Crappie??

Is anyone willing to help me out here. Its time for the pre-spawn on my home lake Cedar Creek Lake, KY. I have limited mobility due to I have only a small jon powered with just a trolling motor, so i have to stay close to where i put in, now i know the crappie will spawn in the upper end of my lake where the main feeder creek runs in. Now, this back area with a creek channel that funs under a bridge, then over a submerged bridge before it makes it way down in to the main lake. This lake is loaded with standing timber. Ill in close a map, can anyone help me find the big slabs on the way in to this area for spawn. Keep in mind, there known spawning area i caught several this past week there when the water reached surface temps of upper 40;s to 50 degrees. Now we are again back in a cold snap, snow and freezing rain last night. So Imsure they move into deeper water, but surly they dont all move to the middle of the lake, lol..... i just cant put together theses puzzles. I wanna be able to catchthis fish well before they get up on the bed, and there well, fare game for all the hundreds of boats soon to come once the weather breaks, and then anyone can catch them, for awahile anyway till they do there thing and move back out. Thanks Don

Lots of folks think they need to be on the lake at the crack of dawn to catch crappie. I don't find this to be the case in early season. I would tend to wait till we get some sunshine and fish the north banks of the spawning areas where the water should be the warmest. If your lake has both black and white crappie, I would be targeting the blacks in warmer, shallow water from mid-day till dark. I have caught blacks in less than 1 foot of water very early in the spawn on KY Lake on rock banks that are getting sunshine most of the day. Use a small spinnerbait type lure or a jig under a bobber set no more than a foot or so deep. Cast either right up to the bank and work them back S_L_O_W_L_Y.

I totally agree with all that. Yet still I love being out there at sun up. I tried to upload a map of Cedar Creek, but no luck, that would help if i could. As for the water warming i have noticed that the upper and lower end both warm the same. I feel this is cause the lake faces pretty much south to north, so both ends get the same exposure to the sun. Last tue, the water reached the 50 degree mark, and I and another fishmen whom was fishing minnows, both aught crappie over the typical honey holes, that will soon be filled with crappie no stop till they all spawn out, so i think. I dont see why they stay in this area all year. The creek channel running thru this upper end area, at its greatest depth, is around 16 to 19 ft. which is lined with standing timber, and cedars. As you follow the creek channel back toward the main part of the lake, it slowly gets to depths of 20 to 25ft. this channel still remains lined with standing timber.
One would think crappie would stage in this area to head in to the upper end close by, kind of yo-yoing back and forth in this area till that magic temp hits of 50 something degrees, and on up. I have read so many articles, watched so many videos, is all the same info, but not.

Have you ever heard of Kevin Roggers of the Bobby Garland Pro staff? He is a vertical jigger and i really like that style of fishing. Mainly being thats all I can do from my little 12ft jon boat with my trolling motor to get me around. Trolling or pushing is tuff to do from it, the slightest wing sends me sailing, it will wear you out trying to control that craft. But, on calmer days during the spawn, i can flat smoke'em! At least I did last year. I dont know how many people stuck on fishing minnows passed me saying, " i believe theses crappie are all done, or they just wont hit a minnow". Id just smile and real in my fish while we talked, the look on their faces, one i know all to well. I wear it better part of the year, when i cant figure out what im doing wrong. But, when the crappie move on the bed fishing becomes easy, unless the water gets real muddy from heavy rain in flow to the upper end. Thats a mystery to me as well, you know they are there, but with nasty muddy water wont bit, it takes days for the water to clear up, then its back on!

How i catch all my fish is simplistic, i love to pitch to them, by pitching past cover and letting it fall back, if that doesnt work ill move close, real stealthy, and swim the jig in and around the cover. People pass by and shack their heads like im doing something wrong, but as long as im quiet it produces. Color and jig style paed a huge part too.

As for once thet move back out from this area, nothing seems to work. you would think,ill just cruse down the channel, and vertical jig all this standing timber but, nope. im doing something wrong i feel, i must have the wrong concept?