Cold water crappie

[BKcrappie]

I usually only fish for crappie in the spring, but im going to try to catch some in January and Febuary this year. What depth should I target and what type of structure do the fish normally use? Also, should I use jigs or minnows? Thanks in advance.

[crappie addict]

WOW! Well, you may find as many different ideas as there are colors of tube jigs. lol Depending on the type of water and depth of the over all body of water, it could vary quite a bit. I personally fish a lot of shallow lakes, because that's what I like. Where are you fishing? I can tell you this, any water over 12 ft or so is a perfect opportunity to fish just off the bottom with shiners and following a contour of a creek. You just have to play with whether the fish are up in the ridge of the creek or down in it. On several lakes around me, people will drift fish just off the bottom with shiners AND jigs. Don't think that just because it's cold, the fish are deep though. I have caught them in 2ft. in Jan. At first you might be doin a bunch of searching and not a lot of catching. Just part of it. Go to the lake and watch and learn. Watch what others are doing. Don't crowd them but learn and apply it in the same type of water. Good luck! and Welcome

[gabowman]

Welcome to the boards BK. Great advice but dont think on a warm sunny afternoon that some fish, especially the big females, wont slip into the shallow waters to check things out a little.Thumbs Up Some big slabs can be caught in late Febuary.

[BKcrappie]

Addict- I am fishing a lake that is VERY deep. However, it has a lot of creeks and ridges. I may try that drift tactic. Thanks for your input!

[CrappiePappy]

BK ... you might PM Jerry Blake ... he's a member here, & a guide on a couple of Arky lakes. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you some pointers/advice on where & how to locate some Wintertime Crappie. You could also hollar out to all the guys/gals on the Arkansas State Forum, and see what's happening around your area lakes.

... luck2ya

... cp