Question: Ronnie, what water temperatures and weather conditions cause crappie to spawn?

Capps: When the water temperature hits 59 degrees, then you need to start looking for the white crappie to begin their spawn. If an area has rising water and a temperature of 59 to 60 degrees, that’s when the crappie will move into the more shallow water to spawn. The black crappie probably will have spawned-out by this time.

Question: When do the black crappie start to spawn?

Capps: Of course, the black-crappie spawn is at different times in various places, but the Reelfoot Lake crappie tournament near our home always is held during the first week of March, The females were spawning and had eggs running off their tails then. What’s amazing is this tournament we fished on Reelfoot Lake and found crappie spawning during it was exactly 7 days after ice melted from the lake. Seven days before the tournament, the air temperature was 14 degrees with ice covering parts of the lake. However, a week later the surface temperature was about 60 degrees, and the water temperature was close to 56 degrees. I’ve always found that black crappie usually spawn before the white crappie do. Generally the spawn is over for black crappie by the third week in March in our section of north Tennessee.

Question: So, Ronnie, we’re looking for 59-degree water.  Once we find that water temperature, on what types of places will the crappie be holding?

Capps: The male crappie will be the first ones you start catching, especially on lakes that are heavily stained. If you’re fishing lakes where the water level fluctuates quite a bit, like Grenada Lake in Mississippi, those crappie will move in as close to the bank as they can get, while still being in the water. But in a reservoir like Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee, where the water level remains stable, the male crappie won’t go to the bank. I have a friend who fishes Grenada, and when the water starts rising, he says that every day he’ll fish more shallow than the previous day. He’s told me that he goes and looks at a tree top on dry ground, and the following day he returns to that same treetop, and the water will have risen, and then he’ll catch crappie there. So that’s how fast male crappie can move on lakes where the water level rises in the spring.

My theory is if you’re wade fishing for crappie on one of these types of lakes, you don’t want to fish any deeper than your butt cheeks, and preferably fish shallower than that. Male crappie usually will be caught in 2-1/2- to-3 feet of water on a lake with rising water. In other words, 59 degrees on a lake with rising water means to fish today where you’ve walked yesterday. If you’re fishing from a boat, then the back ends of coves, pockets and bays often will heat-up between 65 and 67 degrees on really-bright, warm and sunny days, when the water temperature on the main lake may only be 59 degrees.

Question: Okay, Ronnie, where are you going to locate crappie during the spawn on lakes that are stable, where the water temperature doesn’t fluctuate like at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee?

Capps: The crappie at Reelfoot will move vertically on the structure that’s available to them, instead of going to the shore. For instance, there may be cut-off stumps that come-up from the bottom at 12 feet. But the crappie may be spawning on top of those stumps in 2 foot of water. So, on stable lakes, instead of moving to the bank, the male crappie move-up in the water column to find structure where the females can spawn. Sometimes they will move-up a little shallower, but they’ll still be spawning on logs and stumps in 2 feet of water.

Question: What about the crappie spawn in deep and clear lakes, like Smith Lake in north Alabama, which is one of the deepest and clearest lakes in the state?

Capps: You may find male and female fish spawning as deep as 25 feet in deep, clear lakes. I have caught male fish that still have had color in them spawning in 25 feet of water on the tops of stumps, during the month of June, in Cedars Creek, Ohio. So in deep, clear lakes, the crappie often will spawn later and deeper than they do in lakes where the water rises in the spring. Even on Kentucky Lake, you’ll often find male fish moving in to prepare a nest on top of stumps in 10 to 17 feet of water. Therefore, remember that not all crappie move into shallow water close to the bank during the spawn. The type of lake, the depth of the water and the clarity of the water all affect when and where the crappie will spawn.

Poles That Capps Recommends for Different Types of Crappie Fishing:

If I’m fishing with jigs, I use the 14-foot Buck’s Graphite Jig Pole. I like the 14-foot poles because I can cover more water with them, they’re lighter than the longer poles, and I don’t have as hard a time seeing the strike.  I can see the minnows moving on 14-foot poles due to the poles’ sensitivity. These 14 footers are my competition poles. If you’re just fishing for fun, then you can do fine with a 12-foot pole.

When I’m using a double-minnow rig, I fish with the B ‘n’ M Capps and Coleman 14-foot, 3 section poles. This pole is a little stiffer than the Buck’s Graphite Jig Pole, but I need that extra strength to support the egg sinker that we use when we’re double-minnow rigging.

When I’m fishing crankbaits, I use the B ‘n’ M Pro Staff 14-foot poles, which are really stiff.  I’ll have to use as much as 3 or 4 ounces of lead to get my crankbaits down to the depth where the crappie are feeding.

If I’m hand-poling, I like the 8-foot, 2 section Capps and Coleman All-Purpose and Wading Rod, particularly if I’m fishing in heavy cover and need to get closer to the cover. Many times you have to fish really-thick cover and need a very-short pole to get into that cover. That’s why I like this 8-foot pole to wade fish for crappie.

When I’m fishing out of my canoe, I like my 9-foot Capps and Coleman All-Purpose and Wading Rod. This pole is especially productive for fishing cover that’s not quite as thick as I fish when I’m wading, and it handles really well when I’m fishing from my canoe. I like to use that canoe to get into places I can’t get into with my big Ranger boat to catch crappie.

If I’m hand-poling out of my Ranger boat, I’ll fish with my 14-foot Buck’s Graphite Jig Pole that I normally use to troll.

New Jig Poles: