Quote Originally Posted by tenncrappie View Post
I have seen where some people claim that crappie go on the bed and fan the bed like a bream. But I was told last year by a professional guide that this is not so. That crappie go shallow and lay their eggs on some type of wood(log,stump etc) and the male follows up by depositing his part on the eggs. Who is right or wrong?
The male crappie sticks around to protect the eggs and the fry when they hatch out. The reason why a fish fans the nest is to keep out debri and to keep the eggs oxygenated. The guide that you talked to is right in that crappie will lay eggs on wood and other substances if they can't find the right spawning bed at the right depth. They like a soil that's not too silt and not to hard bottom. Something that they can fan a bowl shape into the bottom that will hold the eggs in one place. Marl type bottoms is what I heard work good.

A crappie is a member of the sunfish family and just as bluegills do the males will stick around and not eat and protect the eggs. The males come into the shallows sooner and built/choose the nest area. Then the females come in and lay their eggs in the nest where the male's fertilize the eggs and then guard them while the females head back out to the deeper waters again.