Crappie fishermen prepare for season
Published 10:06 pm Thursday, March 10, 2011
Rountree Outdoors owner Chet Chapelle checks his inventory of plastic grubs and spinnerbaits for the upcoming crappie spawn. Chappelle said fishermen will flock to the waters over the next few weeks in search of a trophy panfish. Below, the store offers a number of rod and reel combos that can be used. -- Rick Couch
For serious crappie anglers peak conditions are just around the corner. Within the next few weeks the spawn will begin and fishermen and women will take to the water.
During the spawn fish have a healthy appetite and head to shallow waters, which makes things much easier for those in hot pursuit.
When the spawn hits, Rountree Outdoors owner Chet Chapelle said his store is ready to provide the needed equipment to get the job done.
Primarily, Chapelle said, crappie anglers gravitate toward plastic grubs if they choose to use artificial baits.
“Some of our most popular colors are the chartreuse, white and pink,” he said. “But it depends on the conditions. The size of the jig head will change too.”
Different jig heads will apply depending on the depth and position of the fish Chapelle said.
Suspended fish who are less active will usually need a lighter jig head so the bait will fall to the bottom slower and stay in the strike zone longer. For crappie who remain in deeper water before the spawn, a heavier jig head is needed to get the bait to the fish faster.
During the spawn, fish become extremely aggressive, and sometimes, Chapelle said, they need an aggressive lure.
“A lot of fishermen will put their grub on a jig head with a spinner in that situation,” he said. “There are a lot of factors to consider.”
The spawning times of crappie will change from year to year based on weather conditions, water temperature and surface temperature.
As a general rule, crappie prefer the temperature to be between 62 and 66 degrees for active spawning, but there are times when a later spawn might come through because of cold fronts, lake level changes or other elements of nature.
Regardless of when the spawn takes place, the equipment and proven techniques are the same.
Chapelle said he has a wide variety of light tackle rods and reels that can be used for jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve methods.
For the most part, fisherman use spinning tackle and lines below a 10-pound test. However, spincasting and baitcasting reels can also be used for trolling or any other crappie applications.
