Hey Crappie King, you have been silent for a while, is that because you are out fishing all the time now? Are the crappies biting? My son was heading out for crappies on the river, so wondering if you have been out. My son and I went out last year at this time and did good. We caught crappies deep and some other fish were hanging around too. So we saw 4 species that day. It was fun catching, photoing and releasing.. Of course a crappie dinner was a nice ending.
Do you fish the early crappies? I am sure you do, that's why you are the "King"...
How did that new boat run? I bet you enjoyed every minute on the water.
Well Doug the bite should be on any day now. I did locate a few in about 16 Ft of water. They are starting to stage off the mouths of bays in areas where they will begin there pre spawn mode feeding after a long winter. For myself I will be looking in anywhere from 8 to 16 ft over the next week or two depending on the weather. As the water starts to warm into the mid to upper 40s I will move into more shallow water off of deep water break lines. I also like to look at any shore lines that face West or Northwest as these bays tend to warm faster and will bring in bait fish and Crappies alot sooner than most people realize. What I like to do in the early spring is to stay out from shore and cast into the shallow areas around fallen trees and brush piles but try not to crowd them. ( They Seem to be more spooky in the early spring)
What I like to use in the early spring are jigs tipped with the larger minnows out of the bucket or very small crank or minnow bait imatations retrived very slowly, these bait tend to trigger strikes more often than just a minnow and slip bobber. I will update this page as the bite begins. Good luck to all and if anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me.
Ed