April means the crappie are starting to bite

By Rennie Phillips

When April rolls around in Missouri, it's time to find some water and go fishing. And most fish will be biting, but especially the crappie.

Crappie like water temperatures around 60 degrees or so to spawn. Just a shade over 60 degrees is perfect, but since we don't live in a perfect world, close to 60 will work. They probably don't like stormy weather, but since we have been having storms that requirement is probably out the window.

Someone asked me whether I planted my garden by the signs or the moon phases. I told them, "Nope, I plant" when I have the time to plant. Kind of like fishing.

I go fishing when I have the time and the inclination to go fishing. I may not catch as many fish or as big a fish by not paying attention to the weather or other factors, but normally I go to get away and enjoy a slow day. I can do that without catching a ton of fish.

Crappie begin to bite around here beginning in April, and most bait will work. All of us have our favorite bait, but with all honesty, almost any smaller bait will work.

I used to use crickets out at the cement lakes. Crickets worked on crappie and bluegill. You hang a wiggling cricket down in front of almost any fish, and they are going to nail that sucker. Doesn't matter if it's a bass, bluegill, crappie or catfish; you have got a fish on.

Minnows are a little different. Bluegill will take a minnow, but not with a lot of enthusiasm. Crickets or those small red wigglers are a bluegill's choice of bait, or a small mayfly-type fly on a fly rod.

The shallow farm ponds will warm up quicker than the bigger lakes such as Twappity, Lake Girardeau or Cedar.

The lakes down south, such as Enid and Sardis, are a lot warmer than here. Those who fish down south are tearing them up even as I write, and there are pictures to prove it. A local angler posted a picture of a 2-pound, 8-ounce crappie this past week. Man, that is a nice crappie.

Many are trolling for crappie using a spider rig or a bunch of poles off the front or back of the boat.

Some are probably using small crank baits, while others are using jigs of one kind or another.

If I didn't have a boat, the first thing I'd do is buy a knee-high pair of boots that are snake-proof. I wouldn't scrimp; I'd get a pair a snake can't bite through and tall enough a snake can't bite over them. That would be my first requirement.

Then I'd buy two rods. One would be a long fly rod or crappie rod, say 12 feet long or so. Foutz's has them in Cape Girardeau. I'd set it up as a jigging rod.

The other rod probably would be about a 6-foot ugly Stik with a Zebco 33 on. Most Zebco 33's come with about 10-pound line, and that will work just fine. I'd put 6- or 8-pound line on the jigging rod. Could even use 10 pound. That's up to you.

If you go to Twappity, just start walking around the lake, and fish where you can reach from shore. Take your jigging pole and drop a jig like a Southern Pro around sticks or cover.

Don't get in a hurry. Drop it down slow and steady. Move it around a little, and if no bite, try a new spot. Just keep trying spot after spot. I don't know whether it's legal to wade at Twappity, but most places around the lake drop off really fast. In some places, it's virtually straight down.

You might want to take your Zebco outfit and do some casting. I'd set it up with a slip bobber.

Buy the cheapest slip bobbers you can find because you are going to lose a bunch of them. I lose them, and most of the time I use a boat. My slip bobber is a long, slim Styrofoam bobber I buy at Walmart. A three-pack is a buck or two. I'd get the bobber stop from Cabela's.

Most bait will work, but my choice would be a cricket on a jig head or a smalltube body on a lead head jig -- 1/16 ounce or 1/8 ounce would be my choice. Use a whetstone to sharpen the hook.

With the slip bobber, you can change the depth you are fishing pretty easily. Slide the bobber stop up or down to change the depth of your jig or cricket. You might want to put a slip bobber on your jigging rod. I probably would.

I used to walk along the bank at the cement lakes and stick my jigging pole out where I could drop a jig in the water. Don't know how many crappie I caught doing this.

Vic and Doug liked to wade and fish for crappie and red ear. Jim Miller and a friend of his used to wade and fish for crappie, and they did really well.

When using my boat, I normally fish along the shore a good part of the time. Try not to make a lot of noise.

A boat makes it a lot easier to fish, but you don't have to have one.

If you want a boat, start with a johnboat. Watch the garage sales or Craigslist. About all you'd need then is a life jacket, a couple of five-gallon buckets to fill with water to level out the boat, and a sculling paddle.

Boy, you can sneak up on a fish in a 10- or 12-foot Buddy boat using a sculling paddle. There have probably been millions of crappie caught out of a johnboat using a sculling paddle.