crappie fishing

[Spider04]

I am not a crappie angler but fish for bass frequently.
This weekend I was hoping to take the boat out to Rough or Barren and it is an opportunity to take my wife's uncle, who enjoys crappie fishing. Figured we would fish half the day my way and half his. I would imagine based on what I have heard that crappie fishing should be pretty good this time of year and that I should be able to find them in some of the major creeks on timber. Does anyone have pointers to help me (tackle to take, how deep to start looking for them, etc) out? I have read posts from some knowledgeable crappie fishermen on here before so I know you are out there!
Thanks in advance.

[Moose1am]

A lot depends on if there is ice on Rough River Lake now or not. I am not familiar with Barren so I'll let someone else answer that question. I've been on Rough River several times in the past but never fished it. I do have a Garmin Map source Fishing Hot spot digital map of Rough River so I'll based my answer on that map and my general knowledge about crappie.

I'll give you what I think but don't take it as gospel. It's an educated guess based on science and information about crappie behaviour that I have researched over the last 45 years of fishing.

We have had ice and snow covering the lakes this past two weeks. The ice/snow cover has been blocking sunlight from reaching deep into the lakes. Ice prevents oxygen from getting into the water at the air/water interface so dissolved oxygen of the lake may become depleted somewhat. Lucky for the fish cold water holds more oxygen and the coldest water is not on the bottom of the lake.

If there is still ice covering the lake then the fish my be in the deepest water as that's the warmest water. Water at 4 deg C is warmer and sinks to the bottom. Water at zero deg c is freezing and floats. I think the fish will seek the warmest water on the lake bottom IF THE LAKE IF FROZEN OVER. That's where they will be found feeding on bottom dwelling worms and other critters that live in the muck.

If the lake is thawing out and there are open areas of water in the Northern Parts of the Lake that have southern Exposure then the fish may be active in these area and may be in very shallow water near where the ice/water interface exists. This could be the shoreline which can come alive with these warmer temperatures. Shallow water with dark bottom material or rocks will warm up first and this may attract the fish.

Best advice I can give you is to follow the wind if there is open water. Wind will push any warm water downwind and pill it up on the windward banks. Hopefully this will be a warm south wind and it will push the warmer water up into the Bays on the NORTH side of the lakes.

Check the upper ends of the creek channels or the back of these long creeks for warmer water. Also moving or flowing water won't freeze and has more dissolved oxygen and more nutrients. That's where I would start looking for Late Feb crappie. And by Late March that's where I know these fish will be. Times can vary as the In-Fisherman-Crappie Wisdom Book explains.

Try small minnows or jigs with chartreuse color in them and add some chartreuse crappie nibbles to the jigs bodies. Light line of 4 lb to 6lb test is what I prefer.
When the water is cold the fish especially crappie prefer the bait to be still and close by so that they can take a good look at it.

I don't have my FHS map loaded on my computer right now. Had to reformat and have not reloaded that map yet. So I am going from memory on the layout of Rough River. But I would fish any lake in the spring the same way. Get the topo map and find the launch ramps closer to the upper reaches where the river flows into the upper part of the lake. The relatively warmer surface waters will be flowing into those parts of the lake and will warm the water up first.

Water temp is the KEY!

I am not a crappie angler but fish for bass frequently.
This weekend I was hoping to take the boat out to Rough or Barren and it is an opportunity to take my wife's uncle, who enjoys crappie fishing. Figured we would fish half the day my way and half his. I would imagine based on what I have heard that crappie fishing should be pretty good this time of year and that I should be able to find them in some of the major creeks on timber. Does anyone have pointers to help me (tackle to take, how deep to start looking for them, etc) out? I have read posts from some knowledgeable crappie fishermen on here before so I know you are out there!
Thanks in advance.

[Spider04]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I knew I could count on you Moose1am for some great feedback. You have no idea how much I appreciate your in depth and scientific outlook on fishing. I can't imagine how much time you have spent over the past year I have been reading posts replying to many folks in such detail as you do. You are a big reason this board is successful. I have learned much from you. Thank you for the response and good luck to you in your fishing.