Quote Originally Posted by M R Dux View Post
Crappie or any spawning fish don't keep a calendar. Spawn occurs when the water temps get to optimum. Surface temp at 2 pm was 64 degrees. 5 feet deep in 20 feet of water would be several degrees cooler.
Amen to that! I've been telling people that for years! Water temp is the key to it all and what I always look for in fishing reports. The crappie spawn happens between 65 and 75 degrees, and they don't all spawn at once, if they did there wouldn't be near as many of them. They spawn in waves, it's what nature requires them to do to help ensure survival.

With water temps still hovering around 65, the best is still to come, especially for redear. I don't start redear fishing until the water is between 70 and 75. For bass the magic temp for me is 74 and when I catch the most keepers up shallow, same goes for channel cats. On a "normal" year, we hit 70 to 75 around Mother's Day, and has always been my reference point on the calendar, sometimes we hit prime a week or two before, or a week or two after....but again it's the water temp that dictates when exactly it happens.

With the forecast for this week, I think this coming weekend will be awesome!