Learn about Fishing for Summertime Crappie in New eBook
John E. Phillips 08.07.12
The air temperature was more than 100 degrees, the sun was beating down, and I was praying that my sunscreen would protect my hide, so at the end of the day, my skin wouldn’t look like a burnt piece of bacon. I couldn’t believe we were fishing 50-yards from the bank on the main river channel of the Alabama River in south/central Alabama in the blazing heat of an August day. “As soon as the current starts running from the hydroelectric plant upstream, we’ll start catching crappie,” my fishing buddy, Phillip Criss of McCalla, Ala., said.
The place we were fishing was an old underwater creek channel that fed out into the main river channel. Along the edge and just below the lip of the break, crappie stacked-up there when the current ran through the river. “Those crappie hold in the cool water of that creek channel, and when the current starts to move, the baitfish also will move right on the edge of that creek channel,” Criss explained. “The crappie holding below the baitfish can come-up to the edge of the creek channel, eat the minnows and other baitfish running the lip of the break and then drop-back down into cool water. Cast your minnows up-current. We’ll set our bobbers to hold them about 2-inches above the bottom. When that minnow washes over the lip of the old creek channel, be ready to set the hook.”
From about 10:00 am to 1:30 pm in intense sun and high temperatures, we caught 1- to 1-1/2-pound crappie on almost-every cast. This crappie-fishing trip was the most-unbelievable I’d ever been on, especially in the Dog Days of summer when most people were sitting in their homes on the weekend drinking iced tea and hugging their air conditioners. “Crappie don’t die when the weather gets hot,” Criss told me. “But they do hold in cooler, deeper water. However, when the current starts running through a river or a lake, it’s bringing cool water from the bottom of the lake upstream and causing the baitfish to become extremely active in shallow water. This baitfish movement makes the crappie come-up from their deep-water haunts and attack the baitfish. Can you believe that with an air temperature of 102 degrees, we’re catching crappie in 4 feet of water?” I answered, “No, I don’t believe it, and I’m watching it happen.” Criss went on to explain that he catches crappie all-summer long when the weather’s extremely hot, and the demand for electricity causes power companies to run water-generating plants that create currents in rivers and lakes.
To learn more ways to catch crappie when the weather sizzles, check-out John E. Phillips’ book “Crappie: How to Catch them Spring and Summer” at http://www.amazon.com/Crappie-Catch-Spring-Summer-ebook/dp/B007IV9A14/. Too, you can go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks and type-in the name of the book to find it. You also can download a free Kindle app that enables you to read the book on your iPad, computer or SmartPhone.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
