How do you get crappie beds?

There are many ways to build crappie beds, but perhaps the easiest, at least for temporary, short term use, is to simply submerge some brush. Tree limbs, left over lumber, etc. work well.

Where do crappie make their beds?

Crappie seek out hard bottom around some type of cover to build their beds. They will fan out spots on rock, on logs, and on stumps, but most commonly seek out hard bottoms near wood cover like single limbs, brush piles or stumps.

Do crappie beds spawn?

How crappie spawn. Male crappie fan the nests and essentially make the bed while the females stage out from the nest.

How deep should crappie beds be?

During the winter, the crappie generally will be concentrating in water from 18-40 deep. If you sink brush in 18-20 feet of water, and the brush sticks up 10-12 feet in the water, then the crappie can hold anywhere from the bottom of that brush to its top, depending on weather and water conditions.

How long do crappie beds last?

The male crappie remains on a nest for up to 12 days, but the female departs once some eggs are deposited. The entire crappie population does not spawn at the same time because shallows throughout the lake warm at different rates.

BED FISHING for Crappie in CLEAR Water! | How to find Crappie

Do crappie fans out beds?

While crappie will fan the substrate with their tails, they don't create the deeper depressions associated with largemouth bass or bream beds.

What is the best month to catch crappie?

The best time of year to catch crappie is during the spawning season which takes place from February-May. During the spawn, both male and female crappie move from deep locations into shallow and concentrated spawning areas. This makes them very easy to target, as they are actively feeding and defending their nests.

How fast do crappie grow in a pond?

Growth rates

Fingerling crappie that are stocked as 3 to 4 inches in the fall will grow to 7 to 9 inches in a year. Depending on the food supply, these could be 10 inches by year two and large enough to enter the catch.

At what water temperature do crappie start spawning?

Although several different factors determine when crappie spawn on any body of water, Nick Nichols, Chief of Fisheries for Alabama's Department of Conservation, says that crappie, both black and white, traditionally spawn when the water temperature is in the high 50s or low 60s.

How old is a 10 inch crappie?

You can expect a size range of around 9 to 10 inches at the end of the third year.

How old is a 12 inch crappie?

Now I tend to keep them between 10'' and 12". In PA, a 12 inch crappie is usually about 8 years old but a 14+" fish is nearly 20 years old. A 10-12 inch fish makes a good fillet but it takes far less time to replace that fish.

How do you find crappie in a lake?

Anglers often find more fish near the shoreline cypress trees, stickups, weed beds, blowdowns, or cover-button willows. The big crappie tend to be in shallow water near channel edges next to shallow flats or main lake humps. It's usually the cold fronts that drive crappie into deeper water from the shallows.

Where do crappie like to spawn?

Crappie like to spawn in areas of shallow water, usually around 2-to-4 feet deep, with cover such as brush, flooded timber or weeds, and with easy access to deeper water. In areas with murky water and thick cover, I have sometimes found them nearly on the bank.

Where do crappie go after they spawn?

After spawning, females generally head back to deeper water and frequently scatter, making them more difficult to find. Look for them near deep woody cover, such as sunken trees or brush piles. Look for any rises, drops, ledges, stumps, rock piles or anything different on the bottom contour.

Where do crappie spawn in rivers?

Back bays and shallow coves with sheltered cover typically provide the best prespawn/spawn crappie areas. Oxbow lakes or flooded river backwaters are classic examples. Crappies will hold along the edges of deep weeds or timber prior to spawning, and then move into the shallows to feed or seek nesting sites.

How long does it take crappie to find brush piles?

Crappie like to gather around brush just about any time of year, but they become especially attractive from summer through fall. The fish usually begin gravitating to brush piles in 10 to 15 feet of water during late spring, soon after the spawn winds down.

What is the best time of day to fish for crappie?

The best time to fish for crappie is at early dawn and dusk. But during the colder months it can be at the warmest time of day in the afternoon. Crappie generally feed most actively in low light, so this leaves the night as another great time to catch them as well if you have the opportunity.

Where do you sink brush piles for crappie?

“The brush piles in 10 and 30 feet of water would be more in the backs of the coves and creeks, from 10 feet deep out to the center of the cove in 30 feet,” he said. “The brush piles in 20 and 40 feet should be coming out of the coves, out along the main banks in areas like Georgia Little River and the Savannah River.”

How long is a 1 lb crappie?

While the average size of crappie is somewhere between 8 and 12 inches and 1/4 and 1lb, they can reach a maximum length of about 20 inches and a maximum weight of a little over 5lb. Crappie with a length of 13-15 inches and a weight of 1.5 to 2lb are generally considered trophy fish.