Crappie report for April 23

[Kramr]

Launched from Spalding around 0630, went into the Little Indian Creek arm. Thought if we could find them spawning then we could catch a bunch. Started by casting an 1/8 ounce jig with grub tipped with a crappie nibble into 2 - 4 ft of water along the shore. Chose pockets and banks that were steep and had clay and/or pebbles that went out fairly quickly into deeper water. First problem, I was losing jigs at a ferocious rate and wasn't finding fish. Switched to a slip bobber set to 3 - 4 ft with an 1/16 ounce jig setup. This mostly solved the jig loss problem. Started catching one here one there. When we caught one we would fish the area for a few minutes thinking there would be more but that didn't happen (probably wasted too much time doing this). We ended up catching 8 crappie with only two being less than 10 inches. Rest were from 10 to 14 and very thick. Most were males (probably guarding the nest). Water temps went from low 60's in the morning to around 65 by afternoon. Water was mostly light brown and cloudy to murky. 

My theory is that they had been picked over by numerous other fishermen doing the same thing and that was why we weren't getting more from each spot. Saw plenty other boats doing the exact same thing or close to it.

[Haris122]

Rough fishing, but at least yours were on the better end for size. I know this year and last, there's supposed to be quite a few on the small side for every one of the bigger ones. 14" one must have been quite a sweet sight. Was it a mix of black and white ones, or were they primarily just one species. Also, did you guys fish any for any other types of fish?

[Kramr]

They were all white crappie and were our only target for the day.

[Haris122]

I got about 9 days left before I'm supposed to head up there. Hopefully the 2 days I'm supposed to go, there won't be much rain, and especially wind. I might try for some other types of fish too if things work out. But I'll probably be limited to a kayak so I won't be able to check out much of the lake.