Spring Crappie Fishing Tips

Spring is the perfect time for thousands of anxious anglers across the U.S. – that can mean only one thing, the beginning of the spring crappie season. If you are like me and the mouth starts to water at the thought of a fish fry with family and friends, then you will definitely want to read on. I have put together a few tips below that should make this Spring crappie season one to remember. If you have any tips or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.


One of the biggest challenges to getting into crappie in the Spring is the weather. The unpredictability of high and low temperatures, combined with some nasty storm systems can wreak havoc on your fishing plans. A great tip that I picked up a few years ago is to work from the outside of your fishery, to the inside. Basically, what this means is that you should have in mind where crappie congregate during the spawn. Hit that area first, and if they aren’t staging there, they are bound to be in their deeper water congregation points nearby. Crappie activity is greatly effected by the weather so knowing where they are during their spawning periods in shallow waters can lead you to where the fish are at other times. If you are familiar with the particular body of water you will be fishing, head to the traditional bedding areas right off. If by chance you are in unfamiliar waters, check with the local bait shop or even with the offices of state fisheries. Another huge asset is the Internet, allowing you to search for bedding areas of crappie at your particular lake.


So…what do you do when you have hit the typically productive beds to no avail? The next step is to work the waters adjacent to spawning areas as there is a good chance that the crappie are gathered there. Crappie travel to staging points and knowing the waters that surround the beds is also crucial to Spring-time crappie success. It is fairly well known that crappie do not travel to point A (deeper waters) to point B (shallows) in one movement overnight. This is done in stages. If you can locate a couple of the areas listed next, you will be well on your way to filling your cooler with some slabs of crappie. If your fishery is a shallower lake with a pronounced bowl in the middle, the fish could very well be hanging our or staging at the edge of the vegetation line. Crappie, like a majority of other fish love cover and can always be found in or around it. If your fishery is like mine (Pomme de Terre Lake) and a reservoir, look for the fish to be staging on any drops or ledges adjacent to their spawning sites. Additionally, look to channel swings as well as they can also hold fish. Most importantly, look for cover, if your sonar / depthfinders sees clutter on the bottom in close proximity to normal spawning areas, it is definitely worth an exploratory jig or two.


Another important tip during the Spring season is to stay flexible and keep moving from unproductive waters. Crappie can be a very challenging quarry due to the way that they stack up on each other, meaning that there is a bigger chance of empty water than there is of finding the fish congregated together. Being able to cover water quickly as you move from one prospect bed to another is very important. Two crucial pieces of equipment that can make or break your Spring crappie season are a trolling motor and a depthfinder. Being able to move from one spot to another efficiently and with as little noise as possible can give you better chances of success. In addition, being able to distinguish between bare lake bottom and ground cover can be a huge benefit.


A lot of crappie anglers are torn between two choices in an age old question; lures or live bait? Crappie can be some of the most finicky fish with regards to not only bait selection, but the color of that bait selection that your choice can make the difference between a so-so day and a two cooler day. Generally speaking, you can base your choice off of water temperature. If the water is warm, jigs and lures should be tried first. When the water is still cold, a live minnow is your best bet for filling your quota. As I said earlier, crappie can be finicky with regards to color. One major factor to take into consideration when choosing what hue to lower down to them is the color of the water. Generally speaking, if the water is turbid / muddy looking, opt for brighter colors like yellow, pink, red and even white. In clear waters, colors like black, green and brown seem to do the best.


Of all of the tips that can be gained from websites, fishing buddies and the like, the most important one that I can offer is to remain flexible. Due to the nature of Spring weather, you are bound to swing and miss every once in awhile. But armed with some background knowledge and proper equipment, you can turn the tide in your favor and should be enjoying that crappie fry in short order.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 at 7:21 am and is filed under Crappie Fishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.