How to fish for crappie
When the water starts to warm, normally about the month of April, into the high 30 degree range in the north right after ice out, crappies will move from deep water to staging areas. In the south , crappies move from deep water to coves and the back ends of creek arms as the water warms into the low 40 degree range., usually sometime between late February and the end of March. It is very important that you understand the trend of these migrations if you intend to learn how to fish for crappie.
In large lakes and reservoirs across the country, it is typical for crappies to stage and suspend over depths of 20 to 40 feet, somewhere beyond the first drop off leading into shallow zones they later use to forage and spawn. If you can locate these staging areas and can identify their suspended depth you can learn how to fish for crappie. In reservoir, this typically takes place in creek arms. Look into areas near the mouth of shallow coves and bays or shorelines that have reeds or wood cover in lakes. In small lakes or ponds, it is not uncommon for such staging to take place over the center of the deepest hole on the lake. If you want to learn how to fish for crappie, head to these areas.
During warm, stable weather and particularly on sunny days, crappies are drawn into the shallows to feed in dark muck bottom bays, old reed beds, around brush piles, and fallen trees, or in the best habitat they can find. Finding these fish in the early spring makes it easy to learn how to fish for crappie. Another good place to learn how to fish for crappie is in lake channels, boat canals, boat harbors and backwater areas. This time of year it is very important that you understand you must find shallow wind protected areas because they warm much quicker then the main water areas of any water impoundments you plan to fish. These spots draw bait fish early. When the fish move to shallow water in the early spring it is because the crappie are extremely hungry and need to replenish themselves from the long winter season. Early moves to water less than 10ft deep are tied to foraging and have little to do with the pre spawn activities, and crappies are hungry in the spring and this is is a excelent time to learn how to fish for crappie, and the first order of business is to compensate for the energy deficit brought on by simply surviving the extremes of winter. Most crappies probably will not spawn in these areas but some will.
Lakes and reservoirs with lots of shallow protected habitat promote these shallow feeding binges. The best shallow areas will be under 10ft in depth, protected from the wind and will have one way in and one way out. The reason open shallow areas are not the best feeding areas in early spring is because the wind creates currents that push the warm water to the main lake.. fish may concentrate here but probably will not be feeding. If a lake or reservoir does not have protected shallow areas the migration in early spring may be delayed a few weeks. Crappies in early spring will stage and suspend just outside protected shallow areas in 15 to 40 ft of water and go into feed when the sun warms them during the day, and you can check out how to fish for crappie during these periods.
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