Northeast crappie guys, how's the bite in your area?

[Smoltz]

It seems here they are moving shallower but keep getting push back out with these cold front we keep having. We have not had consecutive nice warm days. Keep getting hit with cool downs and cool nights. Just not getting the water temps here yet to move them in shallow. I have not been into them at all. I'm going to give it a lil break till later this week. Sometimes I chomp at bit a little too much as it don't usually get hot here till mid may or late may even. That's Pennsylvania for ya.
So what are you guys seeing?
What your water temps?

[FBM357]

In agreement with you! Went couple weeks ago (Westchester Cty - upstate NY) and nothing! Water temps were still cold (42 degrees). Decided to wait but as soon as temps look favorable, it drops like an anvil! I plan to give it a try next week. Only thing working in my favor, the daytime temps have been consistently in the upper 50's low 60's range. Just hoping water warms as well. Will report when the time comes

[CrappiePappy]

My last two trips .... to Watts Bar Lake in E. Tenn & to Taylorsville Lake in west central KY, I've seen water temps between 60 & 65deg's. Most of the fish caught were still hanging out, suspended over deep water (15-30ft of water) at varying depths. They should be on the banks, already, at both lakes ... but the snow/cold front action we had early last week has them delayed by about a week or so. I'm used to Watts Bar Crappie being on the banks by mid April, and the Taylorsville Crappie being there by late April into early May. Water temps & levels have them moving towards the banks, but waiting for the temps to edge up a few more degrees & stabilize. That might not happen for another week or better, around here, since the forecast for next week is rain & a cooling trend throughout the whole week.

When I went to Tenn, last Fri-Sun (18th-20th) all the Dogwoods were in full bloom ... from SE Ky into Tenn. Just this last few days, here in central KY, have I noticed the Dogwoods blooming around here. That tells me that the temps have reached the point where they trigger the bloom, but aren't staying stable enough to keep the lake water temps rising.

The Crappie won't venture far from their chosen nesting areas, and usually suspend at about the same depth (in deeper water) that they normally would spawn in. Until I start catching a lot of males in spawning depths, I usually concentrate my efforts offshore a ways ... either casting/jigging over submerged cover, or longline trolling & spider rigging out in the 15ft contour range, until I find how deep they're suspended. That's especially true when the water temps haven't stabilized above 65deg (reading in early AM hours). A sunny day will drive the surface temps up 4-6deg's by early afternoon ... but the "real" water temps that you need to be concerned with, are the temps at the depth the fish choose to spawn in. I've caught spawning Crappie in 3-4fow, in E Tenn, in May ... when the air temps got to 95deg by early afternoon. It was just that the bank they were on was shaded most of the day, so the water temps weren't affected as much. Just goes to show you that fish don't have a clock/calendar to tell them "when" it's time .... they have a "thermometer" that tells them when conditions are prime. Sometimes conditions dictate that they spawn over a period of several weeks, and other times they get-r-done in a little over a week. They can get set back or interrupted several times ... but they'll continue to TRY and spawn, until conditions are not favorable for the survival of the fry. You just have to keep up with where they "were" & keep going until you find where they "are".

... luck2ya !!

... cp

[Smoltz]

What I have read about crappie is they are very temperature sensitive. Another fish don't get bother much by few degree but a crappie throws a fit..? Have you guys found this to be true?

This winter was a rough one and I think most folks are a few weeks behind schedule. You guys reports show that. I feel the warm night is what really helps push the temps into the proper range.

I have a week off work middle of May n I hope I have a turkey by then and the crappie are moved into the spawning areas. Looking forward to a week of crushing them! Well.. I hope!

[Crappitier]

That's Pennsylvania for ya.
So what are you guys seeing?
What your water temps?

Smoltz,

I fish in south central PA...... God's Country! (probably more crappie in PA than any other state?) LOL And like you mentioned, the crappie are "very" temp sensitive?

The deep lakes (water temp 57) haven't started yet. Believe me, I have tried several times. But the shallow lakes (water temp now 60) are "on fire" now! In the shallow lakes, find the very shallow flats (the water warms up fast there, and crappie spawn there also).

I've been tearin' up the crappie for the past couple weeks. Even the beginners (shore fishing near a submerged tree with live minnows under a float) are catchin' 20 every evening! I take my crappie fishing very seriously, and I usually catch 50 or so every time out! Not bragging? not at all, I just use a UL spin with tiny marabou jigs, tiny soft plastics, and Gulp Alive minnows with super thin super line and move around the lake a lot! I'm what you would call a "scientific angler"?

All the crappie I caught this year were in 3' to 4' of water. The spawn is almost here (even the little feamales have eggs now), so I really don't want to keep any more until the spawn is over.

CrappiePappy is correct! Great info, but if you have shallow "flats" areas ....... that's where they are now!

Two weeks ago:



Last week in PA:

[Smoltz]

I'm fishing a large lake and never thought of the smaller lakes. I know where I be headed. I never thought about smaller waters warming up faster.
Looks like you have been doing good!! Congrats!

[S10CHEVY]

It isn't the size of the lake, that warms up quicker, but the over all depth of the lake. Lakes with the depth of 20 ft or less, will warm up quicker, than lakes of deeper depths.

[Crappitier]

I hope I have a turkey by then

Smoltz,

I was out fishing today in a local lake, and this big turkey flew over and started drinking from the lake! LOL

Those birds are gigantic! When they fly through the woods, they break branches like crazy and when they hit the ground it's like a bowling ball hitting the ground!

[Smoltz]

Crappitier,
That's awesome to see. I love turkey hunting. May Is tough. I wish I had whole month off. Crappie, trout, walleye comes in, turkey, mushroom hunting, garden stuff. So much nice stuff to do!

That's for the pic! Imagine takin boat out for crappie, getting in some fishing, hearing a gobbler sound off n pull boat over. Get your hunting in n back to the slabs.

[ByronPA]

I was out on Sunday in Central PA, found the fish in about 5-7 ft of water but it was a very tough bite. I did not bring any minnows and they were not into chasing anything, picked up a couple crappies along with a pair of bass, one bluegill and one perch. Water was 54 degrees.