Cloudy & Overcast: Is Crappie Fishing Good? (+7 Best Tips)
Many anglers get presented with cloudy and overcast conditions while on the water, but the truth is that these can be some of the very best times to catch crappie. There are many reasons for this which will be explained later on in this article, but you better be on the water if the sun goes behind the clouds.
Is crappie fishing good on cloudy & overcast days? Crappie fishing can be excellent on days when the conditions are cloudy or overcast because the reduced sunlight and cooler temperatures will encourage crappie to leave shady cover and hunt for prey.
Crappie have good reduced light vision and become more aggressive under these conditions making for better fishing overall. There are some situations where cloudy conditions are bad for fishing which we will discuss in detail later in this article.
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Crappie Fishing on Cloudy or Overcast Days
Is Crappie Fishing Good on Cloudy Days?
Crappie fishing can be excellent on cloudy days because the reduced sunlight overhead really cools off the water which will naturally make fish like crappie more comfortable.
You have to remember that during the dead of summer, crappie will hold very tight to shady cover like docks and timber to get relief from the sun.
But when the sunlight is reduced, crappie can comfortably venture away from cover and go hunt. Instead of only being active near sunrise and sunset when the water is cooler, they can actively feed all day long. Cloudy conditions also makes the available light penetrating the water go down.
Crappie actually have pretty good reduced light vision enabling them to see well under these conditions. These low-light conditions lets crappie move in close to prey items that can’t see as well. Overall, cloudy conditions should make crappie fishing better under normal circumstances.
Best Time of Day: Cloudy Days
Generally speaking, the best time of day to catch crappie during warmer months is early morning and late afternoon as this is when the water is coolest and the light is reduced. Nighttime crappie fishing can be excellent too especially when fishing with the aid of underwater fishing lights.
When conditions are cloudy, I recommend fishing in these golden windows because they will still be the best but you can catch crappie all day as well.
Contrast this to when fishing under bluebird skies, crappie won’t leave shade and need to be convinced to bite your minnow even if you put it right in front of them.
Now during colder months, crappie will tend to gravitate more towards warmer periods of the day. When conditions are cloudy during winter, this can actually slow crappie fishing down a lot.
Crappie will still bite but you’ll find them to be a lot more docile than if it was sunny out because they will be colder.
To learn when the best time of day to catch crappie is depending on weather condition and season, please check out this helpful article I wrote. You will also want to know how to catch crappie in the middle of the day which this awesome article will teach you.
Crappie Fishing: Overcast Days
Just like with cloudy conditions, overcast conditions can be excellent for crappie fishing. Overcast conditions will reduce the available sunlight hitting the water’s surface, though not as significantly as cloudy conditions will.
You will find that under cloudy conditions, you’ll have a lot more noticeable cloud shadows whereas with overcast days, you’ll just have reduced light.
These overcast conditions will make the water cooler and increase crappie activity throughout the day. Crappie won’t be as reliant upon defined shady cover. They will also be able to sneak up on prey that otherwise would be able to see them coming.
5 Best Lures for Overcast/Cloudy Conditions
1. Soft Swimbait: I love fishing with soft swimbaits for crappie and bass. My go-to swimbait for crappie is the 2.8 Keitech hooked onto a small swimbait head like a Guppy Head. My favorite colors for cloudy weather are blue and chartreuse as well as Sexy Shad.
2. Berkley Gulp! Minnows: I have become a strong believer in these artificial minnow baits. They look, feel, and even kind of smell like dead minnows.
If you attach them to the back of a swimbait jighead and work them beneath a bobber rig, you will catch fish. I love these little baits and you can get them for cheap. Emerald shiner, minnow, and shad are my favorite colors but chartreuse is a great color too.
3. Tube Jig: Tube jigs mimic small crayfish as well as baitfish like sculpin, shad, suckers, and gobies which are baits crappie love. The best color tube jig for clouds is maroon as well as black. Watermelon is a great color too that will catch fish.
4. Curly-Tail Jig: I love fishing for crappie with a curly-tail grub when it is bluebird skies but they can also shine under overcast conditions too. My favorite colors for these conditions is dark green, chartreuse, white, and black.
5. Marabou Jig: This is simply a crappie producing lure. I really like fishing with two-toned colors. I like a dark head and bright body. Go for a black or navy blue head with a yellow, pink, white, or chartreuse body on these days. You will catch some fish.
7 Tips for Catching Crappie on Cloudy & Overcast Days
1. Try Fishing Quick
Start out fishing with moving baits like small crankbaits, swimbaits, and jigs. Pay attention to how crappie respond to these moving baits.
2. Slow Down if Crappie Don’t Like Fast
After you have tried moving baits, go to slower baits if the fast approach failed. Crappie will tell you how they want to fished for by their actions. If you move to a slower approach and start getting bites, that is the approach they want.
3. Use Solid Colors for Cloudy Conditions
Solid colors stand out really well in cloudy conditions. Contrast that to sunny conditions where translucent or “ghost” minnow colors work best.
Look at any fish underwater on cloudy days and you’ll see they are more solid in color than they are under sunny skies. Match your lures to these patterns to catch more crappie. I like using blacks, whites, pinks, and greens for crappie on these days.
4. Fish Near, Not Under Shady Cover
Crappie will still remain near cover but they will likely be adjacent to the cover. I like to cast my baits near cover and draw it back away from the shade. This is where crappie are likely to be patrolling for food.
5. Decide Comfort-Level Clouds Make You Feel
I will cover this is greater detail later on but just decide if the overcast conditions make you more or less comfortable. Is it a hot day and the reduce sun makes it feel cooler?
Or is it a cold day and the clouds make it even colder. If it changes the comfort level for you positively, then it should be better for crappie fishing. If it has a negative impact, the fishing will be tougher.
6. Locate Shad
Where shad go, crappie follow. This is also true of walleye, bass, catfish, and stripers. If you can locate schools of shad on cloudy days, you will find crappie in pursuit. Remember though that these shad need to be smaller in size.
Crappie are not going to attack shad that are 5 inches long. But they will gorge on hearty little shad measuring 3 inches long. If you see big shad, forget about crappie and start fishing for bugger fish like bass and walleye.
7. Live Bait as Last Resort
I love using live bait to fish for crappie, but under these conditions, I have found that lures outperform live bait.
I don’t exactly know why that is but crappie are more willing to chase down moving baits rather than slowly consume live bait. Now if you find crappie are not biting your lures, then switch to live bait. But start off fishing with lures first.
Crappie Fishing & Rain
I always recommend viewing fishing around rain in three phases: before, during, and after rain. This is very true with crappie as well. Before rain, you will find crappie moving about and feeding more aggressively. This results in great fishing often.
Once rain arrives, fishing could still remain pretty good and you will still get some bites unless the air temperature significantly drops during the rain event. After the rain ends, I have found that fishing really slows down.
Water sediments are stirred up reducing visibility and crappie will not want to venture from the safety of cover. You can catch these crappie after rain but you will need to fish a little slower and live bait can be the winning ticket.
Cloudy Days: Summer vs. Winter
To answer this question, simply put yourself into the skin and fins of a crappie. Second only to food, crappie value comfort most.
Crappie will seek out comfortable conditions not only for their own comfort, but that is where prey like minnows and insects will be as well. So you need to decide for yourself if the cloud cover makes conditions for you as the angler more or less comfortable.
If it is hot out and that reduction in sunlight makes it a lot more comfortable for you outside the water, then you can bet crappie will be more comfortable as well under the water.
This would make for ideal conditions for good crappie fishing. If you are comfortable, you can bet crappie are comfortable as well.
However, if fishing in the winter and overcast conditions suddenly make the weather less comfortable for you, crappie will likely be a lot more docile and less willing to bite.
In winter, cloud cover is not great for crappie fishing but during the summer, it is usually very good. These are my observations and backed up by a ton of information I’ve gathered from other crappie anglers.
Ice Fishing for Crappie
Crappie are great to catch through the ice but I have found that cloudy conditions seem to slow down the bite in winter. This is simply my personal observation but I have seen the bite turn off once clouds rolled in on numerous occasions. I find that crappie bite best under the ice when it is sunny out. Cloud cover could really dampen the fishing.
Is Bank Fishing Good for Crappie Under Clouds?
Yes, crappie fishing from shore can be really good under these conditions. A lot of time crappie will hide under docks and shaded cover near shore on sunny days, but emerge from the shade and move into the open under cloud cover. Logically, you would think this would be bad for crappie fishing from shore because crappie can now move further from the bank.
But from my experience, bank fishing can be awesome now. Crappie may move out into the open and be more willing to chase your baits. They should still remain within casting range from bank fishermen and be even more willing to grab your minnow or lure. For a complete guide to catching crappie from shore, check out this awesome article.
Fast vs. Slow Fishing Approaches
I have found that crappie really tend to be more aggressively and active under cloud cover. I think whether you fish slow or fast really should depend on the season and the conditions surrounding you. If you are fishing in summer, crappie will usually speed up under cloudy conditions and be more active.
This means you can fish quicker and crappie will be more likely to chase your baits. If you are fishing in winter, crappie will be naturally docile. You will probably find crappie are even more docile under overcast days in winter since the water will be colder. Also pay close attention to how crappie are reacting to your approach.
If crappie are completely ignoring a fast retrieve, then you need to slow way down and even go finesse. Live bait is a great option if crappie are docile. Crappie will tell you how to catch them if you pay attention to what they tell you.
Night Fishing for Crappie on Cloudy Days
When it comes to night fishing for fish like crappie that are vision-based hunters, I prefer to fish under clear skies with a full moon. Moonlight doesn’t penetrate water very well so in order for crappie to see, they need all the help they can get at night.
This is not science, merely my objective opinion on what I have experienced and read from other fishermen. I find that cloud cover at night makes it harder for crappie to see and less likely to feed. You can catch some crappie especially if you are fishing over underwater lights, but under normal circumstances, I feel cloudy nights will be bad for fishing.
Finals Thoughts
At the end of the day, you can catch crappie under almost any conditions and weather pattern. That said, cloudy and overcast conditions oftentimes can greatly increase your odds and help land more fish.
Crappie value comfort as much as we do and as much as any other species of animal does. When they are comfortable, they will be more aggressive feeding. When it is hot out consistently, a break in the weather in the form of thick cloudy cover will really turn on those fish and put them in a feeding mood. Under most situations, cloudy conditions make fishing better for slab crappie. Check out this article for a complete breakdown of the best weather for crappie fishing.
