For Virginia fishermen, the crappie is king.
Is there an angler alive who doesn’t thrill to the sight of a bobber twitching, then slowly descending out of sight as a crappie nails the minnow below?
Bass and trout may be the “glamor” species, but for Virginia fishermen, the crappie is king. There’s little cause for wonder why. Crappies are plentiful throughout the state, from reservoirs in the western mountains to tidewater rivers and blackwater lakes in the east. And they’re almost always willing to bite.
While they can be caught year-round, most anglers feel there’s no finer time to go after these speckled silver, white, and black panfish than spring. That’s when the fish gather in dense schools before swarming into the shallows to spawn near flooded brush, timber, dock pilings and beaver huts.
When the redbuds bloom and turkeys gobble from ridge tops, crappies shake themselves out of their winter doldrums and move towards shore, stirring deep roots within the hearts of anglers. The fishing season is going full bore once again. It’s time to catch crappies.
Also known as speckled perch, crappies are great fish for family outings, biting more readily than species such as bass, muskies, and trout. That makes them the perfect choice for someone new to the sport of angling, young or old.
Crappies are delicious when fried, baked, or broiled. Even a half-pounder yields two small but tasty filets. Since a female can expel over 50,000 eggs, there’s no worry about keeping a few fish for the pan.
Virginia’s lakes and rivers are home to both black and white crappies. Identifying the two is easy. Black crappies have a deeper body than whites and a high, arched back. The marks on white crappies form nine vertical bars while black crappies have more random speckles on their sides. Black crappies have seven or eight dorsal fin spines, whites only six. As a rule, white crappies tolerate murky water better than blacks, which favor clearer habitat.
A variety of tackle can be used to catch crappies, including light spinning gear, bamboo and fiberglass cane poles, even fly rods. Here are four proven tactics you can use for Old Dominion crappies this spring.
- Drift for Pre-spawn Fish
When winter loosens its grip on the land and water temperatures rise into the upper 40s and low 50s, crappies stir from the depths and begin a slow movement towards the shoreline. This isn’t a quick, sudden shift into the shallows. Instead, the transition process takes several weeks.
Some of the year’s best fishing comes in March for these crappies that are gradually becoming more active.
Drift fishing is the way to go since it allows you to cover lots of water and pinpoint roving schools. Concentrate on points, the mouths of large feeder creeks, drop-offs, bridge pilings, creek channel edges and deep-water structure. A depth finder will help you locate these areas, and often pinpoint the crappies too.
Two different riggings work well. The first set-up simply consists of a cylindrical bobber, a split shot or two and a fine-wire hook. The second set-up for drift fishing is the “tight-line rig.” This consists of a 1 to 2-ounce dipsey or bell sinker attached to the end of the line, and droppers 18 and 36 inches above that with minnows for bait.
- Comb-Cast the Transition Zones
From mid to late March, fish move a bit closer to spawning areas but not actually on the beds, except for a few “scouts.” Comb-casting the transition areas is a great tactic now. A number of lures will catch these more active fish such as small crankbaits, spoons and spinnerbaits, but no artificial will top the humble jig. Since crappies can be picky about which jig they prefer on any given day, though, it pays to stock a variety of these lures.
Focus on water just off from the brushy cover-rich areas where crappies spawn, in 8- to 12-foot depths. With this tactic you’ll be fan-casting to probe lots of water and locate fish. A light weight 6- to 7-foot spinning outfit with 4 to 8-pound line is the perfect rig. Reel slowly and steadily. Every now and then you can pause and let the lure drop back deeper, but no jerking or twitching. The smoother the retrieve the better.
- Search the Shallows with Minnows
When the majority of crappies move in tight to cover and begin the spawning ritual, it’s time to pull out a fly rod, special “crappie rod,” or an old-fashioned bamboo cane pole. The length of these fishing tools, 9 to 10 feet and up, gives you “reach” to gently flip minnows back into pockets in brush and drop them next to logs and dock pilings where crappies spawn, without actually casting. That allows precision accuracy.
Cover, especially woody structures such as brush piles, logs, flooded trees, dock pilings, and beaver huts, are the places to target now. If wood cover is scarce, fish next to weed beds or bridge abutments in four to eight feet of water.
- Dap the Brush with Jigs
This is an exciting tactic if you prefer using “artificials” over bait. Simply tie on a tiny jig in the l/8 to 1/32-ounce range and lower it down next to flooded trees, stumps, beaver huts, weed beds, and docks in the shallows.
At this point you’ll probably be tempted to jiggle or twitch the lure. Don’t! Instead, hold it steady next to the cover. Your hand is actually trembling and shaking just enough to give the jig a very life-like, quivering motion, something like a minnow rotating its pectoral fins. That’s usually enough to draw thumping strikes from any nearby crappie protecting its nest.
After holding it steady next to the cover, slowly swim the jig around to the other side of the tree or piling. Pause a few seconds there, then lift the lure up and plunk it down near the next piece of cover.
This method lets you probe the very best flooded brush quickly and usually results in a heavy
Keep these four strategies in your arsenal of fishing tactics and you should be well-equipped for the challenge of catching Virginia’s most popular panfish this spring.
–Gerald Almy, Virginia Department of Game and Wildlife