Fishing trip planning

Winter just seems to not let go. It will be spring in a few days so I am thinking of great crappie fishing. I fish local but usually do my best crappie fishing in Virginia. I like to fish the Chickahominy below Rockahock and some streams in that area. Late march through April is my best time of year. This is tidal water so that is another factor to think about when fishing there. Also the Va guys have given some excellent information on the site. How about some other areas you do well. Its not to cold to plan and dream of slabs in the pan.

It seems the Pa guys are tight lipped with any chat. So lets rephrase. Were have you caught your biggest slab at? I think mine was on Lake Anna the end of March a few year ago. It was just over 15 inches. The bait shop who measured it said I could get a certificate for a large fish from there fisheries department but eating it was all I wanted. I caught it on a 1/16 once chrome head with white calf tail jig.

I fish VA also, mainly Kerr Lake. My biggest crappie came from Clarks Hill in GA though.

Was in PA a while back for a few months..tore them up just fishing from bank at Bald Eagle State Park (Sayer's Lake) but not many slabs.. I'd catch them non stop but rarely any legal fish..still was a good time, I imagine from a boat or a yak you could do a lot better
This was either May or June

That Sayers is tough. Size limit and it gets pounded. Me and a buddy got 130 crappie in a day fishing last year and just 1 fish was over 9 in.
It gets hit hard in ice season also

I have only fish Sayers once but have a friend that fishes it all the time. He too usually gets small fish in big numbers. Perhaps taking some small ones would make way for bigger fish? I assume most folks like to eat crappie so perhaps manage it differently is what is needed.???

i think you are exactly right.
if you go fishin this place off a boat during the spawn time period you would be amazed. take a kid with ya they will have a day to remember... but not many over 9in. pretty clear water there also

Is there a 9" size limit there? If not, take about 15 of those 8" fish home to eat every time you go. May help with the size over time. Just keep taking them from the same area of the lake and it may thin the school some, over time. You might want to keep 25 to feed the family. Either way, they need to be thinned out.

Yeah 9" minimum on crappie at Bald Eagle State Park (Joseph Sayer's Lake). I fished it once and caught lots of fish, but only one that was legal size. Must be some folks that aren't aware of the size restriction because there was a couple cleaning a cooler full of 7-8" fish right near the launch when I was leaving. There are some nice gills and perch in there though. I believe the gills have to be 7" to be legal.

I may get to Marburg tomorrow morning for perhaps my last day on the ice. We got some jumbo perch there a few weeks ago. It should not be too long with a good rain the lakes should open up. I keep telling myself that and trying to believe it.

We were to have a guided trip to Erie for creek Steelhead this weekend. Due to the weather I was postponed for 2 weeks. Last year fly hatches were off in Pa by 2 plus weeks. I assumed as the year went on it would level off and come back to normal but that did not happen. This year will more then likely be the same. Can anyone else give some examples? This may help plan some fishing trips.