By Ted Peck

Wisconsin crappie catchers have a wealth of waters across our state in which to chase ol' papermouth.

Right now, almost all crappie fishing in America's Dairyland is done astride a five-gallon bucket. But in a few short weeks the silver slabbers will be moving close to shore to warming open water in a pilgrimage that will repeat itself every week for each 100 miles traveled from south to north in Wisconsin.

Crappies are early spawners, moving into shallows close to woody cover or reeds to procreate around Mother's Day and beyond. Warming water after ice-out triggers a dress rehearsal for the spawn as crappies seek both food and a degree of comfort. The movement of crappies from deep-water wintering haunts to spawning areas in shallower water is fairly easy to track on most waters, with fish tending to stack at a comfortable depth that moves predictably closer to the bank with every warming day.

Some crappies seek out warm, shallow water and attempt to spawn long before most anglers even think about looking within cane pole range of the bank - especially in lakes with channels and canals on their northern exposures.

A major key to targeting these fish is doing some serious looking - first at the surface temperature gauge, then with a good pair of polarized sunglasses. The drive to find warmer water is powerful this time of year. And dark-bottomed, shallow fingers off of the main lake - especially with northern exposures - warm quicker than you might think.

Following is a look at some of our best inland crappie waters for the weeks ahead.

Photo by Tom Evans

Like most Wisconsin River flowages, Lake Wisconsin is a matrix of shallow, stumpy flats adjacent to the old river channel. A number of fish cribs have been placed in and near the channel here over the years, holding crappies essentially all year long. Shortly after ice-out the slabs in this stained flowage will seek shallow water - very shallow water.

Guide Ron Barefield has been on a crappie-catching pattern here for years, whaling on slabs in waters less than 2 feet deep when most anglers are still out fishing the brushpiles.

Ron and I trade guide trips several times each year, enjoying the experience of somebody else running the trolling motor for a change. When challenged by my volunteer fire department to provide a fish fry last April, Barefield came through by taking me to his Lake Wisconsin hotspot. Our combined limit of 50 crappies was enough to feed all the firefighters, their wives and kids - and other folks I've never met before. Happiness is a crappie filet. The shallow bite in Lake Wisconsin is right around the corner in what may be our first open-water opportunity.

Contacts: guide Ron Barefield, (608) 838-8756; Owen's Live Bait, (608) 742-2823; Mi Place Bait, (608) 635-4020.

As is the case throughout the Wisconsin River system right now, the flowage crappies here are preparing to move up out of the old river channel to hug wood in shallower water. A good depthfinder and GPS are essential in locating the biggest crappies in this system. When you stop hitting stumps with your outboard's lower unit, a glance at the depthfinder will probably reveal the old river channel. The key to finding big crappies is marking the exact location of stumps next to the old channel edge, and that's where the GPS comes in.

Smaller stumps often hold bigger crappies than larger "wood" because dominant crappies can patrol this little kingdom more efficiently. Unlike spots where you might fill a 25-fish limit with eater-sized crappies, a stump on the channel edge will only give up one or two fish.

The 10-foot-long Crappie Commander rod made by HT Enterprises right here in Wisconsin remains the gold standard for serious crappie catchers all over the United States. When coupled with a medium spinning reel and 10-pound-test Berkley FireLine, there is no more efficient crappie weapon on the market.

For the big gals on these flowages you need a big presentation. A 1/4-ounce hot florescent pink jighead with a glow, white or chartreuse Fuzz-E-Tail body and a 2-inch or even larger minnow complete the presentation.

Use stealth to approach a good stump. Bounce the top of the stump several times with the heavy jig, then hold it stationary just a couple of inches above the wood. If a crappie doesn't gernip the bait, try the same approach on the shallower backside of the stump, finally working your way around to the deeper channel side. On the deepwater side of the stump, work the bait all the way up and down slowly, just as you would an ice jig. Upon reaching the bottom, let the lure plop into the mud a couple of times, then bring it up just a couple inches to hover.

Big crappies don't necessarily bite right away, simply because they don't need to. Patience is an important component in success. It will take at least five minutes to probe a single stump, with perhaps every fifth stump yielding crappies. When you find a productive stump, plug it into your GPS.

Here are two other critical components to bagging bragging-sized crappies on these flowages: attach your jig on the line with a loop knot that is secured with a drop of super glue, and have a net handy with a handle as long at that 10-foot cane pole. Slab crappies know how to use their weight to gain freedom. You may only be able to move the real sows a few feet before they wiggle free. The long-handled net can spell the difference between a story about the flowage queen and a wall mount of platter dimensions.

There is good access on 6,800-acre Eau Pleine Reservoir and 6,300-acre Lake DuBay. It's big water, but take your time. These waters eat lower units.

Contacts: Wausau Convention and Visitor's Bureau, 1-800-236-9728, www.visitwausau.com; guide John Sparble, (715) 848-0734.