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Predicting Crappie Behavior
Reply With QuoteI learned a whole wealth of useful things from that experience. First, the change in water temperature in the main body of the lake, even a degree or two, had hastened the crappie to move. In this case, they probably weren’t in the very shallow spawning areas yet, but they were moving toward them when the water temp rose from 49 to 51. They moved and I didn’t. Second, there can be a huge difference in water temperature between the main body of water and the shallow water of the spawning flats and coves. During late winter, the sun is rising and setting in the southern hemisphere. This causes the northwest portions of the spawning flats and coves to receive more sunlight than other areas thus warming faster. When I was still fishing the deeper waters of the main channel, the water temp was in the low 50’s, the staging areas in mid-range depths just outside the spawning coves were in the mid-50’s and the spawning waters had already warmed into the low 60’s. And last, I should have been scouting the shallows and staging beds watching the water temperature from the very start and not just sitting in the middle of the lake waiting for a magical number. Checking the water temperature in all parts of the lake will paint a clearer picture of where the crappie might be and where they might be going. Don’t get in a rut. One study conducted on the Blood River portion of Kentucky Lake in 2004 showed the crappie stayed in 8 to 10 foot of water when the water temp entered 80 degrees and more. This is outside the norm, but not a problem if you’re constantly scouting.
Water Clarity will also influence movement and location, but also depth of the crappie. In the main, the clearer the water is the deeper the crappie. And, visa-versa, the muddier the water is the shallower they might be. Why? Because the greater the visibility the more vulnerable the fish become. Of course, other factors influence this too, like the normal environment of the habitat, the amount and type of cover and overall depth of the water. If the normal environment of your lake is clear, for example, and a rain brings an influx of muddy, fresh water from feeder creeks, it will most likely drive the crappie out into deeper, clearer water. But if the normal environment is stained to muddy, the infusion of freshwater will make them move shallower looking for new food. Or, guess what, just the opposite might happen, so always do your scouting and check it anyway. Crappie will relate to cover no mater the clarity of the water. However, in stained water the crappie are less vulnerable to attack, require less cover for protection and will stray further from the cover than in clear water. In clear water the crappie must have an ample amount of cover to prevent their predation and ambush their prey. Most of the time water clarity influence angler’s choice of bait type and color. Such decisions are important, but don’t forget to factor in what the water clarity has done to move the fish and at what depth they decide to stop.
Here’s an example that demonstrates how water clarity influences the crappie in all the above mentioned factors. At the time, I enjoyed fishing an oxbow lake off the Mississippi River. I would watch the river stage to determine if the water was rising or falling and if it was high enough to flood the banks of the oxbow lake. The water had been rising for several days and then stabilized high enough that I knew there would be 15 or more foot of water in the willows around the banks and flats of this oxbow. Saturday came and the boys and I headed to the lake. The conditions seemed to be perfect. Expectations were very high. And, so thought everyone else in the country because the parking lot was full and there was a line at the boat ramp. Once we finally got on the water, we headed for the willows and as usual trolled down the line dipping and dobbing our jigs around every tree we passed. We fished and fished with not even a hint of a bite. We exited the flooded banks and went to check the main channel that ran the length of the oxbow. No luck there, plus it was really too deep now anyway. We went back to the flooded willows to fish. That’s when I realized that though the water was high and the amount of cover seemed endless the lake had been stable long enough to become clear. Clear is not this oxbow’s normal water color. I was spooking the fish before I could catch them. Okay, with certainty they are in the cover of the trees due to the water clarity and all we have to do is make the right adjustments and catch them. To keep from spooking the fish, we slowed down the boat and restricted our movement in the boat to reduce noise. We found the crappie holding at nine foot deep in 15 foot of water. In order to entice a bite, you had to drop your jig down to the right depth touching the trunk of the tree on the shade side and hold it there very still, sometimes as long as a minute. We finished the day with a respectable mess of crappie. When other crappie fishermen questioned us how we faired, I showed them. I remember thinking we could have done better and they will give us a hard time for not catching more fish. Such was not the case. Most of them finished the day with a big, fat zero. When I told them how we did it and why (due to the water clarity), they admitted they hadn’t taken that into account and would do so the next time. Water clarity does influence the crappie to move and it affects how you must fish for them.
Likes and Dislikes
Now that you are taking into consideration how crappie move and what it is that influences them to move. Let us consider the factors that crappie like and dislike. Bait is always the first to my mind. The battle over bait is as old as the time itself. Some angler’s prefer live bait, whereas others prefer artificial. Personally, I use both and have equal number of days where the crappie preferred one over the other. Most importantly, I let the crappie tell me what they like and don’t force my preference on them. Plus, each angler must take into consideration their particular fishery may be different than others. For example, it is common for crappie in northern waters to eat small shell fish, but not as common in southern lakes where shad are plentiful. Such would also influence the type of artificial bait as well. Matching the hatch is also important. If the crappie in your lake are feeding on large three to four-inch shad, then I certainly would not be fishing with a small two-inch jig. The presentation of your bait, whether live or artificial, will vary with each angler too. Some like to cast jigs for crappie where others prefer to use long poles for a vertical tight line method. Some anglers have even graduated into more sophisticated methods like slow trolling tandem jigs and fast trolling crank baits. No matter which presentation method you choose, the type of impoundment you fish and the crappie themselves will determine which presentation method will be the most productive. I would suggest a crappie angler become proficient in all these presentation methods so you can adjust to the situation of the day or season.
The list of factors that influence crappie’s likes and dislikes are practically endless. However, one factor that we must consider is the species themselves. No, now is not where I begin to spout scientific names. But rather, there are specific likes and dislikes that differ between the two main species of crappie. Black crappie prefer clearer water, whereas white crappie are more tolerant of stained and muddy water. According to a study completed by Kentucky’s Game and Fish biologists, black crappie tend to move into the spawning shallows faster than white crappie. Thus, the conclusion we can draw from that is black crappie will attempt to spawn in cooler water and white crappie tend to spawn later or longer when the water is warmer. Also, according to the same study, the black crappie remained in brushy staging depths after the spawn when the white crappie moved out to deeper water off the main channel. All in all, there are enough differences in the species to cause an astute angler to take notice.
We should not only take notice of the normal likes and dislikes of our favorite fish, but we should also consider that they can and will stray from the norms. Earlier in the article I wrote about the seasonal influences on crappie. Normally crappie will utilize shallow water in spring and fall and deeper water in winter and summer. However, according to the same study mentioned above and like I’ve already mentioned in this article, crappie were found in great numbers in water depths as shallow as eight-foot when the water temperature exceeded 80-degrees. This is not common but shouldn’t be overlooked. When the crappie are not in a normal pattern, look for them in the unlikely pattern. There just may be a factor influencing the fish that we haven’t considered yet but might discover. Keep for yourself an entire portfolio of spots to fish. Once you find that pattern then you can fish all the spots that match the pattern. Be willing to adjust the time when you fish. Normally, we anglers say the bite will be in the morning, when in reality the best bite might be in the evening or at night. Just keep in mind that crappie like any other living creature has likes and dislikes. If you give them what they like the way they like it, then you’ll catch more fish.
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