It's about that time of year... when crappies turn their thoughts to spawning and start gathering in large numbers near shore, where they can be caught by bank anglers. Crappies are one of my favorite fish, they are fun to catch, grown to decent sizes, and are good eating. I've been fishing some of my local lakes, and have caught a few good size crappies over the last 2 weeks, but the spawn is just on the verge of starting. I caught one out of Five Mile Lake that ran a good 13" a few days ago. Now that's a slab by any definition.

Post your tips and hotspots here, if you want to share!

Hey man how do you fish for them?

Not much of a warm water fisherman, but some of those really look fun to catch

Curtis

Hey BBVD...ya catch with crappie jigs!

He he he.....

The current issue of In Fisherman has a great article on tecniques for panfish. So did the previous issue. I haven't been out yet, but Silver Lake near Castle Rock, should be doing pretty well soon.

Are crappie and perch the same thing?

No, they are different. This is a crappie:

Crappie

And this is a perch:

Perch

Crappie are fun!

Over here in Eastern Washington I've had great luck catching them on small (1/16 oz or 1/32 oz) white tube jigs or crappie jigs. White is my favorite color, but others work well depending upon the lake.

You can catch them with a slow retrieve behind a bobber or without a bobber, letting the jig sink and then doing a stop and pause retrieve. Watch your line as the jig falls!

Great fun!

This is one of my favorite crappie jigs. This jig has caught more crappies for me than any other:



It's called the Gypsi Jig and is made by Northland Tackle. You can get them at GI Joe's for about $2 per 2 pack, or order them through Cabela's. I find the 1/32nd ounce works best.

Ncwmallard:

Do you have any crappie hotspots you would care to tell us wet siders about?

I'm lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a private lake south of Wenatchee that's full (probably too full) of Crappie.

Some other places to try in Eastern Washington are:

Banks Lake
Potholes Reservoir
Rock Lake (this is old data - like 20 years old)
Meadow Lake (also south of Wenatchee)
Evergreen Reservoir (also has muskie)
Stan Coffin Lake (Quincy Lakes)

Hope that helps!