Spring Crappie Fishing

"Got one!" My fishing partner softly set the hook and pulled in the day's first fish, a ten inch crappie. A beautiful, warm spring day prompted an evening of crappie fishing on our favorite lake. It was just what we needed to spur recovery from the off-season inactivity here in Minnesota.

The scene above is repeated over and over again every spring on Central Minnesota's lakes. Crappies are a fine, sporting fish that often provide fast action in the spring when the season is closed on the high profile species - walleyes and bass. Instead of longing for the opener, get out and chase the crappies!

Spring crappie fishing starts in dark bottom bays and protected canals where the water is warmest shortly after ice out. If crappie fishing is not an annual event for you, ask the local bait shop where the crappies are biting. They can usually get you started in a good location. Since crappies are in quite predictable locations at this time of year, a map of a good crappie lake can put you on fish in short order. Look for protected bays. If the bay has a dark bottom with reeds or cattails you are in a good starting location.

Now, let's find the crappies. They will generally be in shallow water less than ten feet deep. It the water is cold, less than 50 degrees, a good way to start is a with a small minnow on a float rig with a small jig to anchor the minnow and prevent it from moving too much. Cast into the shallows and slowly retrieve the bait with long pauses. Keep moving until you find them. When you get that first one, almost certainly more will be nearby.

Once the water temperature moves into the mid-fifties, these fish get much more aggressive. An un-tipped jig or a jig with a small plastic tail will often be more productive than live bait. This is the peak time of the year to catch numbers of crappies and it's a good time to consider releasing some of the fish to preserve this excellent fishing. It is also a great time to introduce kids to fishing. Anyone can catch them at this time of year and kids have a great time landing these scrappy fighters.

Crappie action continues until after the fish spawn and move to deeper water. The majority of crappies spawn when the water temperature reaches the low to mid sixties. An individual body of water may have crappies spawning over a one or two week period depending on how fast the water is warming, After the spawn, the males hang around to guard the nest and newly hatched fry and catching them can be very easy then. During the spawning period, you will often encounter sunfish that have moved in to spawn in the same areas. They provide an excellent bonus.

Give spring crappie fishing a try. Once you've tried it, you will be hooked and want to make this an annual fishing experience in that lull between the ice fishing season and the start of summer season. You may even want to give it a try when the walleyes aren't biting. The crappies will usually still be around and active through most of the month of May. After that, they move out to main lake structure and become less predictable and harder to find.

Bob Hefti (5/15/2000)