Ah, yes, the sweet smell of spring, the earthy essence of morning dew, the floral scent of blooming silver maples, and of course, the mouth-watering aroma of crappie filets sizzling in hot oil. After a long, cold couple of months, crappie will abandon their winter haunts and start to head towards shallow water warmed by the springtime sun. And savvy anglers will be right there to meet them.
Knowing that the spawn is fast approaching and that much energy will be required to perform their duties, the males begin to feed hard and often. They simultaneously prepare beds in anticipation of their fertile female companions. This is known as prespawn behavior, and once water temperatures climb above 50 or so degrees fahrenheit, it’s on. Still, “early season” is a relative term. For kayak or boat based anglers, the prespawn period may not be early at all. They may have been targeting crappie in deep holes all winter, provided there was open water. Nevertheless, these tactics for fishing the crappie prespawn apply to boaters just as well as land-based fishermen. But for shorebound anglers, prespawn is really the first opportunity of the year to enjoy consistent action and full stringers. So let’s get into it.
Shoreline Fishing Areas to Target
As mentioned, crappie begin moving shallow once water temperatures surpass 50 degrees. This can include depths of one foot to 10 feet, but for the sake of shoreline anglers, we’ll simplify it and say this: crappie in prespawn mode will be within casting distance from shore on most bodies of water. That’s all you really need to know about water depth when walking the bank, and it’s why this is such an exciting time of year for the boots-on-the-ground crappie buff.
What’s more relevant than specific water depth is finding the right structure. Crappie will tend to build their beds very close to cover, unlike bass and bluegill which you may have seen on beds in more open water. It is also vital to these crappie that there are feeding grounds nearby, too. So, I like to marry these two factors together when deciding where to cast. Is there a downed tree next to a muddy, crawfish laden flat? How about a dock adjacent to a weedline teeming with insects? Or a submerged rock pile off a point that collects minnows on the regular? You get the idea. Easy access to food sources plus safety of cover equals slab city.
Shoreline Crappie Gear and Tactics
Any light or ultralight rod will be best for crappie fishing. Higher power rods will have a difficult time casting the light offerings often used to target these fish. Plus, the fight is just more fun on lighter gear. Reel size is less important here, but for a nicely balanced and sensitive setup, a 500 or 1000 size is ideal.
Spool those reels up with four- to six-pound clear monofilament or braid. If using braid, be sure to tie a clear monofilament or fluorocarbon leader of similar breaking strength to account for those line-shy fish. Using this light gear will flat-out get you more bites, especially if you continue using the same combos to fish for crappie as they progress to the spawn, during which time they will be much less eager to eat.
Live bait is king in crappie fishing. There is truly no better offering than a minnow suspended under a bobber. That said, many of us prefer the challenge of artificial lures. An excellent way to mimic the minnow-and-bobber presentation is to use a technique known as the “float and fly.” Set this rig up in the exact same way as your minnow-and-bobber rig, but tie a small marabou, hair, or feather jig in place of the hook or jig head where you would have rigged the minnow. Size of jig should typically not exceed an eighth of an ounce in order to achieve the delicate presentation of this technique. In terms of colors, think very bright or very dark for dirty water, and muted or natural colors for clear water. White is hard to beat in any condition, though.
Presentation will be much more important with this method than color. Which brings us to our next point: how to fish the “float and fly.” Cast out your rig and allow the jig to sink once it hits the water. The reason we use lightweight lures for this method is to achieve a slow, tantalizing fall that the crappie can’t resist. Now, slowly pull or lightly pop your bobber to move it a few inches, and reel up the slack. What you’ve just done is allowed that jig to rise and fall again, imitating a carefree or injured minnow. Rinse and repeat until that bobber dunks. (P.S. a little added scent to your jig can go a long way).
Other artificial offerings for crappie include micro spinnerbaits and micro soft plastics. Spinners can be effective search baits for covering water and finding where the crappie are cruising. Micro soft plastics rigged on lightweight jig heads are also great options for bouncing bottom or shaking in front of suspended fish. Same deal here with color selection as with the “float and fly” jigs.
Where to Catch Prespawn Crappie from Shore
The Chesapeake Bay region is rife with opportunity to target crappie, both tidal and non-tidal, from shore. We’d like to highlight a couple of our favorite spots to chase these fish.
- Tuckahoe State Park and other Eastern Shore millponds are absolutely loaded with crappie. With plenty of room to roam the banks and find slab city, they’re a land-based angler’s playground. Target the out-flowing creek mouths of these millponds during prespawn.
- The Upper Choptank River is another hotspot for catching early season crappie. In fact, it’s panfish paradise, as fishing the perch run can be extremely productive here as well. Look for public shoreline access in the towns of Greensboro and Hillsboro.
- Alright, so this last “hotspot” isn’t really a spot at all, it’s more of a tip from a longtime land-based angler. Go creek-hopping. What I mean by this is get in your car, head to the Eastern Shore, open up your maps app, and find places where the road crosses a creek branch of one of the Bay’s many tributaries. Remember, these spots should be well upstream in fresher water since tidal crappie have much lower tolerance to salinity than many other tidal species. Once you’ve found a spot (and ensured that you are not trespassing, illegally parked, or doing anything else against the law), hop out of the car and give it a couple casts. Usually, there isn’t much water to cover in each of these spots, so if your bobber doesn’t dunk in 10 to 20 minutes, head to a new location.
I’ve found some absolute gems doing this, filled many stringers, and even caught a few personal bests trying all these different spots. So, get out and explore. That’s truly the best way to find slab city and take the utmost advantage of early season crappie from the shore.
-By Adam Greenberg