Crappie?

[steve l]

I caught one between 160 and 142 yesterday.  First I or my brothers have caught in over 15 years of floating the 11P.  Now, we don't target crappie, but seems we might have caught one by accident before this (or this is the accident...).  An escapee from a farm pond somewhere in the watershed?  Or they there but uncommon?  Or...?

[jdmidwest]

Crappie are in the watershed naturally.  Lowland river system.  We caught one last week below Doniphan on the Current River.  Things get slower and warmer below 160.  How was the fishing?

[Al Agnew]

Every decent size Ozark stream has crappie, but their habitat requirements limit their populations. They avoid current as much as possible.  I've caught them even in middle Current River, but only in dead quiet backwaters.  Catch some on the Meramec in backwaters as well.  Have caught them all the way up past Irondale on Big River.  But the only stream I've ever actually targeted them successfully on is the St. Francis.  Every big pool on that river has a school or two of crappie.

[steve l]

Thanks for the replies.  The fishing I would rate as ok minus.  Caught fish, but perhaps not as many as I would have figured. 

[tjm]

I don't get to fish those streams, but I think Al is right in his assessment, crappie come up the Elk River tributaries in spring for a while and some will be in the creeks year round, but not in the same water that I target bass in. The crappie I've taken at this season  have been in quieter stretches and under downed trees. Once in a cut off slough the son and I caught 15-20 crappie in less than 15 minutes on flies.