Chautauqua Lake offers two sub-species of the Promoxis — the Promoxis niromaculatus (black crappie) and Promoxis (the white crappie). Now, back in the day, we called crappie, calico bass, when in actuality, calico bass are kelp bass which are found in the Pacific Ocean. How the nickname calico was used locally is for another time.

It wasn’t until the Crappiethon tournaments came to Chautauqua Lake that the name crappie became more commonly/properly used. I learned this lesson the hard way while tagging fish for the tournament one afternoon when one of the national directors for Crappie USA informed me of the difference in his subtle, direct-to-the-point Virginia way.

I’m so amazed how many people spend big bucks on the latest crappie fishing equipment, but who don’t really understand the crappie fishing basics. I’ve seen people invest hundreds of dollars on the latest depth-finders, tens of thousands on high-end crappie boats, hundreds on specialty crappie rods and other tournament-level gear. They buy all this stuff, but still can’t catch a crappie to save their lives.

Like everything in life just a little bit of the right knowledge about crappie fishing will do more for you to catch crappie than all that gear put together. The most important thing you’ve got to understand is the mind of a crappie. You’ve got to know why he does what he does and when he’s going to do it. While there is boatload of gear coming on the market each year, the thing that no one has figured out is how to talk to a crappie in words we can understand. With this new gadget, one would save a ton of cash on unnecessary gear.

Until this phantom listening/speaking unit comes along, we need to listen and watch crappie, then put the pieces to the crappie puzzle together. The first thing we all need to understand is crappie are predators that hold to schools and can cover large areas of water, while chasing large schools of baitfish.

Baitfish is the key word here. Crappie eat other fish, almost exclusively. Nightcrawlers and artificial baits aren’t going to work well. Know this: Chautauqua Lake is fortunate enough to hold both sub-species of crappie. With that said, they are two different critters and need to be fished accordingly.

The black crappie is the darker of the two species. It also has seven or eight dorsal spines, as well as pronounced spotting in its sides. The black crappie prefers larger, more acidic lakes, and are more predominate in the Northern states, and up into Canada. However, they do co-habitate with white crappie often, because they prefer similar areas, as you’d expect. It is rare for white crappie and black crappie to inter-breed, but it does occur. Black crappie also inter-breed with some sunfish, but only in extremely rare cases.

Of course, the white crappie is lighter, and has only six dorsal spines. It also has eight or nine dark-colored bands on its sides, and typically inhabits the southern states. This species can usually be found in slow-flowing rivers and quiet backwaters but also inhabits larger bodies of water, though not as frequently. Both species of crappie can grow to more than 5 pounds, though the average size is slightly under 1 pound.

One can break down the behavior of crappie into four time frames.

The pre-spawn conditions usually occur when the water temperatures reach 60 degrees. Remember last week when we discussed right water temperatures? The crappie have been in their winter habitat, but will now move towards the shallows (8-10 feet) following lines of cover.

The males move first. They will congregate in these areas before moving into shallower waters (2-3 feet) to build nests near the cover. The females will follow shortly after, and pick a male to breed with. During this time, you can catch crappie easily with live minnows and jigs. Once the females have a mate, they move into the nest, lay eggs, and the eggs are fertilized. When this is complete, females move out to deeper waters, while the males guard the nests. The “fry” will hatch when the water temperature gets to between 60-65 degrees.

During this phase, like bass, males attack anything that approaches the nest and you can catch them with ease. You’ll have best success with something as simple as a cane pole with a minnow or jig.

Once the fry has hatched, the males and females school along the cover in deeper water to recover. They can be frustrating to catch in this phase because they oftentimes suspend at a certain depth, away from cover, and will not move to take bait more than a few inches away from them. During this time, the crappie will usually be very cooperative.

It’s really one of the toughest times to catch them all year long and when the water warms up, they’ll click into a summer “mode” of migrating to favorable temperatures, and areas where there are baitfish. You’ll find them near structure, and this holds true almost always, near the thermocline, and around large schools of baitfish, especially minnows.

Typically, they’ll be deeper during the day, up to about 30 feet. At night they’ll rise up to about 5 feet deep. During this time, they’re a little more difficult to find. When you do find them, they’ll be feeding on just about anything.

Once things start cooling off, and the water temperature drops to the low 60s, crappie will migrate to the 15-20-foot depth range, suspending over structure. They’ll hold at this depth all winter, until pre-spawn comes around again.

Additionally, they will still feed, but smaller baits work best and move them slowly. Stick to small jigs, small minnow and you’ve got to get your baits right in front of their noses. Because of lack of fishing pressure and their tendency to not move around, one can find some great crappie fishing action during the winter.

I discovered many years ago when crappie have lock jaw, I use this technique. First, you are going to need two fishing rods. Rig one of the rods with a jig or a minnow under a bobber. The other rod needs to be rigged with a large crankbait or a spinner. Set your bobber rod out, cast the lure set up beyond the bobber and reel it as quickly as you can, towards the bobber rig.

You’ll find you get a lot of strikes on the bobber setup because crappie think another fish is coming for the bait. This stimulates a natural instinct to attack the bait first — a survival mechanism.

Crappie fishing can be great fun and super table fare. Make sure you get out this spring, because there is nothing better than a pan-fried fresh crappie on an open fire.