Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Ted Peck

Crappies are puzzling fish. Sometimes they are almost too easy to catch, and on other occasions you can't find them anywhere, let alone tease them into biting. Crappies are both predator and prey. They are adaptable to river, lake and flowage ecosystems. They cycle almost like grouse, in pretty much a five-year rotation on any given body of water.

Both black crappies and white crappies swim in Wisconsin waters, sometimes appearing in shades in between extremes at both ends of the color spectrum. White crappies are usually a little lighter in color, with more distinct symmetrical vertical bars. One way to tell for sure which species of this sunfish family you are dealing with is to count the number of dorsal spines - white crappies have six, while blacks have seven or eight.

Crappies are known by a number of names. Down south some folks call them speckled perch, calico bass or specks. I was guiding a guy from the Louisiana bayous a couple of years back who called crappies "sac-á-lait," which is Cajun French for "sack of milk." I thought he was referring to the crappie's fighting ability - pretty much like a wet paper bag.

Anglers agree on two things about these fish - their exceptional quality as table fare and the sometimes-epithet "papermouth." Oh, those big babies and their dainty membranous mouths! Get anything over 2 pounds up on the surface and headed toward the boat and that big slab is going to start shaking her head. Even if you do everything right, big ones know how to wiggle just enough to come unbuttoned. And that's what keeps a lot of anglers coming back for more.

With opening day still quite a few weeks off, a lot of "hooks" who aren't chasing walleyes go after crappies. At this time of year crappies tend to stage off of points where there is cover on the bottom, in the middle of bays at the mouth and off of steep vertical breaks. Usually, crappies' location in lakes from ice-out to spawn is pretty much in deeper water almost directly out from where they will move shallow to spawn sometime in May.

With stable weather, a school of crappies may be spread out over an acre or more but only occupy a foot vertically in the water column. If there is heavy cover available like standing timber, these fish can stack vertically and very tight to cover, almost like residents of a high-rise apartment - sometimes all but hidden on your electronics. At other times you'll see a school of crappies appear almost like a Christmas tree on the sonar screen. This formation generally means tough fishing, with a search for another school being your best option.

With eyes located near the top of their heads, crappies find it most effective to attack from below, making bait presentation from a foot to several feet above their heads a good tactic. Although there are a number of lures, baits and techniques to garner a nice sack of sac-à-lait, never bet against an old guy with a couple of cane poles and a pail of two-scoops-for-a-buck minnows.

That said, let's take a look at what should be the Badger State's top crappie waters for 2003.

If you're just looking to fill a quick limit, launch at Babcock Park off of U.S. Highway 51, putt through the narrow channel and start fishing the steep break at Rockford Heights. Crappies will be holding somewhere between here and the Bible camp slide to the south.

Bigger crappies are found in Lake Kegonsa, especially around Strawberry Point. Lake Monona has nice slabs, too, especially in Squaw Bay, and be sure to fish the warmwater discharge plume out from the convention center. And don't forget Mendota, the biggest lake in the chain at nearly 10,000 acres. Target the north side from Cherokee Marsh out to Governor's Island and Dunn's Bar.

The key to all lakes on the Madison Chain lies in targeting the weed edge - an easy prospect last spring because weeds were late in developing, making the few weedbeds veritable fish magnets. Although minnows are always a good bet, there are days when plastics will play even - or sometimes even better. Probably the most consistent plastic is a little Cubby Mini Mite jighead/tail combo in pink/white or pink/chartreuse.

All lakes in the Madison Chain have excellent launch facilities. There is no such thing as a secret spot on these waters, with many anglers using clusters of boats as their primary "fish finder."

Gene Dellinger at D&S Bait Shop on Mendota's north shore off of Northport Drive is a good source of solid fishing information and bait. They can be reached at (608) 241-4225. By far the area's top guide is Ron Barefield, (608) 838-8756.

Pickerel Lake is located about 10 miles east of Woodruff off of County Highway J, with a good boat launch on the west side on Pinewood Drive. These 735 acres have a good matrix of reeds and stumps that hold crappies throughout the spring, especially on the north and south ends of the lake. Don't overlook cane beds around the St. Germain River entry point and the weedline on this lake's western shore.

It's easy to find crappies in 205-acre Whitefish Lake in the Three Lakes Chain. Access the water at the public boat launch near the lake's outlet off of Highway 32. The entire south shore weedline is a crappie magnet, with a weedy bay on the west side that is connected by a narrow channel sometimes holding fish right at ice-out.

Scattering Rice Lake is about 267 acres, located just off Chain-O-Lakes Road, east of Highway 45. Some of the best crappie water is found near the north end near the Deerskin River inlet and near the outlet end of the lake on the north side. Once weeds begin to develop, target the weed edge on the northwest side of the lake just south of Chain-O-Lakes Road.

Guide Brian Siekierzynski knows these waters well. He can be reached through the bait shop that is part of the St. Germain Sport & Marine store, (715) 479-4930. Solid information on the Eagle River Chain can be obtained at Eagle Sports, (715) 479-8804.

Hardwater anglers generally target walleyes in the middle of the lake here by jigging just off the bottom in 50 to 55 feet of water - pulling up quickly when marks indicate crappies suspended in the middepths. At ice-out, the crappies are still there, but few anglers are going after them. A Vexilar FL-18 flasher and a No. 3 orange/gold Jigging Rapala are your best weapons for these fish in very cold water, with the dominant year-class of crappies near peak size as we get into 2003.

When waters begin to warm, start fishing in the channel right at the boat launch, also checking shallows out from the mouth of Brown's Channel and near the long bar out from Lake Lawn Lodge.

Ice jigs work almost as well as minnows here once crappies begin to move shallow, especially a little ice jig tied on a loop knot with a piece of plastic fliptail to tempt them.

Guide Brian Gates has been fishing Delavan since before the lake was drawn down and rehabbed in the early 1990s. Contact Gates at Geneva Lake Bait & Tackle, (262) 245-6150.

These two flowages helped me achieve "Ace" status with my local propeller repair guy a few years back, prompting purchase of a tunnel flatbottomed boat with a jet-drive outboard - nearly the ideal watercraft on these waters, provided the wind isn't blowing. Both of these flowages average considerably less than 10 feet deep. Crappies often hold in water just a couple of feet deep, so wind can be a problem, and downright dangerous if you get caught back in the extreme shallows in a deeper-draft boat. But the shallows are where the fish are. Right in the middle of the stumpy minefield with a rule of thumb that says the more difficult access is, the more and bigger the slabs will be.

By far the best weapon is a long cane pole with a pencil-style float and a minnow on a light wire hook. You can use 20-pound-test line in these stained waters and the fish aren't going to know what's up. And if you're fishing where the crappies are snagging up on structure, only a forgiving light wire hook can make it tolerable.

The shortest route to a limit on these waters involves the addition of a small in-line Colorado blade, impaling the minnow through the lips, and using a technique called "skittering." Skittering is simply scooting the float across the surface in a back-and-forth pass about two feet long in close proximity to a promising stump, with the float set maybe 12 to 16 inches deep. Skitter left. Skitter right. Stop. If a crappie is home, it's gonna eat. No bite, try a different stump.

Before the crappies in these flowages set up spawning beds, they are notoriously mobile. Chances are the same stump won't produce two days in a row. Think mobile and act accordingly.

The Wausau Convention and Visitor's Bureau is a wonderful resource for the traveling angler. Their phone number is 1-800-236-9728. Guides John Sparbel, (715) 848-0734, and Dave Dalum, (715) 848-4102, know where the crappies are. Mosinee Bait & Taxidermy, (715) 693-3520, is a good source for live bait.

According to Langhurst, there is little cover in Shawano after ice-out, but warming water is a definite crappie magnet. Major keys to locating crappies once you can get a boat in at one of several launches around the lake call for finding the warmest water possible and considerable stealth. According to Langhurst, shallow northside waters warm first, with fishing definitely better later in the day - especially when it's sunny.

Crappies often hold around little bays and channels where people dock boats in warmer weather. Water here is just a couple of feet deep and crappies are exceptionally wary. As we get into late April, weeds begin to develop in shallow water, and the crappies aren't far behind. A little ice jig suspended under a small ice float placed quietly from a long cast away is the best way to target these fish.

Bait shop owner Fuzzy Ellenbecker said that several 16-inch crappies were brought into his store last year, and he has a "strong suspicion" that these fish came from the stumpy, weedy Beaver Creek Sanctuary at the flowage's south end.

The bay straight south of the dam on the lake's east side is another crappie hotspot, particularly around the weed edges. The water here is shallow, with hammerhandle pike almost as plentiful as crappies.

Bear Creek inlet on the flowage's north side and the large bay on the lake's east side, south of the Chippewa Federal Campground, is a well-known local spot, with crappies hanging close to the forest of standing timber here, just south of the boat ramp. This ramp is one of four on the flowage. The three that are federally managed require purchase of a $10 annual stamp. The fourth is free and is operated by the county.

Minnows are a popular bait, but the RoadRunner - a little horsehead jig that has been around since 1958 - also has a dedicated following. "Hot" colors - particularly chartreuse with a red head - work well in the shallow, fertile waters of Miller Dam Flowage.

Fuzzy's General Store and bait shop is located south of County M on County E just outside of Medford. The phone number is (715) 785-7977.

According to Jim Mommsen of Spooner Sports, the little appendage called Mud Lake - located on the east side near the north end of this 20-mile-long lake - is full of crappies at ice-out. Access to Mud is through a narrow channel just north of "the narrows" almost due east of the public ramp on County Highway B, about 10 miles southeast of Spooner. This ramp is easy to locate - just turn at the "fire warden" sign at this unmarked intersection and drive east about a half-mile to the launch. Putting the boat in at any of the other launches means a long run up Long Lake.

Once you sneak through the little channel into Mud Lake, it's more like going catching rather than going fishing, according to Mommsen. Mud Lake is just a shallow-water bog where crappies will jump all over anything that even resembles a minnow. They remain in these stained waters until spawning is completed about mid-May.

The far south end of Big McKenzie Lake, a few miles northwest of Spooner, offers a similar crappie-catching opportunity. Known locally as Cranberry Bay, this bog area draws practically every crappie in the lake for the first few weeks after ice-out as warm water from the Rocky Ridge Creek entry point also brings considerable food into the system.

You'll find a good public boat ramp on the lake's northeast side off of County Highway E, with small minnows suspended about a foot under a bobber the best medicine for 9- to 11-inch crappies.

For more information, contact Jim Mommsen at Spooner Sports, (715) 635-6500. The Spooner Chamber of Commerce is a good source for lodging and other information. They can be reached at 1-800-367-3306.