Spawning Areas

This question should be a given but I am interested more in the variety or range of answers we may get.
If you are fishing a river system that is tide controlled or your water level can very due to dam or lock control, what depths do the crappie spawn in? This is due to along the edges may become dry or waterless at times during the spawning season.


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We have winter draw down here presently. During spawn the water level will increase. We usually find them in bays that are around 10 feet deep. The fish will be all through there at depths of their liking. Some will be in 2 feet of water

Bud you have to fish deep. Our local rivers have never consistently produced spawning fish shallow. A flowing Estuary is a totally different game than fishing a Impoundment. The Big Four although fed by rivers are still Impoundments and as such the fish learn how best to flourish in it. Any river non-tidal is easier to pattern but will not provide the clean, fresh, fat-free tasting fish in general a flowing Estuary does. Since our Coastal Rivers have predatory fish that eat Crappie just like we do the Crappie that have made it to a size they know they are "Off" the food chain so to speak are out where the structure is plentiful and deep water is near. In "near" I mean within a few feet. The "Bank Beaters" catch fish to fill a Taco but consistently catching a good showing of big Crappie comes from fishing where they live most of their lives not fishing the chance opportunity to catch one briefly a little shallower 5-7ft spraying eggs. Males seem much less numerous in my catches than females anyway. Maybe 1 in 5 are Males. I wonder what the survival ratio is anyway. Keep the "Real Time Sonar" windows on at all times, when you drift off the structure you stop catching fish. I see anglers, I would not call them dedicated Crappie anglers fish the mouths of passes, bayous, channel junctions for Crappie mostly using slip cork rigs and shiners. The fish they catch are White Crappie and not a lot of them. When you pass by you see them fishing, when you come back thru they are always gone. You can do that on a Impoundment fed by rivers but in Tidal rivers rarely does it pay. As you know I catch 366 Days of the Year, I'm fishing the same way in December as July when I'm fishing Tidal waters. I hope this is helpful.

Thanks fellow, I was awaiting your reply as it’s golden in these rivers. What you stated is exactly what I have found to be true too.
Especially at Millers Ferry and The Pearl.


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