There is certainly no shortage of good Illinois crappie fishing locations, especially in the spring. The state is littered with lakes and rivers where bites are frequent and slabs are quite large. No matter where in the state you live or are traveling, you are within a few miles of great crappie fishing. Beginning in late February and continuing through spring and summer, you'll find the peak of Illinois crappie fishing season.

Start with the Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area, where there are over 250 lakes ranging in size from an acre to about 50 acres. Here, you'll find some average sized crappie of about 8-9 inches in length. The best part of the season in these lakes is generally between March and May, concentrating strongly on shoreline areas covered in grass, beaver lodges, and fallen trees that create cover for the crappie. If you visit the "back lakes" of the area that must be accessed by foot, you could be rewarded with 14-16-inch crappie.

Another viable option for Illinois crappie fishing is Evergreen Lake, a full 886 acres just north of Bloomington in central Illinois. Some avid anglers claim that fishing in this lake regularly yields 10-12-inch crappie and up to 40 or more black crappie per hour, as well as 55 white crappie per hour. At these excellent fishing odds, most fishermen go home with their 25-fish limit for the day with no hassle whatsoever. Try fishing the coves of the lake, with jigs and minnows being the number one baits of choice.

While not producing such high quantities, Illinois crappie fishing at Sangchris Lake does yield some of the largest sunfish in the state, averaging 12-15 inches in length. There is a nursery pond onsite where around 70,000 fish are bred and stocked annually that boosts the population for a good catch. Take advantage of the large slabs in February, March, and April, when crappie are easily found in shallow cover and are prone to staying in shallow environments for spawning. Minnows work well here, as do jigs, but keep in mind that Sangchris enforces a 10-inch minimum size and 10-fish per day limit on your catch.

Illinois crappie fishing is at its best in Carlyle Lake, with its extensive 26,000 acres, in spring. Carlyle maintains a 10-inch minimum for your catch, and you'll find no shortage of keepers, with regular anglers claiming about 80% of the catch being of retainable size. The Allen Branch of the lake is full of stumps and good cover for crappie, making it a choice location for Illinois crappie fishing, though Coles Creek and the West Access area are also popular.

pond crappie fishing in Illinois

Find More Crappie Fishing Illinois Articles

If you live at or around Lake Weiss, then you probably already know that it is one of the best crappie fishing locations in Alabama. If you're not from Alabama but just a fan of crappie fishing, then you have still probably heard of Lake Weiss. Maybe you or someone you know has even been fishing at this lake before. This 30,200 acre impoundment has over 455 miles of shoreline for fishing and it has many acres of very shallow waters as well as deeper river channels, both of which are perfect for crappie fishing.

Lake Weiss has a great reputation in the fishing community, particular for catching crappie. Sometimes called the Crappie Capital of the World, Lake Weiss is located in northeast Alabama in Cherokee County. It's 1 hours from Birmingham and Atlanta, Georgia and it's on the Alabama/Georgia border. This is the prime location in Alabama for crappie fishing and many fishermen feel it is the best place in the world for fishing for crappie. It's no surprise then that some people even travel from great distances just to be able to fish in this lake.

Strategies and Tactics for Fishing on Lake Weiss

So how can you fish like a pro in the popular Lake Weiss? You need to know some insider strategies and tactics for fishing for crappie in this lake if you want to get the best results possible. First, you need to go prepared. Bring your best fishing rods and reels and an assortment of jigs, live baits and colorful baits which crappie tend to enjoy. Make sure you come with more than one type of bait since crappie can often be selective and may not respond to the first thing you try. This gives you freedom to experiment with different things until you find one that the crappie like.

Next, you need to find a good, comfortable spot for you and your boat and then experiment with different depths in the water until you find one that yields great results. Sometimes the crappie are about 10 to 15 feet under the surface of the water, especially if the water is clear and the sun is out. When it gets darker, such as around dusk, they may rise higher to the surface of the water and be catchable between 5 and 10 feet deep. These tactics will help you determine where the crappie are at and what they are responding to best on a particular day when you are out fishing. Remember that this can change from day to day so you will need to try again each time you come out. What worked on one fishing trip may not necessarily work on another, even in the same location.

Missouri crappie fishing is first rate, no matter where in the state you examine. The lakes are ideal for crappie fishing, and anglers are discovering new fishing holes every day. However, based on statistics, there are top locations in each region of the state, and these are where both avid anglers and first time fishermen can expect the best chances of catching a large number of crappie.

Just south of Kansas City in the northwestern part of the state, you'll find excellent Missouri crappie fishing at Longview Lake, which is relatively new and already quite popular. Because of the lake traffic, you may want to hire a guide for your first outing to avoid complications. Smithville Lake is actually just north of Kansas City in the northwest as well and is probably the best known large reservoir in the area. It is such mostly because it is one of the few lakes in the entire state that maintains a large population of both black and white crappie. You might also try the small 110-acre Bilby Ranch Lake, 14 miles west of Maryville, where a little patience and a few hours will most likely turn out a limit for the day. Don't forget Che-Ru Lake, a 160-acre lake near Meadville. This lake provides a lot of favorable cover for crappie, including borrow ditches, shoreline, standing timber, submerged levees, and rock reefs. If you are a novice looking for excellent Missouri crappie fishing, venture over to Pony Express Lake, where the waters are so overloaded with the sunfish that you are guaranteed to catch at least a few small specimen.

In the northeastern part of the state, check out Mark Twain Lake, the only large reservoir in the area. With three forks of the Salt River impounded here and lots of small creeks and hillside drainages, as well as lots of standing timber, the lake is an ideal crappie breeding ground. In the past few years, most crappie have been small throwbacks, but now, the population has had time to mature and should be sized for bragging rights. Long Branch Lake to the north of Macon is full of crappie as well, although these tend to be smaller specimen that are not worth keeping at this stage of the game. However, Thomas Hill Lake to the southwest of Macon proves completely different, with tons of crappie meeting and exceeding 10 inches in length. The St. Louis area brags both the August A. Busch Memorial and Weldon Spring Lakes, which both have a great turnout of crappie year in and year out, despite the pressure put on them by the metro area.

Crappies are one of the most sought after species of fish in Minnesota. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is because they are always so eager to take the bait and then they put up a nice struggle for their size. This makes fishing for them fun, entertaining and perfect for anglers of all ages and skill levels. The other reason they are so popular is because the sweet-tasting filets of the crappie are simply delicious.

The state record for the black crappie in Minnesota weighed five pounds and the white crappie was a little less than four pounds. These catches were very impressive for this species of fish because crappies normally don't grow much larger than two or three pounds. A little less than two pounds is the average weight for a crappie.

It is easier to catch a crappie than it is many of the other species of fish. However, you will find that there are a few strategies available that can help you catch even more crappie when fishing in Minnesota.

Strategies for Finding Minnesota Hot Spots

One of the most important things to remember is that any "hot spot" can and will change with time. Therefore, if you have a favorite spot where you have always had lots of luck reeling in the crappie, don't be surprised if one day it stops being productive. This is simply the natural order of things. When the crappies are no longer biting it's time to move on to a new spot. There are several sources available that will help you locate new crappie fishing spots in Minnesota.

To learn where the hot spots are located you can pick up a survey of different lakes and take a look at the population level of the crappie in each lake and their size. Crappies live an average of ten to fourteen years. Therefore, when you find a body of water with large crappie in it, this is where you need to be going fishing now. Within a year or so all the larger crappie will have been caught or they will have died out. Bodies of water where the population of crappies is small will be a great place to visit in a couple years when they have time to mature.

As a general rule lakes and rivers that have a restricted limit on the size and number of crappie you can catch per visit will have many hot spots. This is because the limit gives the crappie time to grow and prevents anglers from wiping them out in one season.

Here are some of the lakes located in Minnesota where you will find many great crappie hot spots.

Lake of the Woods

Leech Lake

Lake Traverse

Lake Superior

Lake Minnetonka

Lake Waconia

Upper and Lower Red Lake

Lake Mille Lacs

Kabetogama Lake

Rainy Lake

You can also find crappie in many of the smaller lakes and rivers located all through Minnesota.

Learn All You Can About the Crappie

More Minnesota Crappie Fishing Articles

Tennessee Bass fishing is going to be its best this year at Dale Hollow, Tims Ford, South Holston and Pickwick reservoirs. The smallmouth bass fishing at Dale Hollow is going to provide some high catch rates and some fine fish. There are some regulations in place for smallmouth bass fishing, but this has resulted in some nice trophy size fish.

Anglers have said that fishing at night with jigs and spinnerbaits is the best time to catch smallmouth bass. You get away with using a four-pound test line and catch some nice sized fish. It is all of the presentation at Dale Hollow.

South Holston Lake is like a small, Dale Hollow. During the winter, you can catch a smallmouth bass on a float-n-fly or a jigging spoon. It is not unusual to catch a fish over twenty-five pounds of this lake. Ifyou are fishing this lake at night, you can use to grub and jig to catch plenty of bass. Tims Ford and Pickwick are coming along just nicely for smallmouth bass fishing. They do have regulations for minimum size, but it is working very well. These are just a few places in Tennessee that bass fishing is excellent for the most part. You can go just about anywhere in Tennessee and have some great fishing.

A couple other ones that you might consider are Percy Priest, Center Hill, and Norris and Watts Bar lakes. Although the smallmouths are declining in these areas, it still provides great fishing. These areas are still working with the 18-inch minimum size limit for smallmouth bass, which has started to improve the fishing conditions.

If you want to do some river fishing in Tennessee for smallmouth bass, you might try the Frank Fiss, the Pigeon River, Duck River or the Buffalo River. Although the pigeon River seems to be little down again this year, the Duck River is going to show some good numbers.

The Buffalo River on the other hand, is going to be a great place to find smallmouth bass, but you will see a lot of traffic as well. One popular river is the Little Pigeon River, which is starting to make a name for itself. You can catch some good size smallmouth bass down by the area of the French Broad River. However, if you want a wade in some water, you can go up by the Pigeon Forge.

To recap these places, the Little Pigeon River, has good fishing around the Pigeon Forge. The Buffalo River has a great fishing near Linden. The Pigeon River has great bass fishing by the French Broad River. The marina by Tims Ford Lake is a great place to start some smallmouth bass fishing. The smallmouth bass in Norris Lake is good around the Hickory Star Marina. Fishing at Dale Hollow Lake is good around Horse Creek Dock. With all these places to go fishing in Tennessee you cannot go wrong. You are going to have a great time fishing for smallmouth mouth bass.

If you are looking for some largemouth bass in Tennessee, you can look around Cumberland and Obey. The fishing for largemouth bass on Obey River is the best by the dam located by Dale Hollow. This area is great between June and September. One place to start is the Franklin Creek area. Identify the largemouth bass near the channel drops, and by the weed beds. You will find the larger fish, right after sun up by the shade areas on the water. Just use a green, black and blue or a brown jig with your favorite bait, and you are ready to go.

If you have an overcast day, use a spinnerbait near the tree trunks or the timber of the water. You will find a good fishing in these areas. Keep in mind that the color of spinnerbait you use is going to depend on the water conditions. Obey River is a great place to fish for bass. The Cumberland River has some nice size largemouth bass between the Cordell Hall and Old Hickory Lakes by Nashville.

During the summer months on the Cumberland River, you can use the black and blue jig, but make sure it is at least three fourths ounce or heavier in weight. In these areas you need to get down into the deep weeds. If you see a lot of wood in the water, this is where you want to drop your bait.

If you live in Tennessee or you are planning a fishing trip to Tennessee, these are some of the popular places for largemouth and smallmouth bass. The thing is that it is not going to take a lot of skill, only patients to catch these fish. However, once you find the right spot you are going to want to stay there and catch all the fish.

Aug 2008. A video of pontoon fishing on Lake Springfield. Primary purpose of the trip was to catch crappie but the bass jumped all over that spinnerbait. This is just a theory, but because the lake level is dropping to around normal, I think the fish are being forced out of the flooded weeds and are starting to set up on more traditional structure. Used a spinnerbait to catch a bass just a few oz. shy of 5 lb.

Find More Bass Fishing Spinnerbaits Articles

Old School Crappie Fishing Family Secrets

Gear To Catch Crappie - What You Need To Be Successful!

If you are familiar with crappie, you know they are cunning and crafty creatures with a high degree of intelligence. Indeed, If you lived the life of a southern crappie (especially south Florida!); you would be dodging alligators half of the day and cottonmouths the other half.

This means the crappie species should definitely be classified as a sporting fish, and not every fisherman who picks up a fishing pole, buys some crappie fishing gear he thinks will catch crappie,and purchases a fishing license will go home with a stringer loaded with crappie.

And if you want to out smart them, and come home with your limit of crappie- it all starts with your gear. You gotta have the right stuff, and the Oldfishinghole Has got a quick list thats been tested through decades of fishing. if you use the crappie fishing gear suggestions shown on this list you will increase your crappie fishing success.

The Oldfishinghole Quick list of Crappie Catching Gear

Use a cane pole (or bamboo pole) or fiberglass. We recommend one that is 10 to 16ft in length.( the best thing about the cane pole or of the bamboo pole is that it allows you to "feel the slightest movement and your reaction to set the hook can be much quicker)

Tie a number 4, gold Aberdeen hook

Put a small, 2inch bobber about 2 feet above the hook

Put a piece of spit shot (lead weight) the size of a BB on the line right beneath the bobber.

At Least 6 dozen of "Missouri Minnows" (the smallest you can find)

Well, that does it for the oldfishinghole's recommendation of recommended crappie fishing gear.

Crappie fishing is one of the most popular types of fishing around and Georgia is a great place to enjoy it at. With the many lakes, rivers, streams and other freshwater sources in Georgia, it leaves for many opportunities for crappie fishing. Yet crappie fishing in Georgia is different from anywhere else in the country. The climate is different, the waters are different and you need to know how to fish properly in these waters to get the most benefit from it.

Georgia has some of the most beautiful fishing waters of the south and you can enjoy them for yourself whether you are from Georgia or just passing through. If you're planning a vacation, there are even great Georgia crappie fishing charters you can try to get part in. These fishing charters are also great for people who are new to fishing or new to this particular type of fishing. It is especially helpful if you are not from Georgia or not from that particular area of Georgia because they can show you where to go and help you learn the proper techniques for fishing in this area.

How to Catch Crappie in Georgia

So now that you know more about crappie fishing in general, I bet you're ready to learn how to catch crappie in Georgia. There are many different crappie fishing techniques out there as well as many different places in the country that you can fish for crappie so when it comes to fishing in Georgia, here are some important tips to help you.

Most crappie prefer cooler temperatures so in a warm or muggy Georgia climate, fishing at night is often a good idea. When fishing for crappie in Georgia, you will find that often the waters are murkier. This is because there is a lot of swamplands in Georgia and in the freshwater areas where crappie enjoy. Because of this, you may want to use brightly colored bait, scented lures and similar devices to make it easier for the crappie to see your bait and take a bite.

Best Spots for Fishing Crappie in Georgia

Now that you know how to catch crappie in Georgia, you need to know where to go to fish. Crappie are some of the most common fish species in Georgia but the downside is that their numbers can be low at times and quite high at other peak times.

Winter fishing on Lake Lanier, Georgia for some good eating Crappie!
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Do you love going crappie fishing? Are you looking for places to go to help you get the most from each and every one of your fishing trips? Then you need to know which lakes and rivers provide the best crappie fishing in the nation. If you don't know where the best fishing areas are, then it makes it hard to know where to go to get started. Luckily there are many great crappie fishing lakes located all around the nation.
One way to learn where the crappies are located is by talking to the local bait shops to see where they would recommend you should go. There are also many online sites that can give you information about where to go and which tactics and techniques will work the best for each lake or river that you visit.
To give you an idea of where to get started below is the top 10 crappie fishing lakes found in the United States.
1.Lake of the Woods This Lake is located between the borders of Minnesota and Ontario and it stretches over half a million acres. It has over 12,000 islands and provides the prefect habitat for crappie to grow and thrive. Most of the crappie caught here weighs over two pounds and can normally be found between 35 to 40 feet deep.
2.Deep Creek Lake This Lake can be found in Maryland and is considered one of the best crappie fishing lakes in the nation. The reason it is so popular is because the crappie in this lake are very large. There may not be a lot of crappie in this lake but the size makes up for the fewer number as they normally weigh around three pounds and grow over 13 inches long. It is the perfect lake to visit if you are after that trophy fish.
3.Lake Eufaula Lake Eufaula is located in Oklahoma and is an excellent place to catch crappie. Trolling is a good method to use in this lake and you should stick to the shallow water for the best results.
4.Lake Fork Lake Fork is located in Texas and it has numerous under water structures with a lot of vegetation that is perfect to help the crappie thrive and grow. Therefore, it is an excellent place for anglers to go crappie fishing if they are looking for a lake that offers them the chance to easily catch their limit.
5.Lake Camanche Sitting in the foothills of Sierra Nevada California you will find Lake Camanche. Its shoreline stretches 53 miles long and is 150 feet deep. Although, Lake Camanche is most famous for its numerous bass, it is also a great place to go crappie fishing.
6.Lake Okeechobee Located in central and southern Florida is an excellent crappie fishing area called Lake Okeechobee. It is a 451,000 acre lake that has a 154 mile long waterway.
7.Knox Lake This Lake is located in Knox County Ohio. The crappie fishing in this lake is rated excellent and most of them average over ten inches in length. Fish around the fallen trees and other structures found in this lake for the best results.

You don't have to go far to look for a good place for Arkansas crappie fishing. According to anglers in the state, almost every resident in the state lives within an hour of a choice fishing spot. The state is divided into ten fishing districts, each of which is littered with lakes and rivers where schools of crappie swarm, always offering fishermen a guaranteed good catch. However, each district has its own top lake or river for Arkansas crappie fishing, where you're sure to catch some whoppers. I'm going to go over the 4 best in this article.

District 1 in the northwest has several lakes to boast with great Arkansas crappie fishing. However, Beaver Lake is known for containing a lot of great habitat for crappie in its 28,000+ acres. Though the size of the lake may cause difficulties in locating the schools of crappie, once you find them, you shouldn't be surprised to get several trophy-worthy slabs. Situated in the Ozarks, Beaver Lake is also a beautiful location for Arkansas crappie fishing. In the spring, you might also try Coose Creek or Esculapia Hollow in the Pine Creek area.

While District 2 in the northern Ozarks is probably not the optimal part of the state for Arkansas crappie fishing, a trip to the upper end of Bull Shoals Lake can reap some rewards. Don't bother with the lower areas of the lake; it seems the best spawn are found in the upper reaches of the 45,500-acre Corps reservoir, with most catch averaging around 1/2 of a pound and a few reaching two pounds. Search for sunken brush piles in Tucker Hollow or West Sugar Loaf, also, as there is very little visible cover for crappie in these areas.

In District 3 in the northeast corner of Arkansas, crappie fishing is good. There are several large popular lakes, but it's little Lake Hogue, hidden away in the delta farm country, that contains some of the largest slabs. This lake was completely renovated in 1985 and has been stocked with big fish that produce MORE big fish. Though it's only about 280 acres, it's full of great cover for crappie.

District 4 is probably one of the best areas for crappie in the entire country. Arkansas crappie fishing here encompasses several excellent lakes, including Midway, Old Town, and Mellwood Old River Lake. Though Midway and Old Town are both great crappie fishing spots, Mellwood Old River Lake known for producing a day's limit of 50 2-pounders for many fishermen.

Just focusing on these 4 districts while crappie fishing in Arkansas will put you in the best position to catch a ton of crappie - and isn't that what it's all about?

We go Bass and Crappie fishing on the Arkansas River near Reydel, Arkansas

How much do you know about California crappie fishing? You don't hear a lot about fishing for crappie in California so many people do not realize just how abundant this species is here. In fact, many people may even think that crappie do not live in this area. However, it is interesting to know that even though California is not one of the most well-known places to catch crappie it doesn't mean they are not there. You may be a little surprised to learn that many of the lakes in California have a large supply of crappie most anytime of the year. Below are the names of a few of the lakes and where they are located in California.

If you are fishing in Northern California there are several lakes where you can find crappie. Lake Oroville, Clear Lake, Lake Berryessa and Folsom Lake are a few. Central California has Lake Camanche, Lake McClure, Pine Flat Lake and The Delta Lake. Southern California is home to San Vicente Lake, Big Bear Lake, El Captain Lake and Lake Sutherland. Of course, there are plenty of other lakes in California where you can find crappie, these are just a few. Any one of these lakes would be a great place to fish for crappie when in California.

There are two main types of crappie which are called the Black crappie and the White crappie. The Black crappie is recognized as being dark in color with spotted sides and seven to eight dorsal spines. These are more common in the northern part of California. White crappie has six dorsal spines, is lighter in color and can have eight or nine bands located vertically down its side. These are more common in the Southern areas.

The best techniques to use when fishing for crappie are casting, trolling, still-fishing and drifting. The one you choose will depend on the lake you are fishing and the weather conditions. As any angler knows, different conditions require different techniques to have the most success. The fishing conditions will also determine the types of rod, reels and other equipment you will need when fishing.

You will find that the crappie will usually travel in schools, which make them easier to catch because when you find one there are normally more around. Spring is always the best time to fish for crappie because this is when they are spawning. During this time you can have a lot of success fishing in medium to shallow water. Live bait, spinners and jigs are the best to use with the techniques listed above.

In the summer the crappie will be deeper in the water during the day but they can still be found in the shallows during the early morning and late evening. Live bait, jigs and spoons are great choices for bait. In the fall live bait and spinners work great during the morning and evening hours while spoons and jigs are recommended for the middle of the day. In the winter the crappie are not quite as active so you have to move your bait slower during this time than other seasons. Using small worms and jigs are recommended for the best results.

Some of the best locations anytime of the year to find crappie will be near grassy areas, stumps, brush and any other covering artificial or natural. There are different methods available that you can use for catching crappie that can be very successful. Trolling is one of these methods in which you use several rods to fish with at one time. Other methods include jigging, drifting, casting and still-fishing.

Find More Crappie Fishing Supplies Articles