Spawn - then where do they go

Our crappie should be spawning soon water temp getting warmer. I bought 3 12' poles to get started. I plan on trying to jig/cast towards shore and then use the 12' poles to spider rig. My question how do you find the crappie after they leave the shore. I have GPS coordinates where brush piles are place by local DNR but never had much luck trying to catch any with a jig and pole.

Last year we had a couple good nights fishing on shore and then it was like lights out and we could not find them.

I have two lakes that are close, one is a reservoir flood control. The other is a no wake lake with many piles of brush but heavily fished close to metro.

thanks for any help

It’s been my experience that they’ll stay shallow a lot longer than some think. A better fisherman than me told me one time that fish look for three things: food, comfort, and cover. As long as it doesn’t get too hot and there’s food around they can still be on the bank after they spawn out. We catch them in 18 inches of water in Mississippi through June sometimes. Post spawn is always tough. They’re worn out, they’ve been pressured, and they are trying to recover. But, They’ll be wanting to eat because of these things. The best advice I can give is start near their spawning areas and Work your way out. Shallow water near a good drop off is where I’d start looking. Downed trees in the same areas are great because they’ll follow that structure up and down like an escalator. I’m sure fishing here in the south is a little different than the Midwest, but maybe some of it applies. Good luck


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Here we are in the low 70s for water temp. I was out yesterday catching crappie 9ft down but a guy fishing bass caught one in 3ft of water by a tree. At the moment they are scattered. Once spawn is over I go straight for the trees along the channel. Put my jig at about 8ft and work my way down the water column until I figure out the depth. Its always a cat and mouse game for the first few weeks after the spawn.

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I have found them on points leading back to deeper water.
I had one of my best days ever post spawn.



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Thanks for replies, our lake is also flood control and is rising at a rapid rate. went up 2 ft in 24 hours, not sure I will find them this year for the spawn. I found them once last year on the rocks and had a blast with my son. This year does not look good for the flood lake but I could try the no wake lake just not sure where they spawn and after where they go.

I was out on the no wake lake this past Friday, Saturday & Sunday. No crappies shallow yet and only talked to one other angler who caught one. They were still staging in the deep bays in the lower half of the lake. Water temps were 58 on Friday morning and by Sunday they were 62. When i fish it i find a lay down in one of the deeper bays in the lower half of the lake, last year i had a lot of success going really small jig head (1/16 or 1/32) with a tube jig either casting or under a float. I have found that lake is either boom or bust, with almost all species.

I made it out to the no wake lake, water temp was 61. no action and I looked around at everyone who was fishing from shore. I did not see much action, when you describe lower section are you referring to the section closer to the dam.

thanks for info