While fishing the other day I began thinking about the importance of what I call fishing for the future. As tempting as it is to take home every fish you catch, it is vital to think about fishing in a way that preserves this activity for future generations. The crappie I caught were all pretty close to the size of the one pictured above and would have made an excellent fish fry; however, they were mostly females that were full of eggs. As much as I was tempted to take these crappie home, I decided photograph some of them and return them to the water so they could lay their eggs and ensure that there would be more to catch in the future.
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with taking your share of fish to eat. In fact it is a good idea to keep some fish in order to allow room for other fish to continue to grow. If we didn't keep some fish the waters would become overcrowded causing fish growth to be stunted, but during the spawn it is a good idea to return the female fish to the water unharmed in order to ensure there will be plenty of fish to catch in the future.
In order to do your part in making certain that future generations are able to enjoy fishing as we do, I encourage practicing Catch, Photograph, Release (CPR) fishing during the spring while the fish are spawning. Together we can keep the sport of fishing alive.
Crappie are among the most popular fish pursued in the U.S. and are fairly easy to catch in the spring when spawning is under way. Let the weather heat up however, and you're looking at a whole new scenario. As the water temperature heats up crappie can become more difficult to locate preferring deeper waters that offer plenty of cover areas in which they can hide.
In the summer fish for crappie ten to fifteen feet deep near submerged trees and other debris that offers protection. A great method for catching crappie during the hot summer months is to fish a live minnow below a slip bobber which will allow you to get your bait down to where the fish are active. Adjust your depth until you find the fish. Be sure you are not fishing below the crappie as they will swim up a ways to eat but they will have a difficult time locating the bait if it is lower than they are. The more active the crappie are, the farther they are willing to swim for their food. However, when they are less active you will need to land your bait closer to them to convince them to eat.
Fishing lures provide an effective, sometimes challenging alternative method for taking crappie. Make sure you have an ample supply of multiple colors and styles to choose from. This will allow you to present many different color combinations to the fish and give you a better chance of finding the ones they are biting on at any given time. Match the lure color you use to the water. I tend to fish with darker lures in murky waters and lighter colors in clearer water. Try bumping your lures off of the cover structure to entice the crappie to bite. Start by choosing the first color you want to try. Cast your line and retrieve it multiple times so that you have covered the whole area you are fishing. If you don't have any luck with the first color, move on to the next and repeat this process until you find the color that catches their attention and causes the fish to strike.
Try fishing around storms. Sometimes the best fishing you can imagine will take place while a rain shower is passing through. Don't worry.... it is well worth getting wet in exchange for taking home a stringer full of crappie.
