By about the age of 10 or so, we learned more about crappies by talking to locals. Back in those days (the 1950s), the late Spike Kelderhouse (musky guide) and the late Ma Peterson (the old Bait Pond tackle shop proprietor) were our mentors for fishing advice and expertise on Chautauqua Lake. They both said to notice that crappie have those giant eyes constantly looking toward the sky. They were both witty tale-tellers and told us to keep our bobbers short. We did, so if fishing in five feet of water, set the bobber to three or four feet. Minnows worked the best, but we graduated to tiny jigs and weighted stonefly nymphs as time went on. We sure miss Bob from the old Redwood Ranch bait store, too. Bob shared details on succeeding with jigs and flies. His favorite trick was to cast out and reel in a bit of line, stopping the bobber and then shaking the bobber with action from the rod tip. It worked.

Both black and white crappie can be found in Chautauqua Lake, but most crappie caught by spring anglers are black crappie. Crappies are popular because they are simply great fun to catch, especially for youngsters, and they make delicious table-fare. They can be pretty easy to catch on some days, but at other times, fishing for crappie can be totally frustrating – but that’s fishing.

The current NYS record for black crappie is a whopping 4 pounds-1 ounce, while the white crappie record is 4 pounds-7 ounces. With recently revised size and daily bag limits, crappie must be 10 inches to keep, and there is a 25-fish-per-person daily limit.

Remember that if you’re not catching them during the day, those big eyes also work very well at night for crappie. Their big eyes allow them to feed under low-light conditions and after dark. Crappie fishing can be really good after dark, especially in spring, but in summer, too. Also remember that at times, crappie can be color selective on jig tail choices, and switching tail colors can be effective too.

These fish in the live well were boated late this week from Chautauqua Lake. The NYS crappie limit is 10 inches minimum and 25 fish per day. Photo by Bob Rustowicz

Outdoors Calendar:

Mar. 19: Children-In-The-Stream-Youth 4H Fly Fishing Program, FREE, SUNY Fredonia Rockefeller Art Center – Costello Room, 7 – 8:30PM, Info: Alberto Rey: 716-410-7003.

Mar. 31: Last day for NYS Coyote hunting season. Season will open again on Oct. 1, 2024. .

NOTE: Submit Calendar items to forrestfisher35@yahoo.com.