north il

Heidecke crappie need a bit more sun and warmth to start kicking in, and then some calm winds to make it bearable. KKK river and IL river have some nice crappie but good locations are very limited......minnows below a float work well. Cats are also fun at all three locations.

I fish them all on a regular basis out of necessity, rather be near Shelbyville or some other undeveloped honey hole.

Dont over look the lakes around Bloomington for great crappie action closer to home than Sville.

semi-retired,

Gary

Thx for the info guys. I am going to try backwaters off of kankakee river this weekend , ill let you know how it goes.

Shabbona lake is now ice free, the lake opened just opened up in the last two days. Rain & wind an open water fisherman two best friends in early springtime..............

Heidecke has some awesome crappie but very hard to pattern with no structure. They mainly roam and follow the shad. People know but generally just fish around launch with slip bobbers in the spring. I've done best trolling sr5's until I contact some fish and mark bait then either cast or jig. Much more concentrated early.

Vulcan lake in crystal lake has MONSTER crappie but sucks to fish with 30ft clarity and rental only. Fish average 13" and up, seen them up to 18". If you could fish out of your own boat it would without question be the greatest trophy fishery in the state, possibly Midwest. Only been open to public 3yrs and strictly c&r.

Awesome info, thx for sharing :-)

Water temp 47 . Not even a bite , could not find them.

hey guys I live just south of I 80 the fishing around here in small ponds can be good at times fellas. I try to fish off the beaten path. lakes and ponds nobody really fish, places we drive past every day. I caught 6 9-10 inchers the other day. fish shallow and I keep the jig moving it doesn't sound right but I have been catching them for years this way at ice out. sorry I won't divelge the places I get them at but our area is dotted with these ponds but you gotta get out and try them.

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Originally Posted by lil re-speck

hey guys I live just south of I 80 the fishing around here in small ponds can be good at times fellas. I try to fish off the beaten path. lakes and ponds nobody really fish, places we drive past every day. I caught 6 9-10 inchers the other day. fish shallow and I keep the jig moving it doesn't sound right but I have been catching them for years this way at ice out. sorry I won't divelge the places I get them at but our area is dotted with these ponds but you gotta get out and try them.

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live in your area-fish the same types of water.i use small hand tied jigs tipped with a wxie and reel and twitch.your right it works.works better than a minnow .they say cold water slow it down but it must imitate a larva or something they key on this time of year.not many keepers and i dont keep fish from small BOWs .good fun close to home