Warming up?

**Paulywog0667** · 04-13-2016, 07:48 AM

Hi everyone, I'm still a little new to crappie fishing and this forum. So please excuse newbie sounding questions. It's sort of a what I've been noticing and a little validation would make me feel better. I've been fishing an inland reservoir in Summit county, Ohio. Talking with some of the other fishermen has lead me to a little understanding of crappie. From what they tell me the bite usually picks up when water tempts reach 55°. Although I have caught my first three. Also, have read some fishing encyclopedias (from before a doctorate degree knowledge was available online). We've been getting some crappie on small jigs, but seems the yellow perch have moved into the area(generally small ones). I have noticed seagulls grabbing baitfish at what would be a next stage depth ledge. Away from a lot of structure though. Surface tempts at the transducer have been between 40°-45°. With expected air temperatures to go from low 40's to close to the 70's this weekend. Overnight lows still in the 30's-40's though. Is that a common scenario for the crappie to transition away from holding structure to stage ready for spawning?

Bluegill had always been a toss anything in the water, but have noticed jigging grabs 1000% increase in crappie. I've always been a smallmouth and rainbow trout type fisherman. Inland lakes are a little new to me. Not that the channel catfish, northern pike, perch and largemouth haven't been fun. To target and learn crappie seems fun. Lol

Included a pic link of my second crappie. Lol

**fishinforfun** · 04-13-2016, 01:36 PM

Maybe this will be of some help:

Males will make their way to shallows to fan nests when water temps reach a steady 55 degrees
They will back away from shallows if cold front comes in. Will back into first available drop off near deeper water and wait til water starts to warm again
Females will stage in deeper water adjacent to banks where males fanning nests. Once water temps reach 63-65 degrees, they will enter shallows to lay eggs
Females will lay eggs fairly quickly (2-3 d period) the back out of shallows into the deeper water to rest and recover. They can still be caught, but must fish slowly
Males will guard nests for a couple weeks until fry hatch and can seek cover. Spawn will be complete. Males will return to deeper water

Start search for spawning crappie in North end of any lake. Gets most u exposure and will warm first. Then just follow pattern from North to South end of lake. Based on weather, the entire spawning cycle on most lakes will last on average 3 weeks

**crappiemax** · 04-13-2016, 09:15 PM

That pretty well says it all. Crappie can be caught year round so spawn or not...go get them

**Paulywog0667** · 04-21-2016, 06:38 PM

Great advice, I've been focusing on yellow perch lately. The occasional crappie still bites. Last time out on the kayak I was setting one line off the side of the kayak while rearranging and a crappie grabbed the hook. Some of the local fishermen shared some secret spots, but panfish of all types taste great! It's an inland lake, but seems to be diverse fishing.

**crappiemax** · 04-23-2016, 08:07 AM

You have to up north somewhere...just exactly how do you focus on yellow perch?

**Paulywog0667** · 04-23-2016, 12:33 PM

Bouncing the bottom compared to the thermocline. Yellow perch have been biting within the bottom couple foot. While the crappie seems to be that 3-4' from bottom up along structure. It's structure at 16' depth. Perch and channel cats have been keeping me busy enough to not paddle towards coves.

**crappiemax** · 04-24-2016, 04:59 AM

I wish w had some decent perch fishing down here

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