There are two species of crappie.  The Black and White.  The black crappie, which gets its name from its slightly darker appearance, is usually white or gray with dark gray or black spots covering most of its sides.  The white crappie tends to be lighter in color and has distinct gray verticle bars extending down its sides.  These markings vary in intensity, depending on the time of year and type of water.  During the spring spawn, the male black crappie may appear jet black over much of its body, while the male white crappie darkens around the head, breast and back.  The black crappie have 7-8 dorsel spines on the back, while the white crappie has 5-6 dorsel spines.

   Although black and white crappies differ slightly in appearance, they have many common characteristics.  Both have a large number of gill rakers, which they use to strain plankton from the water.  They also eat small fish, mollusks, insects, minnows and crustaceans.  They also feed on gizzard and threadfin shad.  They feed most heavily at dawn, dusk and at night all year round, but feed less often when water temps dips below 50 degrees.  Crappie belongs to the sunfish family, although they are more sensitive to sunlight and spawn earlier than any other member of the sunfish family.

   Crappie are fairly active year round, but the hottest times to catch them are in the spring and fall months.  In the spring, they are so easy to catch, seems that they are suicidal during this time.  Crappie generally start their movement out of their deep water winter haunts when the water temperatures start warming towards the 45-50 degree range. They will congregate around the entrances of creek channels until the water temps reaches around the 50-55 degree range. Then you can expect them to begin migrating towards the shallower secondary creeks and bays, using the channels as "highways". At this point, I try trolling minnows or casting a Culprit Tassel Tail or Swim Fin grub to isolated stumps, brush and small pockets, and retrieving them back very slowly. When water reaches in the 55-60 degree range, the males should be in shallow water looking and fanning out spawning beds, while the females stage out in the closest deeper water structures. Crappie feed more aggressively and baitfish are more active as spawning nears. Try dropping a minnow under a cork into the spawning bed for males. Use a cast and slow retrieve your bait for the deeper females.

   As a general rule, surface temperatures in the 62-65 degree range are almost perfect for shallow, spawning crappie.  During the pre-spawn period, they usually nest when the water temperature reaches 62-65 degrees.  Most black crappies migrate to spawn in very shallow water, but white crappies tends to spawn in water up to 10 feet or deeper.  The males are first to arrive to "fan" away debris and build the nest when the water starts warming to about 55 degrees, along shoreline cover such as fallen trees, brush piles and docks.  When its time to spawn, the females move in, deposit the eggs, then slowly moves out to recuperate in slightly deeper water. The males then stay to protect the nest.  The eggs hatch in 3-5 days, depending on the water temperature.  Your best bet now is to drop a live minnow under a cork.  The males then leaves the nest when the newly-hatched fish gets to be a 1/2 inch long.  Any bad weather or cold front can set the whole process back a few days, or when the weather stabilizes.  When water warms to the 70-75 degree range, the females will leave their nest and move to nearby deep structures where they staged before the spawning.  Use any jig, minnows, or a Roadrunner jig to cast & retrieve very SLOWLY.  By the time water reaches 75 degrees, the males will be joining the females and migrate through the channels the same way they came in back out to the deep cooler water for the summer.

   Summer and Winter present the greatest challenges for crappie anglers.  Once the spawn ends and the water temperature warms, crappie will move and often suspend in deeper water, where the water temps are cooler.  They will move to shallows to feed at dawn and dusk.  However, I have found crappie in shallower water during the dog days of summer.  They can be found in shades such as under bridges, trees, docks, and in weed beds provided that deeper water is nearby.