crappie habits?

[beakus]

are crappie a schooling fish,and tend to stay in one area (such as cover and food) or are they a roaming fish

[Speck]

Good question. Yes they are a schooling fish. Some times of the year they school more than others. White crappie will roam more often, following schools of shad or minnows in open water. Black crappie are more structure oriented. With that in mind, you'll still catch whites in the brush and an occasional black in open water. jmho. Speck

[sac-a-lait]

Yea they're Pelagic...not sure if that's spelled right...

[blairbasser]

Crappie don't nesacerely stay in one spot, or around brush.

Often they will suspend over open water. But my experience is that it is often associated with some kind of structure. Perhaps a creek channel, dropoff or cover that is deeper than the theromocline.

Mostly they are a schooling fish, but there are exceptions to the rule.

BB

[willsjwills]

let's talk about this schooling thing. I realize that it's probable in large bodies of water that have varying depths with creek channels, drop offs, road beds, main river channels. what happens in a lake that is dish pan contoured with the deepest at around 12 ft..? i cut my teeth fishing for crappie on such lakes (old ox-bows) around the mississippi delta. we didn't look for sudden terrain changes in the lake bottom, because it was reletively consistent. we looked for logs, brush tops, or standing cypresses to fish around. that's where the fish were, regardless of the time of the year. i guess you could say that in comparison to some of you lucky fellers, i am a mud hole, road ditch fisherman. some of the lakes i just described and Wolf lake outside yazoo city, ms, Bee lake just north of Yazoo City, Mossy lake, Little eagle, Six Mile lake, Swan lake, ETC. I have never experienced the phenomenon of schooling. Was i missing something? Usually fish in these places are scattered, catching one here and two there. Is anyone else fishing the kind of waters as i do? That's about the only way i can fish for our illusive quarry. I suppose the question is " Do crappie school in shallow impoundments"?

[Darryl Morris]

Size and depth of the impoundment definitely makes a difference but it's always relative to that size and depth. Smaller is more subtle and larger is more definitive. Apart from that, watch your water temp and other related conditions and you'll have a good idea where to find the crappie.

[bugman]

I have fished Bee lake and i will have to agree with you wills i could never find more than one or two on a spot but this monster of a lake that i fish a bunch is totally different usually when you find one you have found a bunch especially in the winter i have caught 50+ off one bed.I would assume that the shallow lakes you fish offer cover and comfortable depths throughout the whole lake that is why they dont have the need to school up in tight bunches.

[exit 84]

Size and depth of the impoundment definitely makes a difference but it's always relative to that size and depth. Smaller is more subtle and larger is more definitive. Apart from that, watch your water temp and other related conditions and you'll have a good idea where to find the crappie.

Darryl
What temperatures do crappie tend to stay in?

[Darryl Morris]

Darryl
What temperatures do crappie tend to stay in?

Of course they can be in most any water temp, but it has been my experience that crappie are the most active and aggressive when the water is between 55 and 75, where the mid-60's is optimal. The water temps we read from our graphs are surface temps. Generally in summer, as the water gets deeper the less light penetration and thus cooler water. In winter, the opposite might be true where the surface temp might be colder than deeper water. In fact, some of our northern neighbors get that 32 degree or less hard water on the surface, LOL.

The warmer the water the less oxygen and naturally the crappie are going to be where they can breath. And the colder the water since they are cold blooded creatures are going to be where they can survive better. Start early in the year when the water is really cold and as Spring approaches follow them into the shallows for the spawn. Don't forget that surface temps in the main body will be colder than the temps in the backs of shallow coves, especially the northwest corners. As Spring wears off and the weather warms into Summer, follow them back out into deeper water. When the water cools with Fall weather they will be shallower and then back deep again for Winter.

I have found the above to be true with large reserviors (3000+ acres) with deep water (40 foot or more) in the mid-latitudes (what I like to call the Crappie Belt). The same might be true for smaller impoundments with shallower water north or south of the Crappie Belt but the differences in catching crappie during the season will be more subtle. It might also be even more difficult to catch them when the crappie aren't able to find that comfort zone in the water temp.

[exit 84]

Of course they can be in most any water temp, but it has been my experience that crappie are the most active and aggressive when the water is between 55 and 75, where the mid-60's is optimal. The water temps we read from our graphs are surface temps. Generally in summer, as the water gets deeper the less light penetration and thus cooler water. In winter, the opposite might be true where the surface temp might be colder than deeper water. In fact, some of our northern neighbors get that 32 degree or less hard water on the surface, LOL.

The warmer the water the less oxygen and naturally the crappie are going to be where they can breath. And the colder the water since they are cold blooded creatures are going to be where they can survive better. Start early in the year when the water is really cold and as Spring approaches follow them into the shallows for the spawn. Don't forget that surface temps in the main body will be colder than the temps in the backs of shallow coves, especially the northwest corners. As Spring wears off and the weather warms into Summer, follow them back out into deeper water. When the water cools with Fall weather they will be shallower and then back deep again for Winter.

I have found the above to be true with large reserviors (3000+ acres) with deep water (40 foot or more) in the mid-latitudes (what I like to call the Crappie Belt). The same might be true for smaller impoundments with shallower water north or south of the Crappie Belt but the differences in catching crappie during the season will be more subtle. It might also be even more difficult to catch them when the crappie aren't able to find that comfort zone in the water temp.

Thanks, go information.