Fish-Watching

The human eye and brain are as sensitive, in their way, as crappies’ are in their world. If you want to learn more about crappie location, start with the two “fish finders” on the front of your head. Crappie often cooperate in this regard, since they spend much of the early part of the season in shallow water and often remain visible at other times, at least in clear waterways.

As we’ve discussed in the section of this book on seasonal movements, crappies often move to shallow weedy habitats weeks or months before ice leaves northern lakes. This pattern strengthens as March progresses on northern waters and snow melts from lake surfaces, bringing higher light levels and more oxygen to the lake below. Savvy ice anglers make great catches by sight-fishing, stealthily moving from hole to hole to spot slabs slowly moving among submerged plants, and tempting them with small baits.

As in any other sight-fishing, shading the eyes with a hat, coat, or being in a portable fish house (shutter the windows for best viewing) helps greatly. A good pair of polarized sunglasses is essential as well. Finally, keeping a low profile and moving quietly on the ice can help you sneak up on a real monster. Crappies quickly recognize when they’re being pursued, and all their instincts put them on the defensive, not what you want when you’re looking for a bite.

After ice-out, crappies remain shallow in some systems, particularly where pelagic forage isn’t important in the diet. In lakes with abundant minnows, crappies move shallow to feed on them along with invertebrates, while beginning the warming process in sun-baked bays. They’re spooky in this situation too, but stealthful exploration can often reveal big fish among dead vegetation or even telltale sail fins carving across narrow channels.

While sight-fishing under the ice is limited to vertical presentations, long casts often are needed during early spring to tempt bites without scaring fish off. Standing high on the deck or even gaining vantage with a platform or simple wooden crate can help find fish before they find you. As waters warm further, shallow patterns continue to strengthen as more fish push into shallow backwaters, bays, and canals. Spot a couple of crappies, and there may be 100 in an area the size of a dock. They lurk in clumps of lily-pad rhizomes, fallen trees, beaver lodges, and other shallow cover. Approach these spots and areas with stealth, always scanning ahead to spot fish before they detect a disturbance and disappear.

Trolling motors are great inventions and we couldn’t fish without them; but in spring, push-poling gives a quieter approach if the wind doesn’t nag. While a motor tends to churn up silt and slice and dice lily pads, a pole pushes with far less disturbance. When you spot a target, drive the handle into the bottom and hold in place by tying off with a dock rope.