Springtime Crappie
Finding Prespawn Crappie
Editor’s
Note: You can catch some nice-sized crappie in the prespawn,
if you know where to look for them.
Locate Waterfowl De-Watering Areas - On water systems
with de-watering areas for waterfowl, in March, and
even later in the North throughout April, the water
from these duck ponds will drain back into the river
or lake. Warmer than the main body of water and often
loaded with nutrients that draw baitfish, this water
attracts large numbers of fat, prespawn crappie. Fish
the areas where this water re-enters the main river
or lake. Look for shallow bays, beaver ponds or big
shallow sloughs cut off from the main river. During
the prespawn, crappie move into these places first searching
for the correct water temperature to spawn. You'll find
the most crappie in shallow, warm-water bays just before
the spawn.
Sight-Fish for Prespawn Crappie - Before crappie begin
the spawn, you'll locate them wherever you find large
schools of shad. If you live on a lake or a river where
you can see seagulls diving on shad, you'll have pinpointed
a productive
place to catch prespawn crappie. Crappie below the school
will force the shad to the surface where the birds will
attack them. Fishing jigs or minnows under diving birds
will allow you to locate and catch plenty of crappie.
On a warm day, you can spot the schools of shad on the
surface, even if you don't see a bird diving on them.
And often, crappie will come from their deep-water haunts
to feed on those surface shad.
Use Bass Fishermen as Birddogs – Sometimes bass
fishermen build brush shelters at the mouths of creeks
on points. During the prespawn, crappie often will hold
on these brush shelters on points that lead into creeks
where they'll spawn. When you hear bass fishermen reporting
strikes on points with no success, more than likely
they've had crappie instead of bass attack their baits.
In the prespawn, look for crappie on brush piles in
10 to 20 feet of water on major points leading into
creeks.
Find Crappie in the Mouths - Before the crappie move
up into the creeks to spawn, they may suspend in large
schools in the mouths of creeks and in open water 50
to 200 yards from the mouths of creeks.
To catch these crappie, either troll or cast jigs through
the schools. Once you start to catch crappie, drop a
buoy to pinpoint the school, and cast to it. When the
crappie quit biting, use your depth finder to relocate
the schools, and change the color of your jig to continue
to catch crappie from that same school.
Troll the Ledges - During the prespawn, crappie frequently
hold on underwater creek ledges close to the spawning
grounds. By using your trolling motor to move very slowly
along the edge of a creek channel, you may catch large
numbers of big crappie when you troll jigs.
Locate Ditch Crappie - You'll also find crappie during
the prespawn in little ditches only a foot or two deep
coming off creek channels and leading into spawning
areas. Crappie will move into these ditches and hold
there waiting on the right water temperature to spawn.
Fish for Dock Crappie - Lake residents may show you
where to find productive brush piles that hold crappie
in the prespawn. If you notice a dock that either has
poles on it or pole holders on the front, there's a
very-good chance you'll find a hot, prespawn crappie
spot in front of that dock. Most lakeside residents
will build brush shelters about a pole's length from
the ends of their docks in 8 to 15 feet of water. These
brush shelters will hold crappie throughout the prespawn.
For more information about how to fish crappie, go
to http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/fishing/fishing.htm
and learn about John E. Phillips’ book, “The
Masters’ Secrets of Crappie Fishing.”
Tomorrow: Hunting Crappie
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