Crappies are an early season favorite for good reason; they’re not that hard to find and they bite when you can find them. They provide a great opportunity for getting the open water season and can be caught from a boat or the bank, and everybody can get in on the fun.
Most of the action surrounds shallow water including black bottom bays and channels where they will show up in masse and the action can be downright intense. These early runs are all about feeding and nothing more, as the actual spawn may be a month or more off. Somewhere between those first early season feeding runs and the actual spawn is a period of time when you can find big schools of the largest fish in a system holed up in specific areas, and when they are quite vulnerable.
Water temperature can be a guide in regards to the actual timing and the hottest action really starts when temps push into the lower sixties. Crappies typically spawn when water temps hold in the mid sixties but that isn’t the only factor to consider. Consistent weather and steady water temps is the key to finding the largest numbers of fish up shallow, and when they’ll be the most active. Severe cold fronts can shut the whole thing down (at least for the sort term) and is something to be aware of.
Finding fish is the key and includes holes or depressions near potential spawning sites. A depression is nothing more than an area that’s just a little deeper than the rest and a place where crappies will stack up just before they make their move to the beds. Heavier stands of hard stemmed bulrushes are where most of the spawning takes place, and are a preferred location as they typically provide the right bottom content and the right amount of cover. With that in mind you can first start looking for potential spawning sites and then try and find a depression in the near vicinity. If the water’s clear enough and calm enough you’ll be able to see the depression (and the fish), otherwise you’ll have to rely on electronics to do your investigating. A likely hot spot would include a two or three foot deeper pocket surrounded by maybe four to eight feet of water. Throw in some green weeds for cover and you may have found a real honey hole. With a good graph like the Humminbird 957c you can draw it all out and see the drop and the weeds, and get an idea of how the area is actually laid out.
The real fun begins when you can start trying to put a few in the boat and there’s a couple of ways to get it done. Slowly trolling with a Minn Kota is preferred, as you can quietly creep along and work light jigs in the pockets and over the tops of the weeds and cover some ground until you find a concentration of active fish. Another option is dropping an anchor as staying put may be your best bet if you’ve found a tight bunch of fish, or it’s too windy to be effective with the electric.
Light line like four pound test green Silver thread along with tiny jigs including Northland Tackle’s Panfish Tubes suspended below a float is a tough combination to beat. A nice soft action ultra-light can add to the fun, like St. Croix’s six foot model AS60ULF spinning rod. The light rod will help keep big slabs from ripping hooks lose from their supper soft mouths. When the fish are really going the plastic is about all you’ll need but it wouldn’t hurt to have some small minnows along for when they get a little fussy.
You can expect to find crappies to be found belly to the bottom to just under the surface, and all can be caught. On calm days with some cloud cover look for fish to rise up to the point that their dorsal fins are actually breaking the surface. When it happens; try casting a light jig just past the school and work it back into them. If you plop a bait right into the middle of the pack you run the risk of spooking the school and spooked fish won’t bite.
Yes crappies are excellent table fare when taken care of properly but as good as they can be; use good judgment and consider releasing some of the largest fish. Too much pressure and too many fish caught and kept can have a detrimental effect on a population. By using some restraint you can preserve what you’ve found and is something you can take advantage of and have fun with for many years to come.
See you on the water.
Ron AnlaufBy: Ron Anlauf
