Home Water
Site Map
About Us
Smallmouth
Trophy
Record
Features
Videos
True Tales
Fly Kids
Photography
Fighting Tips
Float Trip Checklist
Fish Recipes
Flotsam & Jetsam
Jokes
Flies & Stuff
Bass Flies
Top Ten
Fly Tying
Fly Rods
Fly Reels
Fly Line
Gear
Watercraft
Canoe buyer
Methods
Wading
Floating
Casting
Strategies
Top Water
Sub Surface
Deep Water
Water Temperature
Resources
Books
EBooks
Travel
Guides
Journals
Maps/Info
Flow Rates
Learning

Fly Blog
Contact Us
Link to Us
Links

Fly Fishing for Crappies

Ice-out Crappies - Early Season
Curt Nordrum | St. Paul Fly Chuckers
Back to BLOG

Ice is off the lakes in most areas. Time to fish.

Crappie fishing is excellent fun, a wholesome treat for the whole family. Trouble is, many have trouble finding them after the waters have warmed and the ice is gone. But finding ice-out crappie isn't rocket science. The key to ice-out crappie fishing is warm water.

Where:
Springtime is crappie time and there are several lakes, ponds and impoundments in the offer good crappie fishing. Many lakes offer excellent springtime action for jumbo, slab crappie. More crappie are taken in the spring than any other season of the year, partly due to their accessibility. At this time of the year, crappie come into shallow areas just after ice-out, as the water starts to warm. The waters in these shallow areas are the first ice-free (usually shallow) water areas, as they warm-up sooner than deeper waters. After the ice has been out about a week to ten days, and the water had warmed a bit more, crappie move right into these shallow areas to set up housekeeping.

These tasty little denizens go on feeding frenzies, seemingly making up for the long cold winter. Crappie will be eating many of the insect life (types) and small minnows found in these warming areas and remain their until after their spawning period, usually in mid-May; early June. Most smaller, shallower lakes and ponds are among the first to see crappie action heat up. Ice leaves these lakes and ponds first and they warm more quickly than larger, deeper bodies of water. With those facts in mind the early season crappie fisherman should pick his lake or pond to catch ice-out action at its finest.

The ice-out bite occurs in two very predictable areas. As soon as the ice leaves, concentrations of fish will be found around structure such as rocks or shoreline areas hosting submerged brush and trees or limbs hanging into the in shallow water. Old cattail beds are some of the best spots. The ice cuts off the cattail stems during the winter or ice out movement and the submerged vegetation attracts minnows, insects and provides good cover for the crappies when up shallow for pre-spawn.

Actually, searching out the warmest water is the secret to catching any pre-spawn gamefish. Fish are cold blooded creatures and their activity level rises with the water temperature. In the case of crappies, they are the first fish to find warming water in structure areas which they prefer. Best areas will have exposure to the south where the sun's rays will warm water first. Small north bays will often offer the first crappie fishing after the ice leaves. Bays on the north side will heat up first because of the angle of the sun. Any shallow, black bottomed bay with structure and good exposure to the sun would be a sure early season bet. The next choice would be the rocky faces along the shoreline. Rocks act like giant radiators. The sun warms them and they in turn, warm the water which is washing against them.

As main lake water begins to warm, main lake shoreline with wood structure becomes important crappie territory. Water draining into a lake will also be warmer at this time of year and, in lakes which have such inlets, the finest crappie fishing of the year may be found at this time if the runoff water isn't muddy. Crappies are sight feeders so, if they have a choice, they will move to the cleanest water in the lake.

When temperatures move into the 60s, crappie begin to spawn. This marks another very good time to catch crappie. The spawn, in fact, may be the time when most anglers catch the most crappie. However, no crappie fisherman worthy of the name will miss the hot ice-out action.

The crappie is a fish which likes to get next to something in the spring. In many lakes, crappie leave the shoreline after spawning and suspend in the open waters of the main lake. Drift fishing then becomes an important crappie fishing method. Fishermen who recognize these facts of crappie behavior can eliminate a lot of unproductive water on an unfamiliar lake very rapidly. Presentation of choice will be a small Clouser style fly. Use 4-pound-test line and 4 or 5 weight rods.

Presentation
The fisherman should remember that crappies are not a chasing fish. They will not react well to fast retrieves, especially in cold water. Fish a slow retrieve, short hand strips and be ready for the gentle tightening of the line. Be prepared to strike at any movement of the line. Crappies often feed up and rather than pull the fly down into the water they will take the fly with a rising motion which will cause the line to slacken. That's the signal to set the hook.

Flies
Clouser style, number 8 or number 6 regular shank. Chartreuse / white, brown/yellow, all white and don’t forget the small woolly bugger in all white. Flies should be lightly weighted and if necessary to fish deep, use an intermediate line or a sink tip line. Other flies which work would be insect style nymphs such as hare’s ear. Grey is a good color for nymphs. Wild rabbit fur works very well, as I and others have used this fur with outstanding success over the last 30 years.

More on crappies? Try HERE         

Copyright 2008-10 FlyBass.com | All rights reserved.
Site Design BAMsites | Webmaster: info@flybass.com