Winter thru early Spring Crappie fishing can be unpredictable. One day they're hitting anything that moves and the next day you can't find a Crappie on the lake. Yet another thing that is unnecessarily tough is the weather. A cold front can slide in and the weather can turn life threatening literally without notice. For this reason fishing for Crappie in Winter thru early Spring on the lake is so difficult for many fishermen. However, not all is lost. There are many Winter Crappie that are caught below boat docks in the Winter. Here's some advice on finding your share of the fish.
The weather is probably the single largest variable a fisherman has to deal with when trying to locate and entice Crappie to bite during the late Fall through early Spring. Fronts can blow in with little or no notice. The wind can change direction, pick up speed or become calm all within a small window of time. Is it any wonder we have a hard time finding and catching Crappie in Winter!
Boat docks offer Crappie fishermen a place to get out of the weather and gives them a chance to bring home some filets. However, not all boat docks are created the same. Some will hold Crappie while others will be void of any Papermouths. The boat docks you want to look for are those over deep water. Spend a little time searching these types of docks out and you'll be miles ahead of the pack.
To start, look for boat docks that are over deep water, Preferably near a creek or river channel. Once you've found docks over deep water, look for ones with structure. Many slip owners will sink bruch piles around the slip where their boats are tied up. It will pay to search out these slips with brush below them, especially the ones in deeper water near drop offs. Some Marina owners also sink brush piles below their docks. It may pay off big time to stop by the Office and enquire which slips have brush below them.
Now that you've done your homework and found a Marina or two on your local lake that have slips over deep water, look for structure beneath those slips. Ask the Marina operator whether or not they know of any brush piles beneath the slips. More than likely they know of several. Next, you'll need to find what the Crappie want to hit. I start off with small minnows and work them around structure. If it's a fairly warm day, the Crappie may be extra hungry and you can try tube jigs to catch them quicker.
Once the Crappie are found by using Minnows, you can try and switch over to jigs. If the action is hot enough, you can fill your stringer quicker with jigs than with Minnows. I have no scientific study to prove this, but it seems I also catch the larger slabs in Winter on jigs rather than minnows. The Crappie will also hold in the same areas beneath different slips over deep water. If you catch them at 18 feet beneath one slip, you'll likely catch them beneath most slips at 18 feet. This is the beauty of Winter Crappie fishing.
Some Marina's now have indoor heated fishing docks. These are great when the weather is fit for neither man nor beast. I've had many a great day fishing for Crappie in a heated dock passing away the time talking to other fishermen. This is also a fun way to introduce Kids to the sport of Crappie fishing!
So don't think you have to miss out on Winter Crappie fishing just because you don't have a boat. Fishing for Crappie in the Winter can be great around the docks!

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Article Submitted By: BillyB.Desroleaux
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