To Find Pre-Spawn Crappie, Keep Looking for the Signs

By Phil Potter

What’s the best way to find pre-spawn crappie? Some anglers swear there are visible signs to indicate “it’s time to get amongst them.”

Southern crappie catchers say when dogwood blossoms are the size of a mouse’s ear, crappie start biting.

Midwestern crappie anglers swear that when dogwoods start opening, the bite starts.

Northern fishermen say when dogwoods are in full bloom and waterlily stems start greening, the bite is on.

Actually, when water temperatures are in the mid-50s to mid-60s in various latitudes those visible signs usually occur.

Some anglers confuse the surface temperature with the true water temperature. Usually the first foot and a half of surface water is several degrees warmer than the water column below. However, on warm, overcast days, savvy crappie anglers fish the upper water column on any lake and study surface temperatures for good reason.

Crappie will move up during late winter and early spring days to warm themselves in surface water. Usually shorelines, especially those with timber standing in the water, have the warmest surface temperatures.

Anglers probing shorelines usually set one rod’s bobber at three to four feet deep and fish a pair of other rods whose bobbers are set 24 to 14 inches deep. Some anglers merely hang a curly tail jig under a bobber and let wind drift do the work. Others who use minnows let both the bait and the wind do the jigging for them.

These are southern techniques that were refined by Tennessee’s Reelfoot Lake anglers over a 100-year period.

During the coldest months, Reelfoot crappie seekers start deep and work into the shallows. They start by wind drifting the depths with double-drop rigs but switch to shallow rigs in seven-foot depths, fishing them clear to the shorelines.

Reelfoot anglers usually turn their boat sideways with the wind and either use a 12-foot logging chain attached to an anchor rope or employ a mid-ship-mounted trolling motor to slow forward speed.

They cast their baits with the wind ahead of the boat and make a series of long drifts. When they find fish, they either mark them with a Global Positioning System or toss out a visible buoy.

Savvy anglers know the sight of bright-colored buoys signals others they’ve found fish. Old timers use crossed sticks or tiny black cork markers to mask their hot spots.

In recent years, Reelfoot has stopped commercial crappie netting, installed a 25 fish personal daily creel limit and mandated a 10- inch minimum keeper length. As a result, the hottest crappie angling ever seen at Reelfoot in the last 75 years is now happening.

Bluebank Resort offers fishing packages with lodging, boat, motor, ice and bait. To book a Reelfoot Lake trip there, call 877- 258-3026 or click on to www.bluebankresort.com.

e The Ohio Valley Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will host its fundraising dinner and auction 5:30 p.m March 31 at the Tell City American Legion Post. Dinner is $10 for adults and $5 for kids aged 16 and under. Call J. Johnson at 812- 547-3906 for tickets or details.

(c) 2007 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.