(continued)
I've fished for crappie in water so clear you could see the date ona a dime down to 20 feet, and in lakes muddy enough to plough," Duckworth says. "Crappie can definitely be caught in both of these extremes, but the best populations of fish and the most active bit normally occur in lakes with water that's somewhere in the middle of the clarity spectrum. 'Stained' is a good description. Lakes with moderate algae growth usually have a healthy food chain because there's plenty of plankton in the water for small forage fish and game fish fry to eat."
Crappie, like bass, have excellent eyesight but are also capable of detecting the vibrations of prey through their lateral lines as the water decreases in clarity, which explains why you can catch them in muddy water.
Color Considerations
Crappie guide Harold Morgan has fished all kinds of water all over the
country. "In gin-clear lakes, I always start out fishing deeper,
even though I may sometimes have to adjust my depth presentation shallower
as the day progresses," Morgan notes. "Light penetration is
the key. If you're fishing a clear lake on a bright, sunny day, the crappie
tend to move deeper, not because the sun hurts their eyes as we've so
often heard, but because they're ambush predators that rely on concealment
from their prey for successful feeding. On cloudy days, crappie in clear
lakes often move up in the water column."
According to Morgan, crappie will seek out a shady spot in clear water. "I catch a lot of crappie under boat docks during midday on clear lakes," he says. "Also, crappie sitting in a big brushpile or submerged tree will alter their position so they can stay in the shadows as the sun shifts. Always target shady cover when fishing a clear lake."
Morgan finds muddy water challenging to fish, especially in a lake that is normally clear. "Often in spring you get muddy run-off entering reservoir tributaries after seasonal rains," he says. "Crappie will move ahead of an advancing mudline, and you should, too, if you're serious about catching them. If the entire lake has turned muddy, try targeting the shorelines. Often there's a thin band of clear water right next to the bank, and crappie will retreat into this zone."
Crappie usually position themselves very tight to cover in a muddy environment. "I feel they're using a piece of cover like a brushpile, stump or log as a reference point, something they can relate to when their visibility is reduced," Morgan says. "I usually fish vertically in muddy lakes, using the Kentucky rig (a heavy sinker on the bottom with minnows or tube jugs above). You've got to put your bait right in the cover to get bit."
Cold, muddy water almost always means an extremely slow crappie bite because the fish's visibility and metabolism are low. "In winter, I'd normally fish deep in a clear or stained lake, but if the lake turns muddy, I'll often turn the tables and fish shallow," Morgan adds. "I've often loaded the boat in these conditions fishing brushpiles along shallow ledges. I avoid the main channel now because current carries muddy particles downstream, so the channel may be considerably murkier than the rest of the lake."
Keep in mind that muddy water warms much faster than clear water. "Crappie will often spawn earliest in the muddiest parts of the lake where the water temperature is most conducive to bedding," Morgan says. "I think they gravitate to muddy water when spawning so their fry cn gorge on algae once they hatch. I use both minnows and tubes in muddy conditions. Those 1-1/2 inch minnows are especially deadly now."
In lakes with stained to murky water, which Morgan describes as his favorite clarity range, crappie will use channel drop-offs to move into the shallows for spawning. "Crappie normally spawn 4 to 7 feet deep in water with some color to it," he says. "They can see the flash of a minnow much easier in this color water than in muddy water."
