One thing I was able to do over the weekend was to check the status of the crappie spawn. You can do this using several different criteria, including things like the location and depth of catch, water temperature, and fish coloration.
Like most every other fish, crappie move to shallower water to spawn, most commonly in depths from 8"-36", though it can be deeper in clearer water. Black crappie tend to move shallower faster than white crappie, and also tend to just move shallower in general than whites. So often times, while you may be catching staging whites out in 8'-15' of water, there are probably a lot of black crappie up in 5' of water or less. If you can't tell the difference between the two, don't feel bad. A recent survey showed that 35% of the angling public misidentified their catch as to whether black or white.
Crappie spawning generally begins somewhere in the 57-61 degree temperature range, but is usually strongest in the mid to upper 60's, to near 70. They prefer to nest on firm but not hard bottoms when available, with clay banks or substrates being a favorite. They will typically avoid using rock/riprap or silty organic bottoms, if possible. They also prefer to nest in very sheltered areas away from wind and wave action, and it's not unusual to find them nesting near some type of cover like low level vegetation (cattails or water willow) or around simple woody cover (button bushes or logs). Once layed, eggs take between 2-5 days to hatch depending on water temperature.
Another way to judge how far along the crappies are in their spawning rites is by coloration. Males tend to take on a very dark coloration at this time of year as the spawn approaches, almost turning black in some cases. This distinct coloration is an easy sign to recognize, and one you should pay attention to to judge how far along things might be. You can combine this with things like number of dark colored males caught, ratios of males to females, or location to get an idea, also.
I only caught 2 black males in very shallow water around boat docks this weekend, with the rest being normal colored fish on deeper docks or in open water, suggesting that we are just in the very beginning stages of the spawning process. If you keep your fish, seeing how many females have eggs, as well as how swollen and what color the eggs are can be a good way to help judge timelines.
In general, I'd say we're still several weeks away from heavy spawning, so if you want to chase after a tasty fish for the table, and want to get in on a pretty simple and high numbers trip, chasing shallow crappie over the next few weeks would certainly keep the poles bent.
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