How do Crappie spawn?

[tenncrappie]

I have seen where some people claim that crappie go on the bed and fan the bed like a bream. But I was told last year by a professional guide that this is not so. That crappie go shallow and lay their eggs on some type of wood(log,stump etc) and the male follows up by depositing his part on the eggs. Who is right or wrong?

[ShellCrappie]

Your guide is right on the money

[talldude33]

Do either of the fish stay to portect the eggs? If not why do we catch so Many during the spawn?

[Herewego]

What about a lake that don't have many stumps or wood to lay eggs on? Where do they lay?

[STUMP HUNTER]

The males stay behind. They will lay on gravel and rocks. There's a lake that I started fishing without stumps or trees laying in the water I been looking for hard bottoms (gravel or rocks ) I been placing some short brush piles on some dropoffs and got some on the flats too. Hope they will help, all the crappie I have caught in this lake so far are whites.

[gabulldog]

trees bushes grass lily paps and rocks/gravel they will lay eggs on i have seen them lay eggs in tire wave breaks too
as for do they hang around the males do but the spawn lasts weeks with the bigest fish comin first and the smaller females comin in after

[ifish]

This is in the MN. DNR .
Black and White crappie
The black crappie and white crappie are among Minnesota's most popular fish. In the angler's creel, the black crappie probably ranks second behind the bluegill.

The black crappie is the more widely distributed of the two closely related species, occurring in most lakes throughout the state. The black crappie prefers deeper, cooler, clearer water than the white crappie does.

The two species are difficult to distinguish. The black crappie is generally darker overall and has seven or eight spines in its dorsal fin. The white crappie, on the other hand, often has markings arranged in vertical bars. It usually has five or six dorsal spines. The two species are similar in size; a 2-pound fish is unusually large.

Spawning habits for the two crappie species are similar. They spawn in May and June, in water temperatures in the mid-60s, in water up to 6 feet deep. Males build and guard nests in colonies. They mature early and are prolific; a large female may produce well over 100,000 eggs. Crappie are prone to stunting. Because a strong year-class often dominates in a lake, crappie often appear to be all of the same size. When these fish of a strong year-class grow large, the lake can gain a reputation as a crappie hot spot and then fade into mediocrity as a younger year class takes over.

Young crappie eat small aquatic invertebrates. Adults can continue to feed on plankton but usually eat a lot of small fish as well. Crappie may compete with walleye to some degree because their habits are similar. Both species travel open water in schools, feeding on similar foods at night, dawn and dusk.

The most effective management is the protection of habitat and maintenance of good predator-prey balance in the lake.


From the Wisconson DNR: http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/pubs/crappie.pdf
Life cycle
Crappie spawning activity peaks in May and
June when water temperatures are between 61
and 68 degrees, though spawning may continue
into July. Like other sunfish, crappies are nest
builders but they are perhaps the least particular in
their nest-building habits. Crappies search out nest
spots in deeper water than any other sunfish -
between 1.5 to 6 feet deep or deeper. This is
another reason crappies can coexist with carp.
Crappies are not disturbed by carp as much as
other sunfish that build their nests closer to shore.
Crappies usually nest in colonies that may include
as many as 35 nests, 3 inches to 6 feet apart.
Males construct disc-shaped nests near emergent
vegetation using their caudal fins like brooms to
sweep away silt and debris. Unlike bluegills and
pumpkinseeds that are meticulous in their nest
construction, crappies spend little time building
their nests, which when finished, may be just
barely discernible from the surrounding area.
Males aggressively defend their nests, chasing
and biting at intruders. A female may be chased
away several times before the male will admit her
for spawning. When a pair does spawn, they swim
in circles around the nest until they come to rest
with their bellies touching and pushing against
each other. Both fish quiver as the female releases
her eggs and the male releases his milt (sperm).
This process is usually repeated several times over
several hours. Females may spawn with more than
one male and may produce eggs several times
during the spawning period. An individual female
produces several thousand to several hundred
thousand eggs depending upon her age and size.
Following spawning, males guard the eggs until
they hatch in one to two days at optimum
temperatures of 65 to 70 degrees (Fig. 4).
Crappie fry (newly hatched fish) congregate in
large schools in shallow water. Crappies grow
fairly rapidly in the first year, reaching 2.5 to 3
inches. Crappies can mature in their second year,
May June July
Figure 4. Crappie spawning peaks in May and June.
Hatching occurs in 1-2 days.
though most mature in their third to fourth year. In
Wisconsin, most crappies don't live much past
their fifth year, grow larger than 12-14 inches, or
weigh more than a pound.
Additionally, crappie growth rates can be very
irregular. Fisheries biologists refer to all the fish
spawned in the same season as a year class.
Crappies are known for having very irregular year
classes, even within the same lake. Some years, a
year class may be smaller than average. Every
three to four years the opposite may happen and
there will be a year class of larger than average
crappies.
The state record white crappie weighed
1-pound, 5 ounces. It came from Petenwell
Flowage in Adams County in 1996. The state
record black crappie came from Gile Flowage
in Iron County in 1967. It weighed 4 pounds,
8 ounces. The world record black crappie, caught
from a canal in Louisiana, weighed 6 pounds; the
world record white crappie weighed 5 pounds,
3 ounces and was caught in 1957 in Mississippi.

[tinsmith]

ifish ,excellent info.learned something new today thanks.

[WestTennCrappie]

It all depends on the water/lake. here the crappie dont typicaly nest but do in some areas. They spawn on cypress knobs, lilly pads, hard bottom, our many stumps, etc etc. And they are far more agressive protecting the eggs than when they are preparing the site!

[blairarnold]

When I have gotten into them really spawning here, they seemed to be concentrated around cypress knees in the oxbow lakes I fish.