Bradford Pear & Pussy Willow Trees

I watch the trees to see when they start to spring to life as a clue to when the crappie are going to spawn.

The fogs are croaking at night these days. The pussy willow tree had developed the buds that those trees are named after. The Bradford Pear trees are starting to spout the beginnings of the green that comes before they bloom. My maple trees are are showing the first signs of a bud forming. The Sassafras tree is showing signs of buds too. The fire bushes are showing some green at their tips. The Daffodils are 6" out of the ground now.

It's getting warmer every day.

This is the middle of March already.

The crappie are going to have some warmer waters in the near future if this keeps up.

When the Bradford pears actually bloom it will be time for the crappie females to enter the shallows and drop eggs into the nest.

But right now they are staging in groups. This is the time to find these groups of egg laden females and score some slabs. As when they do go to the banks they were be scattered in the shallows. They may be easier to catch right now if you can find them all grouped together. You catch one and you may catch a lot more of the same age group.

Is there also a correlation with catfish and cottonwoods?