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Wading for Papermouths: Whether you know it or not, now is the time to get in the water
By Luke Clayton, Special to Star Local News
Wade fishing is not limited to just prowling coastal flats in quest of trout or redfish.
Sometime within the next few weeks, the urge to procreate will cause crappie to move out of the deep water where they spend the winter to the shallows to spawn. Rather than one massive wave of spawners, the crappie spawn often builds to a peak with many mini waves of fish moving shallow. During this period, 90 percent of the fish truly are in 10 percent of the water and catching them is often as simple as dropping a brightly colored jig into the heavy cover where they spawn.
Lake Lavon guide Billy Kilpatrick (214-232-7847) can be seen most afternoons this month in waders fishing water 18-36 inches deep, usually with plenty of good-eating crappie attached to his stringer.
I can attest to how much fun wading for crappie can be.
For many springs, I have joined Kilpatrick on the shores of his home lake and, on most occasions, I returned home with plenty of tasty crappie fillets for the fryer.
Kilpatrick prefers a 12-foot B&M jig pole. His favorite is the two-piece BGJP with a West Point Crappie reel.
The one mistake many folks make when wade fishing for crappie is trying to cover too much water too quickly. When using a 12-foot jig pole, it's possible to fish water in a 12- to 15-foot radius. If you're in the right kind of cover with lots of heavy brush or weeds, it's possible to limit out without changing positions.
Crappie usually aren't extremely spooky during the spawn.
On many occasions I've pulled five or six fish out of the same patch of standing brush or weeds. The trick is to begin fishing cover close to where you're standing, then use the long jig pole to your advantage and begin reaching out to more distant cover. There's no casting in this type fishing. The little reels are designed to hold and retrieve line, not make long casts. Jigs are eased, vertically, into the heaviest of cover. Ten- to 12-pound test line works best in this cover. Once a fish is hooked, heaver lines drag fish through the brush. Kilpatrick is a strong proponent of "once you hook the fish, get his head coming your way quickly and don't stop pulling until you have him out of the cover."
Spawning crappie are notoriously aggressive.
They will often strike a jig the instant it is lowered into their strike zone. Rather than work the tiny jigs through the water column, it's best to simply lower the bait to within 6 inches of bottom and hold it there for 30 seconds or longer. If a crappie doesn't strike, move it up a few inches, keeping it close to thickest cover in the area.
Kilpatrick likes to fish weed beds this time of year, but shallow water brush and cattails will also hold plenty of spawning crappie.
"Male crappie move into the shallows first to stake out spawning areas," he said. "These fish are extremely aggressive and, early in the month, you might catch several undersized males for every keeper. I like to begin fishing the back of coves on the north and west side of the lake, they're often 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the water closer to the main lake.
The best time to go fishing is when you have the time, but Kilpatrick says his most memorable trips have been around mid April after a couple days of warming sunshine with a light south wind.
Kilpatrick says he's caught crappie on just about every color combination of jigs.
"I usually use 1/16th-ounce jig heads this time of year," he said. "My favorite bait is the Bobby Garland 2 baby shad in blue thunder color or double silver rainbow pattern, but black and chartreuse jig bodies have long been a favorite this time of year."
Since water temperature is key to locating areas holding spawning crappie, it's a good idea to carry a thermometer and make periodical tests to determine the warmest water.
Kilpatrick favors fishing water around in mid-60s, but says he often catches male crappie early in the month when the water begins to approach 60 degrees.
"Crappie have an uncanny ability to seek out the warmest water available and finding these hot spots can be a big plus to catching fish, especially early in the month. Find an area exposed to more sunshine where the water is warmed to 62 degrees, or in a cove with 58-degree water, and you will often find heavy concentrations of fish.
The majority of crappie fishermen use minnows, regardless what the season and small minnows often work best this time of year.
There are times when minnows will out-fish jigs.
Crappie can become very sensitive to light and fishing in early morning or after sunset with live minnows under floaters can be the most productive method of catching fish.
Just as crappie do not move into the shallow at one time, their departure from the spawning waters back to the main lake also takes place over the course of several weeks.
By late-April, it's often possible to catch spawners by wading the shallows in the back of the coves and catch fish from the boat in water 6-feet deep around the mouth on the same day.
Patterns develop and the only way to determine where the fish are on a day-to-day basis is through trial and error.
On trips later in the month with clients, Kilpatrick often launches his boat and begins prospecting for crappie around standing brush in water 6- to 8-feet deep. When fishing from shallow draft boats, it's possible to fish for spawning crappie in water 18-24 inches deep, but it's tough for anglers in the back of the boat.
"The trick to this type of fishing is to ease the boat quietly up to likely bits of cover and drop jigs into the brush from 8-10 feet away with the long jig poles," Kilpatrick said. "It's possible for a couple guys to fish from the bow of most boats, but when there's more than two fishing, it's a good idea to rig light-spinning rigs with jigs under floaters and fan cast from the boat."
Fan casting can be a good alternative for folks that prefer not to get into the water.
Lots of crappie are caught each spring by folks casting live minnows or small jigs under floaters from the bank.
The trick to this type fishing is locating a bit of bank, which affords casting to distant cover such as standing weeds or brush. Hang-ups can be expected, so it's a good idea to bring a good supply of your favorite jigs or hooks and live minnows.
When fishing in weed beds for spawning crappie, I like to cast several yards past where I think the fish will be holding. Crappie will often nail a slow-moving jig under a floater as it is being pulled through the water. Regardless of if you prefer to break out the waders and get into the shallows with the crappie during the spring spawn, fish from a shallow draft boat or bank fish.
There is no better time than now to catch a big stringer of crappie. And we all know how tasty those snow-white fillets are when dusted with corn meal and dropped in hot oil.
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