the windows

[CrappieJohn]

As we say good bye to the ice-bound waters and begin to look at open water panfishing opportunities, we need to remind ourselves of a couple of things to make our early crappie fishing productive.

First, as the ice degrades and slowly disappears, crappies will be on the prowl. They won't be up on spawning water for quite some time yet, but still too are not on the waters where the bulk of the ice fishing took place. Chances are good that they make a showing in one place for a few days and then disappear again. Challenging and frustrating all wrapped up in a single package can oftentimes describe this early season fishing. Finding a standard to begin with sometimes is a tough nut to crack, but there are helpers available to steer people in a more productive direction and they are called windows.

Windows tend to be specific with certain information or opportunities and there are many we have to deal with in this fishing game. Lets take a look at just a few to help get things moving.

Water temperature creates a window , one where the crappies will most generally favor the warmest water for this time of the season. We are not talking surface temps now, we are referring to core temps ....water temps at ,say , 6 to 8 feet deep. Why there? Because that is where the crappies are most likely at. If you can find the warmest water in a given area, you have one of the windows figured to your favor. A good thermometer that can be dropped down to a specified depth is one asset that will pay many rewards.

Water depth is yet another window. Keep in mind that crappies, until the water begins to reach 54-55 degrees at its core, will most always be relating to the deepest water in an immediate area. These areas are usually not far from, but not necessarily at, spawning areas. The deeper water provides the seclusion they will seek if the weather turns foul or cold fronts drive them down. Strong, unbroken sunlight will cause them to dive. Just where in the water column they are found though, is the window that becomes very important to catching them.

Crappies have unique eye placement and it is because of this that we see so many upward hits. This does not mean, however, that they cannot see in front of them. The window we need to consider when we deal with water deoth is that referred to as the strike window. Getting and keeping a bait in this window is 90% of catching these fish. Water clarity, weather and wind conditions along with time of day come into play here. This window has to be veiwed not only from the up and down perspective , but from the fish's eyeball and outward from there. The fish will have to see, smell, or feel anything to hit at it. Inside this window, they have a target. Outside of it, well.....This is why a float is so critical at this time of year. It is also why fishing a bit too shallow can be a benefit whereas being too deep will probably blank you.

Structure is still another window, but much broader in definition. This window might be weeds or submerged wood. It might be a steep breakline of the first primary break from shore to deep water. It might be a point the juts into deeper water or it may be a simple inside or outside turn. Perhaps this is an underwater hump or sunken island. Summed up quite simply, this window is anything, in a physical sense, in the water system that cause the fish to stop or slow down or congregate. Be mindful that what causes a crappie to stop could very well be what makes their prey to stop as well. If the water has current, this particular window is often representative of the earliest of hot spots. Weeds will offer protect from just about anything a crappie might need protection from. Predator fish will cruise weed edges and the crappies can simply go into reverse and hide. Weeds create a growing breakline when they emerge from deeper water. Weeds provide some relief from current and they also serve as ambush points for the feeding crappies. This window is where a lake map is benficial and gps cords from the past winter can help put you back on structure that can be primary holding ares once again.

When we veiw this game of fishing in a sense that different aspects of all of the information has a window to fit in, we can serve ourselves some simplicity in figuring out just how and what is what it is. While they are still fish and we have no way to communiacte with them, we can figure out some of what makes them tick in a general sort of way. It is thru these windows that we can put this very general information to work for us though and make our time on the water much more productive. If wone looks at how these windows overlap, you can eliminate a ton of un-needed or irrelavant information on a day to day level. Streamlining ones' search time on the water is always a positive thought, but actually figuring out how to achieve this can be baffling.

I hope this has helped to define some of the approachable aspects of this search.

[harvey lee]

Great post Tom,I learn so much from your pannie reads.

[dwag70]

Great Info !! Thanks Tom .. Again it is nice to have some one share so much info !!