We’ve been blessed with an early spring this season and the fish are already chewing! Water temps on some of the shallow weedy lakes in the Kawartha Lakes region are already hitting the mid 50’s by the afternoon. To locate the crappies, we looked for shallow bays (1ft-5ft) with some form of cover in them, in this case it was some shallow standing weeds. A great indication crappies were nearby was the presence of other species such as bluegills, pike and bass. Using small jerkbaits and crankbaits we covered water looking for active fish. Once a crappie was caught or seen; we would use the spot-lock feature on the trolling motor or the Power Poles and fish the immediate area thoroughly with a slip-float setup and small plastic on a jig head. Crappies often are all piled in the same area. Once you find a “sweet spot” the action can be constant for sometimes hours. We’ve had some awesome 40+ fish days as well as catching some very nice crappie for the area including some new personal bests. It’s no bass or muskie fishing but it’s a great way to spend the spring before other local species are open for season. The gear used to catch these fish are as follows:
Rod > 5’6″ Ultralight Daiwa Procyon
Reel > Daiwa Fuego 1000
Line > 8lb Power Pro V2 connected to a 6 lb fluorocarbon leader
On the Line > Bobber stop, Standard Slip-Float, 1/16 oz lead split-shot weight
Lure > 1/32 oz Crappie Tube Head with a Great Lakes Finesse 2.2″ Flat Cat in “Meltdown” colour
