Crappie spawning

[Russ&Judy]

water temps in front of Westwind as of thursday was 40, Tamarck river 42, channels 46 degrees, air temp 35 above, with 35-40 mph winds; morning temp at 7 am was 25 above

[SoHawk]

thanks for the info, Russ & Judy We are going to be up this weekend no matter what )

SoHawk

[SoHawk]

I was wondering what the water temp needs to be for the crappies to start spawning? Also, have they started yet on URL?

Thanks!
SoHawk

[Rick]

Crappie generally spawn in 60-65 degree water. The amount of daylight is also a factor. So water temperature really dictates if the eggs will ripen and are ready when the time of year dictates the spawn window.

If the water temp remains on the cool side in preferred spawning areas they will spawn in deeper water, generally. If the temps stay too cool during the spawn window they will absorb their eggs to conserve energy.

Another case of mother nature taking care of her own.

It's getting close to that spawn window starting in Southern MN now, so it should still be at least a couple of weeks away for Upper Red.

[CrappieJohn]

Last week Rick and I found male fish on nests in less than a foot of water very tight to shore. Whether they were guarding or waiting on the ladies, I cannot say. But they were there. We were still taking fish from fairly deep water right on wood that day as well. It is apparent that the activity level is right there on most likely underway. The do not all make a mass exodus to spawn and it can take maybe a couple weeks for the whole shebang to culminate. The day we saw shallow fish the water temp was at 62 in most areas, 61 in some remote spots.Late Thursday, Friday we saw substantial rains with heavy run-off heading into that body of water. This will help anglers get past some of the fishs' spookiness and will probably cool the water down a bit and help slow the spawn down. The incoming dirty water will slow it down too. They don't like to spawn in water carrying a pile of dirt and will hold off until some of that settles. Where you are headed with the reported water temps it will be a while before they take off. You should enjoy some wild fishing !

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
muckbootsonline.com Pro Staff
Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]

[rod-man]

fished Frances on sat found nice crappies 10-13in in 12ft over 16-22ft both males and females mixed kept 6 for a meal for the wife and me
boy dont throw a marker out on that lake other boats will hover on it before you can get back to it and wont let you fish your own marker
this happend many times not just a fluke
every time I marked fish I'd drop a marker and go 50ft turn around and there would be a boat troll over and hover and fish my marker
I finaly just left and went home with supper

[2dalake]

Next time that happens throw a marker over a dead hole in the water to distract them.

[mnrstrider]

61-62 degrees on the lake I was on yesterday, crappies were all in the 4 foot range. Didn't see what I'd call crappie beds anywhere.

[united jigsticker]

A couple more degrees folks, and, some stable weather. Surface temps of 64 or 65 really make a huge difference.

Heck, they were getting Crappies on Minnetonka last weekend in 14-20 feet of water yet. I was on White Bear Lake Tuesday morning, and I was getting Crappies out of 12 feet of water in some spots.

Last weekends dip into the 20 and 30's didn't do any justice for the Crappies annual reproduction, but I think some bedding fish will be found around the southern half of the state by the end of the weekend for sure.

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Good fishing,
UJ
[email protected]

[CrappieJohn]

I was out this morning and found 62 degree water, shallow fish and a strong tube bite until it cleared up and the sun came out. It died then. Most of the fish were very spooky and keeping the boat away from shore was necassary. The tubes were fished about 18" under a float. Many of the fish today came out of water much less than four feet.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom
muckbootsonline.com Pro Staff
Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]

[can it be luck?]

Today in the Minoqua/Woodruff area the water temps were at 59-61 degrees on a smaller 400 acre lake I fished. The crappie were in 1-3' of water and in full swing. I've been monitoring them for the last week on this lake and they've peaked a few days ago. Shoreline brush and deadfall trees are a magnet on this particular lake, find that, you find fish. I caught close to 150 crappie today and kept a few that didn't look to healthy for a meal. Besides crappie, the evening walleye bite was pretty good as well. Slip bobbers and fatheads on one pole, yellow and white bucktail jigs and minnows fished off a point containing a deadfall, 5'-16' dropoff, add in the large amount of baitfish in the tree branches and it all spells fish! Oh, did I mention some new green weed growth?
Besides that I was able to land a few largemouth bass, one northern, and a 39" musky. The crappie in Northern Wisconsin, as well as most of the state are in full swing! Get out and enjoy the moment!

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http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[taxmancommeth]

Can it be luck -

Thought you said you released 95% of your fish?

Just wondering...

[can it be luck?]

I did and do, give or take a few percentage points.

PS: I should also add that my friend caught about the same amount of fish...Actually not quite as many as me. I kept 5 crappie and 3 walleye. Do you think that was too many?? The WI. DNR says I can keep 25 and posses 50.

UJ, I agree with you. I try to make a report to include a picture, which I thought would be nice.....And every time someone has to attack/criticize it.
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http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 05-21-2004).]

[united jigsticker]

Please...Don't turn this into a personal ethical debate or a bunch of postings about what was said in the past, etc, about keeping/releasing certain proportions of fish.

It's really a waste of time and space, and has no value on the forum.

Thank you.

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Good fishing,
UJ
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by united jigsticker (edited 05-21-2004).]

[Yellow Dog]

C - I - B - L:

Thanks for the nice pics! It jumps starts me for the next trip...even though I am tied to my desk right now.