Crappie

When the weather is finally starting to warm up into spring, you can guarantee that the crappie are going to go into a frenzy. Once the water temps hit right around 50 degrees, they’ll move to shallower water and feed until the water gets closer to 60, when they’ll start spawning.

Crappie fishing is a right of passage signaling spring for many anglers.  Pre Spawn fishing opportunities are often consistent and coveted.  Might not be a better time during the entire calendar year to target panfish.  Locations and presentations are fairly straight forward and in many cases, spring crappie locations are no secret.  The staff at Jason Mitchell Outdoors offers a few insights on how to capitalize on this tremendous fishing opportunity, offer

by Jason Mitchell

Do you want to catch more crappie? Good anglers know the real secret to catching more fish is knowledge. Knowing the best fishing tackle as well as when and where to search for crappie will improve your success rate dramatically.

So many first ice fishing crappie locations can be somewhat predictable. Troughs, dips, channels and holes seem to concentrate crappie in the fall and these general locations seem to hold into the winter.

Some states like South Carolina and Kentucky are legendary for their crappie fishing. But the fact is the Old Dominion (Virginia) is no slouch when it comes to this speckled black and white fish, either. And fall through early winter is one of the best times to catch them.

The 2016 Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters National Championship will take place September 28 - October 1 on Grenada Lake in Grenada, MS, the world's most prestigious crappie lake.

March usually has several days of warming weather, and it is the time when crappie start moving from their deepwater homes to shallow spawning areas. Be mindful that not all crappie spawn at the same time, but most will spawn during a few days of ideal conditions and the rest will spawn early or some later. Also consider regions, the start of crappie spawing can begin in early March in the Southern United States and moving North as late as June in Southern Canada.

We finally have good ice across Minnesota and beyond and this early ice is a wonderful time to find some serious crappie action. Crappie can become quite predictable in natural lakes if you know where to look. Here are a few of the spots to check early on for the best ice fishing spots.

Winter can be a great time to catch crappie. Sure, it can be cold out there, but if you dress for the weather and keep safety in mind while fishing, you could be enjoying a plate full of fried fish as you watch the Super Bowl.