Secrets to Seasonal Migrations, Habits and Habitats

Seasons of Change—Spring, summer, fall, winter.

The In-Fisherman Calendar also notes the general mood of fish through the various periods. Active fish are moving, feeding fish and are generally easiest to catch on artificials. Neutral fish are ambivalent about biting but can generally be triggered with bait, finesse tactics, or specific triggers. Inactive fish are the most difficult to catch and require thoughtful, patient techniques. Certain Periods encourage high activity levels on a large, overall scale, while other Periods inspire the opposite. Though these are generalities, the In-Fisherman Calendar helps identify which bodies of water to seek and which to avoid throughout the year. The Fall Turnover Period, for instance, can result in masses of largely inactive fish. You can learn to identify events related to the passing seasons, to avoid the wrong lakes and gravitate to the right bodies of water to fish.

Though the Lindners first developed the Calendar to describe the passing of seasons for fish in lakes and reservoirs, the same general changes take place in rivers. River crappies tend to find all their needs met in fairly confined areas, but sometimes they migrate much farther between Calendar Periods than do crappies that dwell in lakes. To better understand what environments crappies seek and use during the various periods, the Lindners also classified lake, river, and reservoir types in fishing terms. Crappies in the same type of environment tend to behave in a similar fashion. The Calendar Periods and lake-classification system work together to provide you with a complete picture of how crappies relate to their world in every corner of ours.