I'm headed down to Ouachita & Greeson April 4th, and was wondering if the spawn would be over or in full tilt. I know it depends on the weather, but any thoughts on this?
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I'm headed down to Ouachita & Greeson April 4th, and was wondering if the spawn would be over or in full tilt. I know it depends on the weather, but any thoughts on this?
Look the Darryl Morris post on "Your opinion of the spawn???" thread. He is a guide on Greeson and he sums it up.
tjones: WELCOME to the forum (by the way)
On Ouachita I don't believe the spawn will not peak until the last week of April. The spawn is geared toward water temperature AND the length of daytime sunlight. That is not to say there will not be GOOD fishing, because there already IS. Pre-spawn is a great time to fish!
Keith Sutton's book states that the spawn is at its optimum when daylight hours are from between 13.2 and 14.6 hours of daylight. That, in conjunction with warm water temps, will spring them into action. A consult to my solunar tables states that 23 April is when the daylight length is at 13 hours a day. That's what I go by...but be flexible.
They're already pretty active, compared to, say, December, when the water temps were in the mid-to-high 40's and very low 50's. Before this last cool down I found water in Ouachtia as high as 62 degrees in the upper reaches of the river on South Fork and at the Highway 27 Bridge and as low as 56 degrees along the south banks of both areas.
My rule of thumb (and humble opinion) is that crappie will generally seek the warmer water up to the 72 degree mark. When the water hits the 80's, well after the spawn, they will seek the coolest waters. At least I have found that to be true at Ouachita.
The first week of April, barring any super bad weather, will find the crappie anywhere from the bank to pre-spawn depths. It's a continuous process because all crappie do not spawn at the same time. What THAT means to me is that we are in for some dy-no-MITE fishin' for about three, four or five weeks in April and May. Always do.
If you read my posts of last week, then you know they were already active over brush piles in 15-20 fow at a depth of about 6 feet. That was before this last cold blast. I'll be going every day this next week and expect to see them tight to cover early in the week and really back to where they were last week, toward the end of this week.
If you intend to fish the South Fork of Ouachita (the Twin Creeks/Denby/Shangri-la areas), let me know and I'll mark a few areas for you or will take you myself, if you want.
Hope this all helps. <><
Blessings to you and yours,
aj
April 4 will hit it on the money if our weather holds. Just got to find those spots where they're stacked up.