Thread: Crappie Pre-spawn...

I just moved from Northwest Arkansas to the Tulsa area...(north of Tulsa, South of Skiatook) I am curious to know if the crappie here pre-spawn when the water temp hits 62-66 degrees like they did over there...? I have been a very busy bee sinking brush and getting ready for the spawn. Any tips or any advice on some good places to fish in this area? I have been up and around Tall Chief Cove on Skiatook Lake, several ponds in the area that host some BIG crappie (still no luck there), and been to a few reservoirs and Oolagah lake a few times. I fish 90% of the time using live bait (minnows) under a slip cork...having very little success so far this year. Any help would be appreciated, and if anybody knows of a good hole accessible by boat only let me know and I can take you out sometime....maybe the brush and attractors that I have been sinking for the past 6 weeks will begin to pay off? I HOPE!

Thanks to you all! MinnowMan (MM)

most of my experience on the Oklahoma waters the males start moving in when the water hits around 58 degrees the females move in shortly after probably 61 to 63 degrees. There is an old gentleman that carries his pool thermometer down to what ever lakehe fishes and if it aint 58 degrees he just turns around and goes home says they aint ready yet. Hes been fishing alot longer than I.

Good Luck and Good Fishing.

There is a good article on the front page of this crappie.com site before you log on. Right below the picture is several items and one is called water temperature and crappie, gives a good breakdown.

The water temp at Keystone is warm enough for them to be feeding heavily in preparation for the spawn. The mistake I've made in the past was waiting for the water temp to get close to 60 before really making an effort to find them. The creeks that hold deep water all year also hold crappie all year, and when the water temp gets up around 50, you can find some very good fishing. Mud Creek is definitely one of those creeks. So far, it's the best I've found on Keystone. However, if you only fish with minnows below a cork at this time of the year, you'll miss out on some good fishing. If the crappie are holding in the brush piles, rather than being suspended above them, you're more likely to get them to hit by dropping a jig (or a minnow) deep inside the brush.

Several good thoughts already. "Prespawn" is everything leading up to the spawn. It's not the "first spawners," but rather the events before any crappie hit the bank. Like Grubby said, the spawning activity will start in the mid-upper 50s. But prespawn is everything that happens between now and then. Within the next couple weeks (at least around OKC) they will hit staging areas before anyone starts spawning. They will hold in those areas (mouths of channels and creeks; 10-15 ft water for the most part) until it's time. Like Ketchum said, they feed heavily in that time in prep for the spawn, so don't miss out. Last Sat would have perfect for sitting on a staging area if the weather hadn't gone cold. That's what I did in hopes, but it turned out to be in vain. Had the weather stayed warm, I bet the action would have been hot!