The fish are biting

By Rennie Phillips

As we look across the valley we can see the plum trees are blooming. Back of our house the Autumn Olive trees are blooming. And then back in the woods there are some dogwoods blooming. Usually when these trees or bushes are blooming the crappie are biting. Not so much this year. We are behind a week or two because of the weather. I received the fishing report for southeast Missouri and most of our lakes surface temps are right around 60 degrees. A little too cold for most of our fish to be biting with any kind of vigor.

When the temperature of the lake or pond gets towards 60 degrees the male crappie will begin moving into the shallows and preparing beds for the female crappie to lay their eggs on. These males can be in water from as shallow as a foot or so on up to 6 or 8 feet or even deeper if the water is still pretty cold. All those who are catching crappie that I've heard from or read about are in ponds or down south towards Sardis or Enid.

The size of the body of water and the depth will make a world of difference. If you are fishing a pond that is an acre or two and shallow it will warm up a lot quicker then a bigger lake like Lake Girardeau. Cedar will probably even warm up slower than Lake Girardeau. The easiest way to track the movement of the crappie is to get a thermometer and use it. Most stores will have thermometers. I have one that will float.

Most of those fishing probably right now will be using jigs when fishing for crappie. They use either tube jigs or hair or synthetic jigs. Up until this year my favorite spring bait was minnows but probably won't use many this spring. Really miss Foutz's being there. Use a jig that weights from 1/16 ounce on up to a 1/4 ounce or so. Make sure the hooks are sharp. Have an assortment of colors and keep changing till you find one that works. Black or white or yellow or a mix is a good place to start. Throw in some red and chartreuse.

If you are fishing from shore, and this is a great time to fish from shore, use a fairly long rod (10 or 12 feet or even 14 feet) so you can drop your jig straight down along the shoreline. Gradually fish further and further out. You may want to use a bobber and not fish over two or three or four feet deep. I'd be as quiet as possible when fishing along the shoreline. If there are trees or brush along the shoreline in the water the crappie will normally be around this structure. Don't be afraid of dropping your jig straight down in the middle of the structure.

A great way to fish for crappie is to use a slip bobber. It allows you to fish at whatever depth you want to fish. The bobber when you reel it in to throw out will be real close to your hook and weight. But once the weight starts to sink the line will flow through the bobber till it hits a stop you put on the line. So you can fish from a foot deep to 20 feet deep from shore if you want. My favorite reel is the older Zebco 33s on an ugly stick. They work.

If you are using a boat then I'd probably fish structure in shallow water. Sunken trees or brush along the shoreline or even clear shoreline may reward you with a crappie.

Some use long poles suspended off the front of their boats which they call spider rigging. They then suspend the jigs or minnows down three or four feet or even deeper. Then they will simply trawl real slow. Depending on the regulations some may use quite a number of these poles. Trawl really slow at maybe a mile an hour or even less. This works really well if the lake doesn't have a lot of sunken structure.

The real key is to follow the temperature as the indicator. When temp is upper 50s to low 60s, males will be fanning the beds. Mid 60s to 70, the females will be laying eggs. Fish shallow. Check the crappie when you catch that first one. If it has a huge belly and looks like there is a golf ball in its belly, it's probably a female. If it doesn't it's probably a male. Usually you catch the males before the females. Many of the males will have the bottom of their tail worn off making beds for the females.

I still think the best way to clean a crappie is to fillet it. The fillet should end up with no bones whatsoever in it. Some will say not to soak the fish but we do. From the time I was little Mom would soak them overnight in some salt water. Mom fried her fish in flour. I use Andy's Fish Mix for mine. Also like to take a little corn meal and add a bit of flour and dip the fish in this. MM Good.

Some use tartar sauce and some use a horseradish mix. I like both but my favorite is still just plain fried crappie. Catfish are good but I still like crappie better.

Happy fishing.