length of hatch time.

What is the length of time it takes for crappie eggs to hatch. Are the crappie making their beds in the shallow water because of water temperture or is it for protection. What is the perfered depth for laying their eggs. What affect does the rising and fall of water during spawn have on the mortality of laid eggs.

Eggs typically hatch in 3 to 7 days depending on water temperature. The depth of the nests is often dependent on water clarity. Table Rock crappie will spawn much deeper than Truman crappie. I've seen crappie stay on nest in Smithille after a 4 foot rise in lake level. The effect of rising and falling water depends upon when in the spawn it occurs. Real early and crappie may build new nests, late in the spawn and they will make do with what they have. A few years back we needed to drop Smithville during the crappie spawn. It was early and black crappie were on the nest good in a foot of water, but the whites had yet to come in. Since we had too many slow-growing black crappie, we tried to leave their nests high and dry to hopefully reduce the success of the spawn. Crappie can spawn in less than a foot of water, so as long as the nests aren't completely high and dry, they'll do well. The most important factor for the success of a crappie year class is the abundance of shad. This is especially true in large lakes. We worked very closely with the Corps of Engineers staff at Smithville Lake to keep the lake stable to slightly rising during the shad spawn. Every winter Smithville is drawndown 2 feet to give us a buffer so we hopefully won't be dropping the lake during the spawning season. The lake managers try to match what's coming in to what's going out to hold the lake fairly stable. It's worked pretty well most years. When Smithville gets 4 feet above normal pool, everyone's hands are tied and water must be released if it won't cause downstream flooding. The good crappie fishing we've had the last 5-6 years at Smithville is directly related to successful water level management, in my opinion.

What month does the shad usually spawn and do they only spawn once a year?

Shad usually spawn mid-May to early June. They spawn once a year. Spawning for all fish is mostly tied to the length of day. Warmer weather can move the spawn up a week or two and cold weather can delay it some too.