3 Surefire Ways of Locating Crappie

Are you looking for crappie? You may already know the biggest challenge with this fish species is in finding them in the first place. If you can find them, you can easily reel them in with some simple baits or lures. Crappie love to eat and as a general rule, they will go after nearly anything they can fit in their mouths. They have very keen eyesight and if they can see it while hungry, they will likely go after it.

The real trick to crappie fishing lies in finding the fish in the first place. Once you know where they are, you can catch them almost with ease. So what are some tactics you can use to get the crappie you want? First, you should plan according to where you're fishing and the time of day and time of the year you are fishing. This is important because these factors can affect the migration patterns of the crappie.

While everyone you talk to may seem to have a different opinion on finding crappie and what works and what doesn't, I have three important ways that you can count on for sure.

Here are three surefire ways of locating crappie:

Use equipment and technology designed to help you find crappie.
Look for areas crappie like to congregate such as underwater structures and debris.
Find crappie in shallow waters during their spawn.

While not everyone has expensive equipment and techy-tools to help them while fishing, if you do have them, you can certainly make the most of them. Depth-finders as well as fish finders can help you in locating crappie and they are pretty guaranteed when it comes to finding the schools you want to fish from. If you have the technological tools to help you locate crappie, go ahead and use 'em.

If you don't have these fancy tools, it's okay because crappie are pretty predictable in the places they enjoy hanging out. Look for areas of brush piles, underwater debris and other water structure both by the edges of the water and also underneath the water. Crappie love to seek cover in areas like this and you are nearly guaranteed every time to find a school in these spots.

As a general rule, look for areas of brush, piles of trees and debris or areas around docks and buoys for crappie. When you find a good spot, you will likely be able to fish from here regularly. Crappie also tend to stay in an area that they like and return to it again and again so if you find a good spot in the lake on one fishing trip, it's usually a good spot the next time you come.

The final tip is to find crappie in shallow waters during their spawn. The exact time of year can vary according to where in the country you are fishing but typically the spawning period of the crappie begin in April or May. The fish come to shallow waters to feed and breed and you can get a lot of good catches at this time.

If you find the crappie during their spawn, you are virtually guaranteed to fish your limit with no problem whatsoever.