Crappie Spawn

[cstyle]

For the shore fisherman, when is the best time to start looking for spawning crappie? I have a few areas I want to try out; however, I have to get more in depth on where crappies might spawn and how long the spawning period may last. I'm going to get me a boat this year; however, with me moving, it may not happen until July.

[jcass]

For the shore fisherman, when is the best time to start looking for spawning crappie? I have a few areas I want to try out; however, I have to get more in depth on where crappies might spawn and how long the spawning period may last. I'm going to get me a boat this year; however, with me moving, it may not happen until July.

Cstyle - That's a question you might want to put on the main forum. More people will see it.
From what I know, the spawn will generally take place when the water reaches a certain temperature. I remember reading about it and I think it is in the 50's somewhere. Search some of the articles on this web site.
Keep in mind that different bodies of water heat up at different times. Shallow water heats up sooner than deep water. You might want to target some shallow lakes first. I'm not sure what the best way to take temperature from shore is. My boat has a thermoter that takes the surface temp.
Keep a notebook of the weather conditions, temps, etc so if you hit a good spot, you can try and replicate it the coming years.
Another thing - on a larger lake, the water temps will raise in the northern shores, sepecially the northwest shores and bays. Thats because the early morning sun puts those areas in sunlight more hours of the day.
Good luck.