Guidence on finding spawning crappie

[fvstringpicker]

Can anybody school me on what to look for finding spawning crappie? Its probably my general lack of ability but if I'm on a large reservoir, one cove, creek, etc looks pretty much like the other eight or ten I just pasted. Obviously, the ones with fish have some characteristics that the others don't. I don't get to spend that much time on the water and I'd like some general idea what I should be looking for. Thanks.

[CrappiePappy]

Can anybody school me on what to look for finding spawning crappie? Its probably my general lack of ability but if I'm on a large reservoir, one cove, creek, etc looks pretty much like the other eight or ten I just pasted. Obviously, the ones with fish have some characteristics that the others don't. I don't get to spend that much time on the water and I'd like some general idea what I should be looking for. Thanks.

Picker ... if you've got a contour map of the lake, check out coves that have a creek running through them, with deep flats close to shallow banks. If those banks aren't subject to a lot of current or wave action, all the better.
That's a Crappie's normal route to the spawning beds ... out of the main channel, into the creek channel, hang around on the flats until water conditions get to their liking, then into the shallows along the banks or back in the pockets.
Now, they have to have a reason to pick a bank or pocket or even a section of bank ... and that's dependent upon which specie of Crappie is there & the water clarity (in some cases). Black Crappie prefer gravel banks, emergent weeds, and shallow clear water, and prefer water temps from the mid 50's to low 60 degree range. White Crappie prefer hard mud bottom, wood cover, and slightly deeper & dirtier water, and prefer water temps from around the low to high 60deg range. Black Crappie will use wood cover, if no vegetation is present.

What I usually look for is a deadfall tree, stumps, or a stand of trees in relatively shallow water (10ft or less) .... and a stretch of pea gravel bank along a mud or rocky bank is also a good place. Any docks along the bank, and especially those that are on poles (stationary), are also a good place. Of course, any obvious cover like a stake bed or brushpile that's visible is always worth a look.

And remember ... if you're a cast away from a bank and catching only males, the females are likely under you or behind you ... at about the same depth as the males, but hanging around some submerged cover or dropoff (quick depth change). They're "staging" ... which means they're venturing back and forth between the bedding area & their staging cover spot, depositing eggs in various different beds on each trip in, then coming back out to the staging area to rest before repeating the process.

... cp

[ShilohRed]

Can anybody school me on what to look for finding spawning crappie? Its probably my general lack of ability but if I'm on a large reservoir, one cove, creek, etc looks pretty much like the other eight or ten I just pasted. Obviously, the ones with fish have some characteristics that the others don't. I don't get to spend that much time on the water and I'd like some general idea what I should be looking for. Thanks.

Glad you asked this question. Would love to see more people do some stuff on starting out and how they do it. This would help so many people starting out. And I know I for one would get something from it also. Not everyone has a buddy or family to teach them the ways of finding crappie. Or what to look for to find them during different seasons.
Buddy of mine that fishes with a couple hours of you. Only fishes red clay banks and catches more fish then most. I asked him why? And he told me that they spawn on the clay banks and even during the winter time there not far from those banks..

[fvstringpicker]

I appreciate it folks. I now know 1000% more than I did. I don't mind asking questions. I'm long past fear of maybe looking ignorant. If I was gonna impress people with my knowledge, I will have done it be now.

[lowe175]

Crappiepappy. Cover it pretty well I like steep rock banks also. I use 1/32 jigs for this the longer you in the nest the more bites you'll get. You can fish a 1/32 slower so your in the strike zone longer.

[RiverSlabber]

Would the same basic approach work on a river?

[CrappiePappy]

Would the same basic approach work on a river?

Yes, with the added concern about current taken into account. Crappie won't fight current, so they're going to use any good current break they can find ... be it a shallow pocket off the main river or the slow current side of a creek that empties into a river.

... cp

[RiverSlabber]

Where I fish there is a dead end channel that looks promising, low current. There is also a stretch with a bunch of small islands in the river that create slow moving spots, almost like backwater areas. Seems like those should be target areas.

[wicklundrh]

There is a guy online here in Michigan that fishes out of a Kayake. In the spring he fishes very very shallow. He has mentioned on numerous occasions that he can sit and actually watch the backs of the fish coming out of the water. Once you find what you are looking for (the first time) you will have a visual reference of things to look for in the future.

All lakes are different in makup and size however, if you catch fish in one lake, at a certain depth, at a certain tempurature, chances are very good that they do the same thing in another lake. I remember when I couldn't catch a crappie in a lake and thought they were not there. Once I figured out what they like and where they like to be at any given time of year, finding them proves no longer difficult.

Take note of wind, water tempurature, waves, and sunlight. Usually coves with creeks or streams are a good place to start. Try the Northern side of the cove as the sunlight will warm that area first and it will have warmer water than the other side of the cove. Hopefully I gave you a few things to look for...

[Bronson]

A good tip is to copy & paste the notes CrappiePappy gave in your documents. This way you can refer back to them from time to time. I don't trust my memory as much as I used to & it's because I've forgotten a lot of the details that were given. He always has good info!