During late summer, crappies spend increasing amounts of time suspending off main-lake breaks in natural lakes. The portion of the water column they suspend in tends to become gradually deeper as summer draws to a close. If the break is from 15 to 25 feet, crappies tend to hover at 20, below the lip of the break.

When the leaves begin to brighten, the air clears, and the mornings become brisk, change becomes the norm within the aquatic world. But crappies love stability and move until they find it. With autumn comes another period of transition for them, in this case from summer habitat toward and into wintering habitat. In many cases, especially in small lakes and ponds, this “transition” means nothing more than crappies eventually moving deeper and suspending closer to bottom, very near the areas they occupy all summer. In larger mesotrophic and oligotrophic lakes, the fall transition can entail actual migrations over considerable distances.

As the water cools, crappie metabolism slows, yet nature encourages fish to feed quite aggressively to build energy reserves for approaching winter. The stress of extreme cold takes a toll on crappies. The fact that their natural range ends in the southern extremes of Canada suggests how much cold water crappies are willing to put up with. Studies reveal that, when caught in water reading 35°F or less, they begin to lose fine-motor control, making it difficult for them to remain upright and swim straight.

Summer patterns tend to remain in place until the onset of turnover, though crappies may increasingly concentrate on weedlines, deep weedflats, rockpiles, and larger structural elements during late summer into early fall. Turnover represents a major change in the crappie’s world. When surface temperatures descend to about 60°F, the difference in density between the upper layer of the water column (epilimnion) and the top of the thermocline begins to disintegrate.

A big wind can churn the water at that point and begin the mixing process called “turnover” that eventually drives oxygenated water into the deepest portions of the lake. This period of circular, vertical currents, punctuated by odd smells and the sight of bottom detritus floating on the surface, lasts about 5 days. It can be a poor time to go fishing. The key to location at this point is to find a different type of lake—a deeper, larger one still weeks away from turnover, or a shallower lake that has already turned over and stabilized.