How to Find River Crappie

News & Tips: How to Find River Crappie

crappie 400 1Finding crappie in rivers can be a whole lot easier if you remember that crappie rarely challenge the main flow of a river. They prefer to use eddies, slack water, and cover that breaks the current.

Speckled perch will spawn out of current in areas that warm more quickly than the main flow, with peak spawning at 66 to 70 degrees water temperature.

Vertical cover that extends from the river bottom to above the surface provides good holding places for crappie in rivers with heavy current. The heavier the current the wider the cover must be to hold them.

In rivers with slower current, trees, brush and stumps become more important as crappie holding areas. Crappie will almost always use the down current side of cover.

By Larry Whiteley, Host of the award winning
Outdoor World Radio