Cold water spring fishing can often prove to be the best time to find the big salt and peppers. Once the ice is off, the chase is on. Water temperature is the biggest player of the game this time of the year. The big female crappies are staging in 5-10 feet of water getting ready to move up into the warm shallow water to spawn, while some of the males may already be up shallow. Dark bottom lakes with shallow bays or channels are your best chance at finding the warmest water, and finding the transition areas from 5-10 ft to 2-5 feet of water are the areas to target. A slip bobber kit rigged with a Northland Fishing Tackle Tuff Tube tipped with crappie minnows or waxworms present an easy meal for pre-spawn crappies, triggering more bites. As the crappies are still in pre-spawn mode, practicing selective harvesting or catch and release is crucial in population growth and expansion for future generations of fish.
– Garrett Haglin
Northland Fishing Tackle Pro Staff