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Pre-Spawn Crappie Fishing Tips

Because environmental conditions vary widely from one lake to the next, it is important to find the most productive season in your own locality and then concentrate your efforts during this period of peak activity. The most productive season for crappie fishing is during spring when fish movements are related to spawning. Depending upon which part of the country you fish, this will normally occur sometime in April through May when the water temperature ranges from 58 to 68 degrees F. Locating fish during the pre-spawn/spawn period will produce excellent stringers of fish.

During early spring, crappies move into shallow water areas where the water temperature is rising rapidly. When the water temperature and photoperiod (the length of daylight) are right, males move into the shallows near spawning sites and build bowl-shaped nests over gravel, sand, or even muck substrates. Spawning often takes place near the base of vegetation stands, so look carefully for emerging vegetation, such as bulrush or cattail. Although both males and females can be caught, catches are frequently dominated by males. They become extremely aggressive at spawning time and will often strike at a bait in an attempt to defend their nest.

In natural lakes look for spring crappie near inlets, adjoining marshes, canals and marinas. Spawning crappie in small lakes are generally found in coves or near the rock armor on dams. In large flood control reservoirs spring-time crappie frequently congregate in large embayments in close proximity to submerged structure. The turbid water flowing into these reaches from feeder creeks warms faster than the deep water mainstem water and attracts crappies that are searching for spawning sites. Spring-time crappies will also concentrate in the tailwaters below the dams of these impoundments. But the success of this fishery is often dependent upon downstream release rates.

Additional Pre-Spawn Crappie Tips

Subtle Strikes - Don’t look for cold-water pre-spawn crappies to hammer your bait. When casting for pre-spawn crappies be sure to use a sensitive rod and line no heavier than 6lb test to detect very light bites. 4lb test is actually more than enough and will help smaller jigs or baits reach deeper fish. Also, watch you line very closely. If your line goes off to the side and you notice anything out of the ordinary it’s time to set the hook.

Find The Bush - Most state fisheries departments will sink some type of structure along ledges or drop offs. In most cases this structure will be marked on maps or marked with buoys on the lake itself. These structures will most often hold schools of crappies during the pre-spawn period, especially when located near spawning grounds.

Searching For Crappies With Spinners - Casting small safety-pin style spinners such as a beetle spin is a very effective technique when looking for scattered pre-spawn crappie. Try slow steady retrieves along with stop and go retrieves near submerged brush and other visible cover in the water. Safety-pin style spinners are also very snag resistant so don’t be afraid to bump the cover.

Crappies In Rivers - Crappies in rivers are always moving, constantly adjusting to the ever-changing currents from spring run-off, following their food source, or holding in newfound warmer waters. Begin with areas that have little current, such as eddies, side channels, fallen trees in a slough, or other areas where you find reduced current. Most often some type of current is needed to hold river crappies so don’t spend much time in waters without any current. Next look for waters that the sun has warmed.

Big River Dam Tips - Most crappie fisherman overlook fishing crappies in the tail waters of big river dams. Because river crappies move upstream in late winter to early spring, they can become congregated much like walleyes and sauger do. Look for these crappies around wing dams, boulders, lock walls, sandbar edges and other current breaks where they can rest and feed.