Can anyone provide me some tips this year on the spawn. Or any early predictions on when the spawn will happen. Seems like every year I'm always to late. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Can anyone provide me some tips this year on the spawn. Or any early predictions on when the spawn will happen. Seems like every year I'm always to late. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I'll just have to be honest with you and say it isn't possible to predict that in LA with our weather, but pin pointing it isn't a repetitive thing no matter what. Their behaviors change year to year. Best thing to do is to start going late February and venture off in areas you plan to fish to monitor the water temps and drop a line for 10 mins or so. Scouting beats a fishing report 10/10 times. I will say this, better to be way early. When you wake up and it's cold, but warm in the evenings. Fish the channel edges 10ft deep in the am, and your shallower flats once the water temp has warmed later in the evening. I've moved and caught em shallower the instance my graph starting reading temps in the 60s quite a bit.
Can't be done with moon phases, etc., or even water temp. to an extent since it changes so much----I'm always late or early seems like. Varies lake to lake big time due to water clarity, depth, etc.... We were catching fish in 30 ft. of water last spring in one lake, and 25 miles away to the NORTH they were tearing 'em up in 2ft of water! The only accurate way to predict the start of the spawn is if your boss has you come in on Saturday, or you are sick on the weekend. Those days are guaranteed to be the best days of the spawn.
The best bet is to find out who the neighborhood crappie guru is and install a gps transmitter near the sonar transducer and see where he's fishing while you're on your lunch break at work.
JBJ
LikeQuote:
Originally Posted by bayoumonster
Thanks everyone for there info. I think in the next couple weeks I am going to go out and start scouting ideal crappie spawn locations. Everyone makes it seem so easy when it comes to crappie during spawning season. I guess I'm just always in the wrong location or picked a bad day to go.
Everything that they've said is true. Seat time is the only thing. We haven't had a bad winter the past few years so it's been early, IMO, the past couple years. I remember year before last I caught fish 18" deep on the bank on February 8th. Who woulda thunk it?? If I hadn't gone fishing I never would have known. I was the only one on the water that day and me and my daughters ripped em!!!!!
Not North, but I went back and checked the dates on my pictures from the last three seasons. I am a shallow water fisherman. Earliest good catch was last weekend in February. Latest first catch was 2 weekend in March. All from Saline and Spring Bayou.
I would say that the spawn is a lot earlier than most of us think. It was 22 degrees last week and I'm not sure what the water temp was, but the fish we caught were about to spawn judging from the eggs in the females. In years past it seemed like the spawn came with the nice warm days of spring but in recent years I have started catching them earlier and earlier and that is because I am now fishing earlier for them. I read somewhere that the larger females spawn earlier than the smaller fish. I don't know if that's true but we sure caught some nice ones this Friday and Saturday.
"gene"
That's very interesting "gene" maybe there could be some truth to that. I think a lot of us get caught up into the whole "spring time perect sunny day weather" and all of the big slabs are spawning right under our nose in mid February if not earlier.
Crappiekingjigs, what do you consider your home waters? The larger the lake the longer the window to catch fish shallow will be....
Well I'm from the shreveport/bossier area. So cross lake, caddo lake cypress and black bayou just to name a few. Certain parts of the red river but I never have any luck there when it comes to shallow crappie
The best way to know when the spawn happens is to fish everyday.
To add my 2 bits, I've fished for white perch for nearly 50 years and the spawn is still a mystery to me. I used to think it was a brief couple of week period and you either hit it or missed. Now I think it waxes and wanes over a couple of months. The best two days I've had were in the bayous of Saline/Larto a few years ago in January. I caught/released 88 slabs one day and 77 a week later. All were caught about a foot deep around the stumps along the bank. I don't know if they were preparing for the spawn or what but they were very shallow on pretty cold days.
I do most of my spawn fishing on Poverty Point. I, too, have caught them 10 inches deep along the rocks on cold February days and then come back a few days later and not get a bite. One thing I do know for sure is that the Poverty Point perch will be shallow on the rocks (somewhere) as late as the first week of May. So in the case of that lake, I think the spawn goes on for two months or more.
I won't tell you to fish everyday becaus I wish that I could. Lol. But, pick a date, lest say February 1st and start watching the weather and tracking the temperatures outside. Now fish some of those days and monitor the rise and fall of the water temp in your respective favorite body of water. If the water temps aren't showing a rise then back off and start hitting staging areas. Once again, seat time, you don't have to fish everyday until they really start to move in. I've done this in years past and caught a lot of huge females in 6-10 fow before anyone else even hits the lake for the spawn. Water temp is the key and outside temps along with sunshine dictate water temps. This is also one of the beauties of a fishing log. Details of a trip ie outside temp, water temps, barometric pressure, overcast or bluebird day, just to name a few can also help out tremendously. Jmo but this is what works for me. I'm not a professional by any means but my freezer keeps fish in it.
Lol. I wish I could fish everyday that would be a dream. Thanks everyone for this info it is very appreciated. I hope Everyone really kills them this year during the spawn. My freezer is getting kind of low lol and I'm ready to fill it up again.
I think hitting them spawning just right is just plain lucky, I did it once and had 30 or so in the boat in about 20 minutes and then some other people moved in on me and the fish scattered. It was mid February and pretty cold, but they were in 2ft of water and bloody tails and bellies.
Well good luck to everyone
PawPaw Gene.
How deep were the fish yall caught last weekend?
Huey
When I start too early, I can always back off and catch a few to justify the trip. Not great numbers, but fun.
Yes targeting huge slabs is always fun.
Huey, we're fishing oilfield canals which are around 7 foot deep. The fish we caught on Fri. and Sat were in the middle of the canals about 5 foot deep. My buddy was fishing shiners about 4 foot below a cork but at the speed we were moving with the wind I figure they were more like 3 foot deep. The ones I caught with a RoadRunner were a little deeper. I think they were coming up for the shiners as the water was very clear.
"gene"
Hey paw paw. What type of structure were you'll fishing around ? Or was it just open water above brush piles ?
Hardly any structure in these canals except the bank edge. There are patches of lilies and now or then a fallen tree but the canal bottoms are clean. We were just fishing the clear water in the middle of the canals. As it warms a little we'll be able to catch them against the bank.
"gene"
It may be different in different areas of the country, but I fish Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee a lot. I start looking at water temperature in early March. When the water temperature in the shallower areas gets over 50 degrees, the bait fish (shad in our case) will move up shallow and the crappie will follow. The deeper water will be around 45-48 degrees, but a 2 degree variance will make a lot of difference.
Any lakes I fish in Arkansas, Tennessee or Mississippi hold pretty well the same pattern. This temperature variance does not have to be in place for days, if the water temp gets up for just a few hours in the afternoon in the shallower areas, the fish respond and then move out as the temp drops back. A fish is a lot like a dog, on a cold day he will find a warm sunny spot to lay in to warm his body and on a hot summer day, it will find as much shade as is available.
As far as fishing the spawn, give me the pre spawn when the males are up looking for suitable nesting areas and starting to fan the beds. On Reelfoot, when the females move in to lay eggs, the fishing tends to get a little tougher. Also, the spawn is not quick. Mother Nature will not allow all the fish to run in and lay eggs in the same week. It will be strung out over a series of weeks, usually.
Hope you guys didn't mind my putting my .02 in here, but I found this to be an interesting topic with some interesting discussion.
Like and u can contribute more often.Quote:
Originally Posted by arkcrappie
Water temp has everything to do with when they actually lay eggs. Will be a little while.
Great general article about the spawn.....
http://www.crappie.com/bruce/article4.htm
From here on out till spawn time, I like the dead end oil field canals from Lake Des Allemands west to Verret and into the basin. Clear water with NO flow. I start outside in the middle and work my way in towards the bank. PPG you feel'n it? Now sola canals are 7-8 ft. deep in most places so its a fur cry from Claiborne or Darbonne. With this weather pattern, they could very well be staged well offshore in those dead end canals. Those "no flow" canals will warm nicely and the activity picks up. The basin water is super cold as its fed from the Atchafalaya River. If the basin is standing or dropping slowly, look for dead end canals with clear water and give it a try. I like it under a slip cork about 5' deep and drag it around and see what happens. I really like this set up this time of year. Gotta go to find out....SLIP....Roger, I'll be in touch to "catch up"
Another question I have about the spawn is during the spawn are crappie aggressive because they are "hungry" or is just the males basically protecting the nest so they see your jig or minnow as a threat to there bed ?
Sometimes we have a split spawn, one early then it gets cold again, and then the rest later.
I don't like chiming in on spawn posts because the experts (that have been crappie fishing for less than 5 years) always want to argue about it, but they fatten up during the winter much as deer before the rut, and then the bite is mostly guarding the beds during the spawn. I know this will spark WW3, but this is what I've seen and believe. I'm not a marine biologist though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappiekingjigs
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mo'nBack
I'm not a biologist myself, but I believe the same as Mo'nBack. If you want to feel the bite of feeding crappie, move out to where the females are holding prior to depositing eggs and you will find it. The males are irritable and don't like anything in the nest. Put on a 1.5" Yum crawfish, throw it in where you think a big male is fanning a bed and hang on! I also like to drag Charlie Brewer jigs on a standing head in there. Either way, you will get some violent strikes.
Yes that's exactly what I was thinking. I figured most mites during the spawn are aggression bites guarding there beds.
OK, so I am the 5 year expert, and a Marine Biologist......:Doh: WAIT, Nevermind......neither actually...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mo'nBack
Me and a guy at work were discussing these exact specifics yesterday, comparing crappie getting ready to spawn to deer in rut, that comment caught my eye. I have watched the bass fisherman on TV sight fish largemouth while they are on the nest (not sure if these are males are female bass), and they always mention how a bass will not bite, but grab a bait and spit it out very quickly, so they are hard to catch. Sometimes they might bite 10 times before the firsherman are actually quick enough to set the hook. Is this different with crappie? Or would you guys think the males guarding the nest are biting to eat or biting to kill / move the "thought to be predator?"
Crappie do the same thing. Alot of times they will just try to push it out several times before they actually grab it.
Thanks Mo'nBack....appreciate the feedback.:highfiveQuote:
Originally Posted by Mo'nBack
Been reading this post and I agree with most of the post. JMO; in north La. I think the spawn can be on and off depending on the water temperature and stretch from early March into May. The males may start testing the shallow earlier. 30 years ago I would fish yoyos mid Jan.-mid Feb. and catch a lot of crappie 1-3'. The males are easier to catch since they spend more time shallow; prepping beds and guarding eggs. From what I've seen the large females spend most of their time in or near deeper water. Catching the large females is mostly a matter of being there at the right time which can vary greatly depending on the weather.
Also crappie will spawn deeper in clear water likes; this is to protect the eggs. An old timer told me to take a white coffee cup on a string and drop it in the water. At the depth it wasn't visible is the depth they would most likely try to spawn.
Like others have said; a lot of seat time and still something of a mystery.
Just my 2 cents worth......; not a pro by any measure.
This has been some very useful information. Thanks everyone for there inputs.
James, I talked with a fella the other day who was catchin some in shallow on yo-yos just the other day. He was on the upper end of the lake around the park.
I've seen many WP caught on yo-yo's in very shallow water this time of year at Darbonne. I mean that water was much colder than "spawning temp". The thing that caught my attention is that they seemed to bite in that shallow water only at night....SLIP