One of the most fulfilling activities for many people is spring crappie fishing. This is the time of year that my son has a huge interest in going fishing with Dad. Cabin fever has been prevalent for several months and as the ice lifts off the local waters and temperatures start to rise, the ever-so-active crappie nears spawning time. As spring draws near crappie move toward their spawning areas. If you are a fisherman who enjoys crappie fishing and has chased them before, you know that springtime offers up the hottest crappie fishing of the year.
Most anglers enjoy spring crappie because they tend to migrate to shallower water and this alone cuts down on your search time. Instead of holding on hidden cover, crappie will tend to move to shallow treetops and stump fields, riprap banks and docks, many of which are visible, often in the backs of creeks or coves and usually fairly close to a lake's banks. Besides the fact that they are shallow, spring crappie tend to stack up, so where you hook into one big fish, the chances are extremely good that you are going to catch a bunch of them. Overall, finding crappie and catching a big bag of slabs are at their best this time of year. One thing you need to remember. You must present what the crappie wants to eat. Don't be fooled into thinking that catching springtime crappie is like pulling fish from a bucket. The shallower flats and shoreline areas of most lakes still constitute a lot of water. Even if you find the right bank to work, it is necessary to observe the surrounding environment and make the most educated pattern presentation possible. Crappie are still a bit lethargic this time of year, so your bait must be presented at the proper depth and as close to the fish as possible, since they are not in the mood to go chasing anything around as of yet.
The spring migration to the spawning areas is gradual and the crappie will tend to migrate gradually into the shallows and back out over the course of a few months. The exact timing of their moves varies from lake to lake and even from year to year within the same lake, depending on winter and spring weather conditions. In other words, if we have an early spring with nice warm days in March, you can expect to