Robin

Fishing is just triggering a fish to eat, kill, or have an reaction bite...all lures, baits, etc, have triggers that can get a fish to bite....triggers are Scent, Sound, Taste, Texture, Shape, Vibration, Pheromones, Color, Luminescence, or phosphorescence.

I like swimmers because like the ones I use, they can have Almost all of the triggers....they have a powered heavy squid scent that lasts the life of the bait, they have ribs on 2 styles...you can also rig to make sounds, they are heavily salted, have a very soft texture, various shapes for all patterns, IMHO, the paddle tail is the best on the market, you can "doctor" with Pheromones, great colors, and hold dye like a champ...plus you can still add a niblet to the hook without affecting performance.
You can Power fish with them, or Finesse fish....you can use them with a bobber, on any State rig, drop shot, troll, vertical, beetle spin, chatterbait, spinerbait or jig trailer, etc...nothing is more versatile.

You can repair them with MEND-IT....it is a plastic lure bonder, almost like a Super Glue, but it does not make the baits hard....they stay soft and supple and do not lose action.

All Crappie follow basic patterns...But, according to each lake they adapt to different situations, based on their comfort and eating....plain and simple, that's all it is. They are looking for plenty of oxygen, comfortable temps, safety if needed, and food...the only other basic desire is at spawn time.

Most areas are the same, but at CJ it is constant...after Winter when the Water temp hits 42 degrees, they are thawing out and starting to feed, easy meals and small minnows/etc are starting to fire up their metabolism. They are looking for the warmest water possible with cover close by, drop-offs close to coves, creek beds, etc, mainly because the shad are headed to the warmer water also. Everything relates to mainly shad at CJ...it is the driving factor during certain times.

At 50 degrees they are gorging to get ready for the spawn....they are still hanging out on drop-offs, etc...they are starting to feed heavy at night in the shallows that hold heat....especially Northern coves, Northern shorelines, Northern rocks, etc, that get more Sunlight and holds the Sun's heat longer.

Between 55 degrees at depth, to 60 STABLE degrees at the surface, the males move in shallow to stake claim to spawning areas and to fan beds....the SLAB males, get the best spots and normally they are in deeper 10- 12 ft water at CJ...The BIG males are looking for a barren gravel bottom with a wide view and 1 or 2rocks that will help him defend his territory easier....smaller males, get the close to shore "crappy" areas with rocks all around, etc, and are tormented by Bluegills and other nest raiders.

From about 60-65 degrees STABLE, at the surface, the Females start to move in to spawn. ANY temperature drop or bad weather can screw things up for days or weeks, temps are difinite at this time....if temps don't stabilize, the spawn is off, and the females will absorb the eggs.

At 70 degrees at depth, the females head back out to deeper water to heal and recover, in about a week or so they will gorge again to rebuild from the spawn.

Males will guard the nests until the fry hatch and when the water maintains a constant 75 degrees at depth, then they leave and are gone to deep water and gorging.
During the spawn, is also the time when everyone can catch crappie on anything.

At 80 degrees, Crappie are looking for daytime shade, or cooler oxygenated water...springs, deep water drops, creek beds, structure, or cover, or docks, shade trees, etc. They will come shallow at night to feed...or cloudy or rainy days.
They stay here until Fall when the temps start to drop, they will move up the water column in nominal temps and start gorging on this years hatch that are an inch or two. They'll still feed shallow at night but also during the day if not full.
They can see in darkness in HD Black and White...so they have a huge advantage over prey at this time....just like Gators!

When the water temps hit 50 they are moving to Wintering holes, once it hits 40 degrees at depth they are at a slow suspend until Spring and the cycle starts again.

CJ is such a shad heavy fishery...it does now have a fantastic natural baitfish population, but shad is king...shad are just smelly, soft rayed, high protein, easy to eat, sushi delicacies.
Big Slabs join in with schools of WB and Gators and migrate the lake with the shad schools....the Young WB will go nuts and destroy the school, they injure, wound, or kill a bunch of shad, and then go back to eat...by that time the BIG Crappie, Walleye, and Older WB have had their fill! Sometimes it nice to be older and wiser!!! lol

Good Fishing To All!