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Thread: Why crappie don't always spawn succesfully...

  1. #1
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    Default Why crappie don't always spawn succesfully...


    Like alot of the midwest, we've had a rather unusual spring. I just wanted to relay my experience this year to help others understand why crappies only average a good spawn two out of every four years.

    The spring started fast, water temps touched 60 degrees in late March. This sent the males to the banks and was evident in there pretty black tuxedos. Oh my, then the rains came! It did rain some more. Oh, and then we got some more rain! These rains brought two things, high water of course, but it also pushed the water temps back down into the lower to mid 50's. The males stayed close, but as of last weekend, the vast majority of them had moved back off to deeper structure (post spawn). The temps were just starting to get back up into the lower 60's and no males to guard the nests.

    I made it back out last night (wednesday). I hit the water about 4 o'clock and found water temps in the mid 70's! I couldn't believe that the muddy water had jumped nearly 15 degrees in four days! I worked a ledge that produces fish just about all year long. If I moved closer to the bank, I would find some females still full of eggs and very lethargic. If I moved away from the ledge and dropped my bait down to about 12', I found a couple hard hitting males.

    People often get confused when they're catching females full of eggs and water temps are above 70. Yes, the spawn has passed you by! I'm not saying that you won't catch females in shallow water, I'm talking about succesfully spawning. Crappies, as well as many other fish, will hold the eggs and are absorbed back into the body.

    If this happens on your favorite lake, don't get too bummed. Luckily, most lakes are big enough that crappies will spawn over the course of many weeks. So, just because it warmed too quick for main lake fish, some of the northern shallow coves may have already hatched fresh fry weeks prior. For smaller bodies of water, sometimes it is a complete loss, though.

    I hope this helps a few understand a little bit more about the fish we love!

  2. #2
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    Are you sure you're not the camera-man on 'Hook n Look'? ... LOL

    Very interesting observation and one I haven't given thought. Especially this year since fishing has been extremely limited due to the weather here in NY.

    Thanks!

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    It is not unusual for fish to spawn more than once per season. Bluegill do so frequently.
    I love HIM because HE first loved me.

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    flyboy...nice signature...Thumbs Up

    intresting read....


    -ROMANS 10:9- PHILIPPIANS 4:13

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    I've gotten a couple emails concerning this post. I want to clear up the rain issue. I mentioned it more because that's what kept the temps so cool for so long.

    In fact, high water will actually help the recruitment class. As long as the water is somewhat stable for 3-5 days during the magic moment, then this actually gives the new of the year much more zooplankton and microscopic bugs to eat, not to mention prescious cover. The high water has put a damper on the fisherman's effort, but the crappie are rewarded greatly.

  6. #6
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    Most times fish spawn when conditions get right, not accorrding to dates. I've had several say water messed up and Crappie did'nt spawn. Only to catch fish in the summer spitting up baby Crappie in my livewell. We never have a shortage of small Crappie here. Crappie are prolific breeders and are more likely in most lakes to over populate.
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  7. #7
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    rising water...good
    stable water....great
    falling water...bad

    very good info fillet

    HB

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    Alright so Im knda new to crappie fishing per say. Usually we quit crappie fishing when baseball season starts. So roughly at the beginning of March we are done. Well things have changed and we have a bigger, better fishing boat and my son now plays ball for the school and son and so forth. We started one week ago. Last week: Water temp 74 degrees. We managed 16 big crappie on Friday and 10 big crappie on Sunday before church. Most all fish had eggs. All fish were caught in 15-20ft of water at the end of blow downs. All fish were caught in what we call sloughs. Others may call them creeks, spawining bays and or coves. Fast forward to today. Water temp is now 70 degrees. We went back to the same spots and managed 4 small crappie. i know there are many conditions that affect every situation. But, let me ask: Are these the fish that have missed the spawn? Are these fish going toward the banks or towards the back of these creeks etc? Are these fish on their way out? The old timers at the launch say that since the water temps have been lagging behind that they have not gone to the banks. I do not believe this. Im kinda believing they are not going to banks due to water temps. Now as to wether or not they are going to hold their eggs I do not know. If they dump their eggs in 20ft of water they are not going to make it anyway. I really want to start catching these fish in the post spawn/summer time. Any insight as to what they may be doing and what types of tactics would be helpful. No one here spider rigs, long line trolls or pulls cranks or shoot docks. they chunk at the banks and drop minners. I know there are lots of crappie to be caught. thanks in advance

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by filletfetish View Post
    Like alot of the midwest, we've had a rather unusual spring. I just wanted to relay my experience this year to help others understand why crappies only average a good spawn two out of every four years.

    The spring started fast, water temps touched 60 degrees in late March. This sent the males to the banks and was evident in there pretty black tuxedos. Oh my, then the rains came! It did rain some more. Oh, and then we got some more rain! These rains brought two things, high water of course, but it also pushed the water temps back down into the lower to mid 50's. The males stayed close, but as of last weekend, the vast majority of them had moved back off to deeper structure (post spawn). The temps were just starting to get back up into the lower 60's and no males to guard the nests.

    I made it back out last night (wednesday). I hit the water about 4 o'clock and found water temps in the mid 70's! I couldn't believe that the muddy water had jumped nearly 15 degrees in four days! I worked a ledge that produces fish just about all year long. If I moved closer to the bank, I would find some females still full of eggs and very lethargic. If I moved away from the ledge and dropped my bait down to about 12', I found a couple hard hitting males.

    People often get confused when they're catching females full of eggs and water temps are above 70. Yes, the spawn has passed you by! I'm not saying that you won't catch females in shallow water, I'm talking about succesfully spawning. Crappies, as well as many other fish, will hold the eggs and are absorbed back into the body.

    If this happens on your favorite lake, don't get too bummed. Luckily, most lakes are big enough that crappies will spawn over the course of many weeks. So, just because it warmed too quick for main lake fish, some of the northern shallow coves may have already hatched fresh fry weeks prior. For smaller bodies of water, sometimes it is a complete loss, though.

    I hope this helps a few understand a little bit more about the fish we love!
    I couldn't agree more,sounds like your spring and mine have been very similar.
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  10. #10
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    Your heading has me puzzled! Are you saying that crappie won't spawn at all, for the year? I have never found this to be true! Crappie spawn every year, and sometimes several times a year. A female never deposits all her eggs in one nest, and will deposit her eggs in several nest during the spawn. Just because you aren't finding them where you think they should be, doesn't mean they aren't spawning someplace else. Several years ago around here, they was saying the same thing, that the crappie wasn't spawning, because of the weather. They wasn't finding them on the banks like normal. I got a map, and found a channel out in the lake, where one of the banks came to within a few feet of the surface, and that is where they were spawning. EB
    DO-GOODER EXTRADINAR :p

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