More of this Feature • Part 1: Clark Hill Crappie • Part 2: Crappie Tackle • Part 3: Clark Hill Hotspots • Part 4: Find Your Own Hotspots • Part 5: Crappie Jigs

Join the Discussion "Are you catching any crappie this spring? What is your favorite springtime method?" Ronnie

Related Resources • Crappie Fishing Survey • Netting Crappie • You Say Croppie, I'll Say Crappie • Winter Crappie

Past Articles One Year Ago -   4/03/00 - Access to Public Lands Two Years Ago -  04/12/99 - Fishing Memories Part 4 Three Years Ago - 04/13/98 - One More Boat Tale Four Years Ago - 04/14/97 - Bream Are Bedding

On the Savannah River side, Soap Creek is a favorite area. The coves just downstream of the Highway 220 bridge are good (6) as is Dry Fork Creek. (7) The creek is more protected when the wind gets up as it often does in April. The upper end of Soap Creek on the flats around the willows are also good when the water is up. (8)

The South Carolina Little River is narrow and protected and goes for miles. You can catch crappie all up and down it. Long Cane Creek is a good place to try and gives you a smaller area to check out. (9)

If Fishing Creek sounds like a good place to catch crappie, it is. The coves on the right bank going into the creek are covered with button bushes on gravel bottoms. (10) Go all the way to the very back of these pockets if there is any ditch at all entering the lake. The crappie will get right in the back on the bushes if the water is not falling.

These are just a few places on this 72,000 acre lake to fish. You can't fish it all in several lifetimes. Pick out a creek and stick with it, learning its nuances and hidden honey holes. The better you get to know a place, the more fish you can catch from it.

If you tire of dabbling for the crappie, there are a couple of other very effective methods of catching them this month. Keep in mind the crappie will be moving into the coves to spawn. You can drift or troll jigs or minnows a couple of yards off the bank and intercept the schools of crappie moving in. In the bigger coves, fish right down the middle, especially if you can follow the old channel. The crappie will follow it in and you can stay right on top of them.

You will see a lot of boats anchored off the bank with their corks dotting the surface from the boat to the bank. This is especially effective to show your baits to fish moving in if they are near the bank. Try to find a natural concentration area for them - a secondary point that narrows the available water, a bend in the old channel where it swings to the bank or a blow down that offers a holding place for them as they move in. Anchor off this structure and put out several rods.

If you are fishing with children, they are less likely to get in trouble if anchored. This is also an easy way to fish - you can put out some minnows and kick back and enjoy the world as it goes by. This is a very popular way to fish. By mid morning, most good blowdowns will already have a boat on them. Get out there early if you want to reserve a spot.

Next page > Crappie Jigs > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

Check out Coming Next Week - Next week's column topic, contest prize and new additions to the resources lists.

Previous Features