i myself have developed a rather who cares approach to the spawn . there are so many articles and so many opinions and this and that . research indicates this and the temperature has to be that . sunlight amount needs to be adequate and so on and so on .
now mind you i am not trying to start an argument and or discredit anyone . i totally respect others that have done the research and studies and in no way am saying anyone is right or wrong .
but here is what i know from the area i live after 3 years of going 7 days a week regularly on around 7 or 8 bodies of water in the north central part of texas . there is nothing scientific in my research because all i do is go ketch crappie and have a good time .
1 ...i find large female crappie moving shallow sometimes as early as january ALONE !
2... i find male crappie up shallow long behind the females in march .
3 ... i have actually seen them spawning in the moonlight in water temperatures FAR below what is suggested
keep in mind this is just personal observations and once again i have no idea why or who is right or who is wrong . i dont chase them all over the usa and dont know what they do elsewhere . anyway in conclusion to this post i present you a bowl full of crappie eggs . taken from 25 fish yesterday of both species . 20 of the fish were females and they were NOT spawning !
the develop of the eggs in these fish indicates to me they will be doing it VERY soon though .so if you wait like the traditional folks to find them spawning in late march and early april you might reconsider that approach . i would get out your float rig and start looking in some spots (and i will) as soon as next month . especially after dark about 3 or so hours until the next daylight .
hopefully everyone has a fun filled "early" spring because if you follow my posts you will see myself and my buds doing just that