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This is a dumb question I know. I’ve tried to understand this and just can’t grasp it. When crappie move,say from winter pattern and start moving to pre spawn or whatever how do they go about doing it??Just a little at a time??I picture them doing like we do when we are traveling and just go straight almost non stop from point A to point B. Can anyone explain this?


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I believe they go thru more or less a "start/stop/start" movement pattern ... in relation to the prevailing weather, water levels & temps.

There was a study done many years ago on KY Lake that showed their movements and reactions to changes during the Winter to pre-spawn to spawn to post-spawn periods. ( 2003 Kentucky Lake Crappie Project..Preliminary Results - Kentucky Angling Forum )

If I am not mistaken it is water temperature related as to how fast they move. I am sure there are other factors that I am unaware of. Here are a couple articles.

Where Crappies Roam - In-Fisherman

A Comprehensive Guide to Crappie Spawning - fishing weekend warrior


A water temperature guide to finding and catching crappie – Lifetime Angler

I tend to agree with CrappiePappy, and will add a bit. Water temp, im my understanding has alot to do with their movement and the spawn. With this in mind, they will move up and back several times, as well as not all fish of a type, crappie, bass, bluegill,etc. will spawn at once. Keeping that in mind, it pays pays to find structure, drop-offs, etc. nearby to known spawning areas. Just my $0.02 worth.

Thanks y’all. Finally found time to read them all. Very informative.


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10 degrees here added to the winter low and they begin the march , never seen them go fast though , 30 fow 2 weeks , 20 foot of water 2 weeks , 10 foot of water 2 more weeks, and then KABOOM ....shoulders out of the water dancing in the dark ....
transition times vary greatly depending on several factors though and that is based on deeper lakes .
shallow spots they can move weekly or faster depending on just how shallow the average water depths are ..
length of days and moon phases and other contributing factors like daily water temps. come into play as well ....
some spots warm enough in 2 to 3 days to begin the cycle in rapid fashion .
it's a tricky business to stay on them in the spring and vice versa come fall when they move on to their winter mode
winter fish and summer fish are easy , transitional crappie are a beast

When I find them I can usually catch them. I just have problems comprehending where they are at different times.


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Don’t try to over think it. Once a few move shallow to spawn 2-4 FOW ( I’m talking white crappie) provided the lake has good spawning cover at those depths.
There will be fish scattered from 2 ft to over 20 FOW in most lakes ( if the lake is known to have a good population)
Personally, I have the best luck on spring days with these factors- moon is not up , wind from the south or south west, falling barometer, water rising or stable.
I should also add most of the time I use jigs, single long pole. I fish using a 10 kayak, 14 ft pirogue with troll motor and a 16 ft aluminum boat with 40 hp motor. It all depends on what lake and time of year.


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Don’t try to over think it. Once a few move shallow to spawn 2-4 FOW ( I’m talking white crappie) provided the lake has good spawning cover at those depths.
There will be fish scattered from 2 ft to over 20 FOW in most lakes ( if the lake is known to have a good population)
Personally, I have the best luck on spring days with these factors- moon is not up , wind from the south or south west, falling barometer, water rising or stable.
I should also add most of the time I use jigs, single long pole. I fish using a 10 kayak, 14 ft pirogue with troll motor and a 16 ft aluminum boat with 40 hp motor. It all depends on what lake and time of year.


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Crappie move alot all year long. We can be catching them on one end of a lake and notice they move to the opposite end in a matter of a couple weeks. We chase roamers with livescope . Unreal how much Crappie actually move all year long and never notice anything significant changed on the lake.