Early Spring Crappie Fishing
by G. Wayne Byrd
One of the most fulfilling activities for many people is spring
crappie fishing. This is
the time of year that my
son has a huge interest
in going fishing with
Dad. Cabin fever has
been prevalent for
several months and as
the ice lifts off the
local waters
and temperatures start
to rise, the
ever-so-active crappie
nears spawning time. As
spring draws near
crappie move toward
their spawning areas. If
you are a fisherman who
enjoys crappie fishing
and has chased them
before, you know that
springtime offers up the
hottest crappie fishing
of the year.
Most
anglers enjoy spring
crappie because they
tend to migrate to
shallower water and this
alone cuts down on your
search time. Instead of
holding on hidden cover,
crappie will tend to
move to shallow treetops
and stump fields, riprap
banks and docks, many of
which are visible, often
in the backs of creeks
or coves and usually
fairly close to a lake's
banks. Besides the fact
that they are shallow,
spring crappie tend to
stack up, so where you
hook into one big fish,
the chances are
extremely good that you
are going to catch a
bunch of them. Overall,
finding crappie and
catching a big bag of
slabs are at their best
this time of year.
One thing you need to
remember. You must
present what the crappie
wants to eat. Don't be
fooled into thinking
that catching springtime
crappie is like pulling
fish from a bucket. The
shallower flats and
shoreline areas of most
lakes still constitute a
lot of water. Even if
you find the right bank
to work, it is necessary
to observe the
surrounding environment
and make the most
educated pattern
presentation possible.
Crappie are still a bit
lethargic this time of
year, so your bait must
be presented at the
proper depth and as
close to the fish as
possible, since they are
not in the mood to go
chasing anything around
as of yet.
The spring
migration to the
spawning areas is
gradual and the crappie
will tend to migrate
gradually into the
shallows and back out
over the course of a few
months. The exact timing
of their moves varies
from lake to lake and
even from year to year
within the same lake,
depending on winter and
spring weather
conditions. In other
words, if we have an
early spring with nice
warm days in March, you
can expect to catch
crappie in the
conditions described
above. Crappie will
begin moving from their
deep main lake winter
holding areas sometime
very early in the
spring. They use
structures like channel
ledges, humps and long
points as staging areas,
keying on any brush or
stumps. Bass tend to
have the same behavior
during the pre-spawn
period when they are
starting to line up
around cover that is
usually adjacent to
their spawning areas.
They gradually move
shallower and shallower
and typically work
toward the backs of
creeks, coves and narrow
lake arms.
Throughout
this migration pattern,
both to and from their
spawning grounds,
crappie will move extra
shallow with a string of
sunny days and move
deeper with each late
season cold front.
Regardless of water
depth they almost always
find rocks, brush or
some kind of cover to
hold around. That cover
provides protection, and
it attracts the minnows
which a crappie likes to
eat. Usually you need to
have a few nice warm
days strung together for
the shallow water action
to fully take place, but
the air temperature does
not have to actually
warm up as much as you
might think. As long as
the sun shines brightly
it will warm shallow
areas, especially those
that are surrounded by
riprap or natural rocks.
Water that is slightly
stained and filled with
wood and rocks to soak
up the suns rays will
heat up much quicker.
When those first warm
days occur, the crappie
will still be holding on
fairly deep structure
and they will not move
far just to feed. At
this point, if the water
temperature continues to
increase, they will
start chasing down their
food within a few more
weeks.
 Typically,
shallow hotspots that
lie quite close to deep
water will draw fish.
Bridges or structures
that run across major
channels and the shallow
ends of long points
provide easy travel
routes for the crappie
from the depths to good
shallow cover. Because
areas that offer the
necessary range of
depth, along with good
cover, and the required
quality for the water to
warm slightly are
obviously limited in
numbers, those spots can
be golden in early
spring. At this time
crappie tend to feed
more on minnows than on
jigs and they won't
chase anything. Most of
the best spots during
this part of the season
are limited in number
and size, so the
majority of the
searching will be
through different
depths. A basic cork
rig, with a float, split
shot, No. 4 or 6 hook
and live minnow, is
tough to beat. Just flip
the bait out and let it
settle, and then
experiment with
different depths until
you start getting bites.
If you purchase a second
rod stamp, you might
want to try two poles at
the same time at various
depths. This method will
tend to cut your search
time down a bit.
As spring progresses and
temperatures continue to
warm, crappie will move
to the tops of ledges
and begin pushing into
the creeks. They move
shallow to feed more
frequently, and the
shallow areas they use
on the warm spring days
become much more
widespread. Finding at
least a few fish becomes
somewhat less of a
challenge, but they
often aren't quite as
concentrated as those
first wonderful days of
spring. The best cover
is still fairly close to
deep water. Flats that
are dissected by major
channels and banks near
the mouths of creeks
will always hold a lot
of crappie, especially
on warm days when the
fish have just begun
their migration toward
the spawning grounds.
Warmer weather and
sunrise are still the
keys to finding crappie
in the shallows, but
such days are quickly
becoming the norm
instead of the
exception.
Floats or
bobbers still come into
play for finding crappie
at this time of the
year, but some of the
best angling approaches
are a little more
active. The fish can be
spread out, calling for
searching type tactics.
By now the water will
have warmed enough so
that the fish will chase
a minnow or jig, as long
as it is not moving too
quickly. When I speak of
a jig, I am talking
about small 1 ½ to 2"
plastic tube or small
plastic curly tail on a
jighead that is
weighted. A float offers
two major advantages at
this time of year,
whether you are fishing
with jigs or minnows. It
allows you to control
and track depths, making
it easy to identify the
productive zone and keep
baits in it, and allows
you to move the lure or
bait slowly, even
stopping it along the
way, which can be
essential for getting
crappie to strike early
in the year. When the
crappie are spread
across shallow flats and
could be holding on any
of hundreds of stumps or
brushpiles, provided you
have a water vessel of
some type, trolling
comes into play.
For
shallow flats, corks
remain part of the
equation, and setting
different lines at
different depths will
again help identify
patterns much more
quickly. Keep a marker
buoy handy any time you
troll and toss it out
any time you get more
than one strike in a
small area. If you find
a real hotspot don't
anchor right over it
especially if the water
is shallow. Try to
anchor a good cast away
from the area so the
fish won't feel invaded
or spooked.
As spring
warms even more, crappie
will move farther up the
creeks. Now is when they
will spend most of their
time close to the banks
or on cover along
shallow flats. This
would be a great time to
try a lure like the Bill
Lewis Rat-L-Trap in the
1/4oz and 1/8oz sizes.
Because all fish don't
move at the same time,
crappie will be
widespread by
mid-spring. The creeks
will hold the most fish,
by far, with
concentrations well up
them, but some crappie
will show up around any
shoreline tree, dock or
riprap.
Eventually the crappie
will spawn and then they
will start to move back
toward deeper water. The
journey out is gradual
and some of the early
season's patterns and
hotspots will turn on
once again as spring
gives way to summer.
Fish are much more
aggressive throughout
late spring as their
body temperatures have
risen. They are much
more willing to take a
bait as it is moving,
and they will typically
grab a jig as readily as
a minnow or small
baitfish imitation.
Throughout the crappie
run a few things will
help you catch more
fish. First, the best
spring spots are much
more distinguishable on
a map than on the water.
If you can find a good
topographical map, spend
time studying it before
your first trip and
identify some
potentially good areas
to hit as spring
progresses. Next, pay
attention to the water
color, as crappie will
hold much shallower when
the water is stained
than when the water is
clear. Also as I have
mentioned in previous
articles, stained water
warms faster than clear
water.
Finally,
crappies of the same
size tend to hang out
together. If the fish
that keep taking your
baits are smaller than
the legal limit size,
move on. If you catch a
nice large crappie, pay
close attention to the
conditions and work this
pattern over and over
again. This should
produce great results.
Springtime, with its
constantly changing
temperatures, brings the
best opportunity for
most fishermen to catch
a limit of slab crappie.
Using these patterns
will hopefully help you
catch your limit. One
important item to
remember is that a
crappie's mouth is paper
thin and a hard hookset
 could severely damage
the fish, and disturb
their eating habits, if
you are practicing catch
and release. Have fun
guys and gals and I
truly hope you catch a
bunch of crappies this
season!
About
the Author
Wayne is a professional bass tournament fisherman, who is also a major
contributor to Fishin' Secrets with Eric Allee and Friends
http://www.fishinsecrets.com |
