Where did the spawn go?

[badbrad]

I fished Ky/Lake this past week and was surprised to find every boat fishing for crappie out in the channels. No fish were found shallow. Water temp was low 70's. The fish I caught were nice ones, full of eggs but in 12 to 15 foot of water. Anybody experiencing the same thing. Did I just miss the spawn or what? Seems like there should still be some fish going shallow.

[Crappie Reaper]

I don't know about Ky, but, the spawn here in Oklahoma is the strangest I've ever seen. Fish shallow at night, move a foot deeper within an hour of daylight, then, hold 8-15' deep until an hour or so after dark, then work back into the shallows overnight. With the occassional, yet rare, couple of fish still found shallow during the day after 10 am. This pattern has remained constant for the last three weeks. Strongest bites were during the full moon period.

[Charger]

Same here!

[Bones]

I was at KY lake last week and the fish were as scattered as I've ever seen them. I caught fish in 4' of water down to 27'. The biggest females were caught in 27' water 20-22' deep.???

[Meat on the Table]

Untill today I was able to fish Barkley every day from the thursday before Easter. I caught over two hundred keepers in that time period, with very few coming out of the shallows and all those in the first two days. The water came up fast and they dropped back down fast, then brought it up again. IMO, many dropped their eggs in 10'-16' feet of water and scattered out back to the deep flats or deep brushpiles. There may be some shallow water spawning to come, for I am still catching them with eggs, but a lower percentage with eggs than a week or two ago. I have fished exclusively for crappie on Barkley and Kentucky lakes for forty years and I have noticed a difference in the spawn on Barkley especially in the last twenty years. The lake in clearer than it was twenty five years ago, which will drive the spawn deeper. Many years ago I read a book by a fish biologist that dealt only with crappie, he mentioned a thing called a secchi dish. Which in essence was a 10 or 12" circle of metal painted white. By lowering the dish on a string into the water column and where the dish disappeared at, if the time and conditions were conducive, the spawn would a foot either side of that depth. Never tried it, but it does seem more and more likely to be true with the observations I have had in the last twenty or so years. Take it for what it is worth!! Yes, Maybe, no!

[dockfishin]

The spawn here in Mississippi has been a little weird due to a cold front that came through but not as weird as what you guys are talking about. The spawn is just about played out now here. The fish seem to be moving into deeper water this week.

[DENNIS BOWERS]

Same here on the Hollow!! Some being caught shallow, mostly small. Been catching larger fish DEEP-also at 10-12 ft., Alot of Females with small eggs??Makes ya wonder- Never had a good shallow Spawn.

[Deacon]

I made one trip this year where the crappie were up against the bank. The rest of the time that is usually associated with the spawn the Fish were off the bank in deep water. Who knows?
Maybe its some kind of sign or something about the end of the world?

[CrappieLips]

We've been catching them any where from 16" to 16 foot, water temps are at 72 to 78 depending on where your at all the large females still are full of eggs but are a mile yellow nothing like ready to lay the smaller ones look to be ripe as a banana who know's??????

[Jakekatfishin]

My home lake here in Arkansas has the same type of problems. The areas known for large slabs have been void of any activity, but in other areas of the lake the fish spawn and hve finished, but none of the consistent activity of years before. I think the extremes of March and April have done the most damage to our fishing.