right down the middle of the main creek channels.”
John Harrison is a full-time guide who spends much of the late summer searching for suspended fish on Enid. By August, he\’s picked up on the daily patterns of the crappie, and goes straight to the fish on Enid each day and camps out on them using a two-way minnow rig.
“I usually find those suspended fish in about 10 to 12 feet of water out over 25 to 30 feet of water,” Harrison said, “especially down at the dam when it\’s hot.
“Those fish will be hanging right out from the rocks in front of the dam.”
Late in the summer, the best crankbait trolling runs will intercept crappie over flats in 12 to 30 feet of water near the main lake basin. As water temperatures reach their highest peaks, look for white crappie to suspend just above the thermocline, gradually working their way down major reservoirs.
“On Sardis Lake, put in at the Lespedeza boat ramp and fish from Lespedeza Point back to Clear Creek; then work your way back to the dam,” said veteran crankbaiter Les Smith of Senatobia. “Target shelves and medium to deep channel drops in the 20- to 35-foot depths.
“At Enid, put in at Water Valley Landing on the south side of the lake and troll along the mouth of Long Branch then out to the main channel\’ then turn and work your way to the dam,” he said.
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