March is Prime Time for Spawning Slabs

The black bass may be king in Texas, but you’d never know it by striking up a conversation with “Stoney” York of Mt. Enterprise.

York is among the many crappie mongers who gather beneath the FM 1971 bridge at Lake Murvaul this time of year. Like most Texas crappie buffs, York and his friends are partial to the silver-sided fish with paper-thin choppers, and they are quick to defend their turf.

The bridge is a known sweet spot for intercepting crappie and bass as they follow the old Murvaul Creek channel toward the spawning flats at the lake’s upper reaches

“We call those bass trash fish around here,” said Harold “Stoney” York of Mt. Enterprise. “I’ll take a 25 fish limit of big slabs over an eight-pound bass, any day. They eat one hell of a lot better.”

No argument, here. When it comes to table fare, crappie is the flounder of the freshwater scene. “Slab” is a slang term often used to describe a crappie that weigh upwards of 1 1/2 pounds. That name, along with other popular monikers like “barn door” and “saddle blanket” stem from the crappie’s broad physique and the succulent slice of pearly white meat to be gleaned from both sides using a sharp filet knife.

Both of the two primary subspecies of crappie—black and white—are found in Texas waters.

Black crappie, which are easily distinguishable by the irregular dark speckles and splotches on their sides, are native to waters in parts of central Texas. However, they are most prevalent in the acidic, more alkaline waters across eastern Texas.

White crappie are more whitish in color, and the dark markings are arranged in vertical bars. They also have more elongated bodies and larger mouths. White crappie can be found statewide.

There’s an old saying that everything grows bigger in Texas, and crappie are certainly no exception. The Texas state record black crappie stands at 3.92 pounds. The 18.50-inch fish was caught on the night of April 27, 2003, by George Ward of Garland. He was using a live shiner for bait while fishing from the Minnow Bucket Marina fishing pier at the 27,000-acre Lake Fork.

The biggest white crappie ever reeled in from Texas waters is a 4.56 pounder. That state record was caught by G.G. Wooderson way back in February of 1968 from the 5,000-acre Navarro Mills Reservoir between Corsicana and Waco.

By comparison, the world record white crappie stands at 5 pounds, 3 ounces. That fish was caught in July 1957 from Enid Dam in Mississippi. The world record black crappie as recognized by the International Game Fish Association is a five pounder caught in April 2006 from a private lake in Missouri.

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Opinions vary about which of the two subspecies gets bigger. But one thing paper mouth junkies will agree on is this tenacious-yet-often-finicky sport fish can be a blast to catch. This holds especially true during the spring of the year, when the prolific panfish crowd the shallows on lakes across Texas to spawn.

If there is one thing you can always count on about springtime crappie fishing, it’s that the fish will only be where you find them. Harum-scarum by nature, the popular panfish can be tough to pattern this time of year because they are rambling the shallows here and there, looking for a place to do their thing. Once located, however, the action can be hot and limits easy.

Like bass, crappie fan out nests for spawning, and they usually do it in colonies that may have more than two-dozen nests.

The fish like to spawn in shallow water ranging from one to six feet deep. They’ll locate their nests in close proximity to some form of cover such as bushes, fallen trees, lily pad stems, and stumps.

Often times they’ll build their beds right in the thickest junk they can find before carrying out the courtship that creates the next generation of crappie for anglers to catch.

Although spawning can occur as early as February, it’s generally March to early April before the meat of the ritual takes place. Curtain time can happen just anywhere on a lake. As a rule the fish like to follow creeks, ditches, guts to the backs of major and secondary coves before dispersing onto adjacent flats to seek out a good spot to set up house.

High water can certainly make things more difficult, sniffing out fish typically boils down to a process of elimination. Ease down a shoreline and dabble live shiners around fishy looking cover. Fan casting with small jigs, spinners or Roadrunners using ultra gear and small diameter line also works. Because crappie spawn in loose groups, where you find one there will likely be others.

Top Lakes For Big Texas Crappie

Texas crappie junkies are blessed with dozens of good crappie lakes. However, some are naturally better than others when it comes to producing big numbers of bragging size slabs. What follows is a synopsis of some lakes that pack plenty of potential during the spring of the year:

• Fork: Located 90 miles east of Dallas, Fork is a springtime haven for spring fishing with its many creeks, brush-cluttered shorelines and plentiful boat docks. The lake routinely kicks out fish slabs upwards of 1 1/2 pounds and two-pounders aren’t uncommon. The lake record black is 3.92 pounds; white crappie, 3.34 pounds.

• Sam Rayburn: The massive 114,000-acre reservoir has an equally large crappie population. This is the result of excellent habitat provided by abundant brush, submerged timber and hydrilla beds. Terrestrial shoreline cover such as willows and buck brush, add to the great spawning habitat when water levels are sufficient. The lake has produced lake record white and black crappie weighing 2.94 and 2.15 pounds, respectively.

• Toledo Bend: This sprawling Sabine River reservoir along the Texas/Louisiana border has been ranked one of the top crappie fishing lakes in the South since opening in the late 1960s. It’s not showing any signs of slowing down, with dozens of brush-filled creeks and plenty of fishy looking shoreline cover provided by willows, brush and cypress trees. Toledo Bend has produced a Texas record black crappie weighing 3.69 pounds and record white crappie weighing 3.44 pounds. When water levels are stable, the fishing can be particularly good along backwater creeks at the lake’s upper reaches where flooded cypress trees are abundant.

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• Cedar Creek: The Post Oak reservoir near Athens doesn’t have an abundance of shoreline cover, but it’s lined with boat docks, piers and other artificial structures that are heavily utilized by crappie during the spawning season. This is one lake well worth a visit. Lake records for black and white crappie are 3.10 and 3.14 pounds.

• Richland Chambers: RC is a big pond fed by numerous creeks and branches that offer gobs of cover for spawning and fishermen plenty of places to dunk their shiners and jigs. Locals in the know often head up the creeks at night this time of year to sack up big limits of white and black crappie, alike. The lake record white stands at 3.77 pounds and 2.47 poundsfor black crappie.

• Granger: At 4,000 acres, Granger isn’t a huge lake, but it’s big on crappie. It ranks among the top lakes in Central Texas for sacking up a limit of slabs. Shallow and turbid, the lake has plenty of flooded brush and willows found along shorelines and flats bordering creeks at the lake’s upper reaches. It kicked out a lake record white crappie in February 2016, weighing 3.50 pounds.

• Lake O’ the Pines: This 19,000-acre reservoir near Longview is a springtime favorite in northeast Texas with an abundance of shallow vegetation and terrestrial growth up and down the lake. Flooded backwaters in creeks such as Alley, Johnson, Hurricane and Brushy as well as shallow flats off the Big Cypress channel will produce good numbers of crappie upwards of 1 1/2 pounds throughout March and April. ‘Pines gave up a lake record 3.45-pound white crappie last February and a 2.78-pound lake record black crappie in April 2010.

• Lavon: This 21,000-acre Collin County reservoir near Wylie has always been an area hotspot for crappie, but it got a big shot in the arm a few years ago when it refilled after an extended period of low water. This allowed an abundance of terrestrial shore cover to sprout up and down the lake. If water levels are sufficient this spring, dabbling around willows and other vegetation should pay off big time. The lake record black crappie is 1.94 pounds and 2.91 pounds for white crappie.

The list of good places to catch slab-size spring crappie in Texas doesn’t end there. Other lakes that deserve mention include Ray Roberts, Lewisville, Buchanan, Coffee Mill, Conroe, Livingston and Wright Patman.

Look toward the shallows now on just about any lake, and you might find them in big numbers.

—by Matt Williams

 

Roy Neves

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