In the Crappie Zone by Brad

All of you were thinking mentally staying in the zone when you read the title of this article. You have all heard about keeping your thoughts on seeing and trying to catch more crappie. However, it’s not mental zone I’m talking about but a comfort zone where crappie will move to suspend, rest or ambush prey.


So where is this so called mythical zone? While every lake is different the crappie zone will change throughout the season with so many variables influence where they are located. Finding it can be as easy as starting your outboard and idling around to see where the crappie are located before fishing for them.


One of the most interesting situations of crappie being a zone happened on Clinton Lake in Kansas during a crappie tournament. Crappie pro David Wade noted that the crappie were segregating according to the species of fish. While crappie segregating between two species of fish maybe commonly seen on forward facing sonar during this tournament Wade saw three species including crappie, drum and white bass.


“While I have seen the fish segregating before between two species with the crappie below them,” Crappie pro from Wichita, Kansas, continued, “At this tournament I saw three different species stack up around wood. The first school would be white bass or a school of white bass near the top level then below that would be a drum. A drum is a freshwater fish that’s common in most Kansas reservoirs and are considered an undesirable rough fish. It’s one fish you don’t want to be catching during a crappie tournament. In the bottom zone would be crappie suspending off the bottom away from the other species.”


In general even if there are two species of fish and crappie being one, the crappie are normally found under the other more aggressive species noted Wade. At Clinton Lake in Kansas the brush piles located up the river arms were loaded with largemouth bass and some of the bigger crappie during the tournament below them although the number of those crappie smaller. Another interesting note was that some of the crappie were caught below the thermocline during the tournament as crappie moved deeper away from the white bass and drum.



Knowing the difference between drum, white bass and crappie was important for Wade to know during the tournament, but also good to know for anyone crappie fishing with FFS. “How I tell a drum from a crappie during that tournament was to test my theory of the species activity on top sections of the standing wood or laydown was to watch the reaction. White bass would actively chase or swim away from the lure or minnow when placed in front of it,” Wade continued, “The middle marks were similar, but more of a slender mark with a nose down appearance. A crappie on the other hand would stay stationary with a football shape image. The bigger the football; the bigger the crappie. Almost all of my fish came off of a single tree within a small group, isolated tree or root balls.”


To catch the crappie Wade utilized a 1/8- to 1/32-ounce hair jig with a small split shot above it for additional weight. The hand tied hair jigs were some he had made with a natural shad pattern. “I bring my hand tie hair jig materials wherever I go so I can tie up any color pattern or size that I want,” Wade went on, “I think that makes a big difference in how many crappie I catch and size.”


Living in Wichita, Kansas, Wade enjoys fishing in the Eastern part of Kansas, South Oklahoma and Western Missouri. “It seems like west of Wichita there isn’t any flood wood to fish, but it’s loaded in reservoirs east and south,” Wade continued, “However, it seems like wherever I fish the crappie will be in a zone below the other species.”