What time of the year is better for you when crappie fishing????

[ExBassGuide]

Hi
So Do you think spring or fall or even summer is the BEST time of all to catch bigger or more crappie?

[sac-a-lait]

SPRING (is here) hands down...

[DENNIS BOWERS]

Spring for numbers and some slabs,Winter for less but bigger Crappie on the average!!

[CrappiePappy]

Spring would have to be it ... for size, especially. And, I've done better on numbers in the Spring, at certain lakes, too. Then again ... that's when I fish most often for Crappie - Spring & Fall. Not that I haven't caught 'em in Summer (years ago), but they're always "easier" to find in Spring. I don't do much Winter fishing ... except the occasional few hours on the bank - on those "warming trend" days ............. cp

[Crappie Reaper]

February through January is my favorite time!
Although, Feb through May is when I start catching the "reel" fish. You know, the ones that fill up a quart size ziplock extremely fast and you have to cut the filets into about 8 pieces. And it's comin soon baby! While others are anchored off in the creek channels catching a few as they are coming in, I am doodlesocking my rear off filling up the livewell wif da big slabs. Ah, the thump of several 3lbers in the spring, nothin like it.....

[Mo'nBack]

Summer and winter were always my best. Alot of that was because of the fact that I hunted most falls and winters until deer season closed. Now I like winter the best. Fish are bunched up and big. Spring fish are real spooky. Let the wind change a little or a front come through and they shut it off. Summer fishing is great if you stay with them enough to find'em. Fall is a little hard for me, cause they aren't bunched up much and harder to find around here. Alot of it boils down to what your waterways are like and what type of fishing you do.

[TAE73]

From Nov to May

[Darryl Morris]

Usually catch the greater numbers in April and May and then catch the hawgs in October and November. Of course that will depend on where you are located in the U.S. (temperature, climate, etc.). Generally, anytime you can catch the water temp between 50 and 70, generally speaking, you should be hauling them in. The weather has been relatively mild this year and water temps have remained up longer. Right now I'm home for the holidays, but saw that Jerry and Jim landed a good mess of slabs yesterday. Guess they're still in a late Fall pattern in mid-December.

[crappieken]

I catch my largest crappie the first two weeks after ice out when they make a brief move into shallow water. I usually fish with a bobber and jig with the jig set 24 to 30 inches below the bobber. This time period is short lived and usually starts the last week or so in February in my area.

[ExBassGuide]

Up in the north west we get bigger and lots more crappie in the fall. We get good numbers in the spring but the fish are smaller. A normal day in October is over 400 crappie (I C&R 99% of all the crappie I catch!)
Roger