Lake Zumbro Crappies - Where are they now?

[TSCTSC]

Anyone been catching crappies last few days? I know 2 weeks ago they were really shallow in 2-3 feet and really close to shore. Float and plain hooked minnows were the ticket. How about now since that the weather is warming up? Any advice on what and where to catch them? Thanks!

[TSCTSC]

Any advice???

[Tyler Holm]

The crappie spawn has come and gone on Lake Zumbro and my past experience shows that these once shallow fish will move deep. Sometimes really deep 20+ FOW. Often times they will be suspended over deep water as well. Electronics come in handy if this is the case.

Deep wood will still be a good option, if you know where to look for it. There are several good techniques you can use to go after these deep buggers. One of my favorite confidence choices is a chart 1/16 jig tipped with a white Berkley Gulp minnow. I to cast it out, and let it sink to the bottom, then give it huge hop/jerks to raise the bait upwards of 5' off the bottom on each jigging motion, and slowly lower your rod letting it fall.

If fish are suspended, slip bobbers might be a good option.

Another favorite trick of mine would be to break out some ice fishing gear (specifically 1/16 Go-Devils from Scenic Tackle) tipped with a waxie or two. Drop it to the bottom and reel it up about a foot a minute till you find where the agressive fish are in the water column.

I'll be implementing most of these methods in the next week or so, and I'll put a post in the Rochester forum with some of my findings.

[TSCTSC]

OK. Thank you so much for your help. The problem with Lake Zumbro is that I see arches everywhere. Really nice big ones. But never caught a fish where the arches are seen. So I think there is a lot of submerged timber.