Crappie often spawn in water so shallow it’s difficult to get a boat to them.
In this situation, wade fishing may be the best alternative. (Photo: Keith Sutton)
Try Wade Fishing for Spooky, Spawning Slabs
by Keith Sutton
Heavy spring rains and flooding are an increasingly common occurrence in many parts of the country, a fact that’s good news and bad news for crappie anglers.
On the good side, high water often inundates thousands of additional acres of shallow spawning habitat for crappie, and the extra fish produced as a result of that will provide great angling opportunities for years.
On the bad side, many anglers have a difficult time finding and catching crappie in the extreme shallows where they often spawn during flooding. A boat will bottom out before you can reach many of these bedding fish, and even where spawning beds are accessible, these skinny-water panfish are easily spooked and often quite hard to catch.
Such is the case any time crappie move into shoreline shallows. Because fish in shallow water are more visible, they’re more subject to predation and tend to be much warier. Even the spookiest crappie can be caught, however, if anglers take into account the crappie’s cagey nature this season and employ some stealth tactics less likely to disturb their cautious quarry. Wade fishing is one of those tactics.
Get Wet
You’ll know it’s time to wade fish whenever you can see signs of crappie in water that’s too shallow to traverse in a boat. You might see the fins or tails of the fish sticking up slightly above the shallow water. Or you may see the shadowy figures of actual crappie hovering over their light-colored nests. You might glimpse a shallow wake as a male crappie guarding a nest darts out to chase away an intruder or perhaps a surface disturbance as a crappie rises to gobble some food.
Wearing polarized sunglasses helps cut glare so you can better see your quarry, so put some on. You’ll see twice as many fish.
It’s also a good idea to slip into your waders before launching your boat. Then it’s a simple matter to secure your boat and carefully slip over the side to wade around whenever there’s an opportunity. Use your boat to reach the edge of the shallows where crappie are congregating, then get in the water and move slowly and carefully about as you fish.
Steep banks on upland lakes inhibit flooding and thus these waters have limited wade-fishing opportunities. More opportunities are available on oxbow lakes and bottomland impoundments where a rise of just a few inches may inundate hundreds or even thousands of acres of low terrain for weeks or months on end. In those places, spawning crappie will usually be found in shallow coves and backwaters protected from wind and wave action. Nests usually are near logs or other large objects on a bottom of sand, fine gravel or interwoven plant roots.
Some Expert Wading Advice
Grenada Lake, Miss. crappie guide Brandon Fulgham often fishes on oxbow lakes in his neck of the woods.
“When fishing lots of look-alike cypress trees, you have to remember not all trees are created equal,” Fulghum says. “I look for big trees with lots of knees around them and long limbs overhanging the water. These usually produce more fish than smaller trees with fewer knees and branches. Fish slowly, and cover every angle of each cypress. And be sure to fish around underwater knees away from the trees as these often hold lots of big slabs. After you’ve caught a few fish, you’ll start noticing a locational pattern and can fish specifically in those spots where crappie tend to be holding that day.”
Additional Tactics
Many wade fisherman like Fulghum prefer a long jigging pole to swing a jig or minnow to each crappie they see. I prefer a spinning or spincast outfit that allows casting from a distance. Sometimes I use a small floating crankbait like the 1-1/2-inch Rapala Original Floating Minnow or Bandit’s Series 100. Where snags are a problem, I use a Charlie Brewer Weedless Crappie Slider cast beyond the spot where I see a fish, then brought back by it very close. In dingy water, I like the flashy blade of a spinner like the Blakemore Road Runner or Team Crappie’s Spin Caller to garner the attention of bedding fish.
Stop when you see the first fish or nest, and scan all around for other crappie or crappie beds. On a good bed, the fins of a dozen or more fish may be visible. Knowing where the fish are helps determine which to target first so you don’t spook some away unnecessarily.
Present your bait or lure right by a fish and prepare for the strike that’s sure to come if you’ve been quiet in your approach. You want to minimize disturbances to the water and bottom as you wade from one spot to another. Otherwise, you’ll miss opportunities to hook some wary slabs that will dart away at your approach.
What I especially like about wade fishing is being out there, right amongst the fish as I’m catching them. There’s something very special about this that makes wading one of the most enjoyable ways I know to catch crappie. Give it a try this season and see.
Keith Sutton is author of “The Crappie Fishing Handbook,” a 198-page, full-color paperback loaded with hundreds of fishing tips. Autographed copies can be ordered by sending a check or money order for $17.45 (includes shipping) to C & C Outdoor Productions, 15601 Mountain Dr., Alexander, AR 72002.
