Crappie fishing is very good right now, with many anglers using a fixed float above a 1/32 ounce jig tipped with a minnow or a soft plastic tail is all you need. Then it’s about covering water — moving until you find active fish. Photo courtesy of Major Dillon Stearns

There are few dates on the calendar that stir the soul of New York sportsmen quite like today.

It’s not just another page flip, it’s a fork in the road. A delicious, slightly agonizing fork in the road.

On one side, the woods come alive with the echo of gobbles as spring turkey season opens 30 minutes before sunrise through noon. Two-bird season limit, no more than one bird per day.

On the other, our waterways begin to pulse with opportunity as walleye, northern pike, pickerel and tiger musky seasons kick off on the same day.

Chautauqua crappies are on the hot bite right now too. Lake Erie yellow perch are filling coolers, as well. Lake Erie walleye season picks up too, with water temps in the mid-40s now. The Lake Erie walleye limit is six fish per day, 15-inch minimum. Chautauqua Lake walleye limit is five fish per day, 15-inch minimum.

So, it’s a tough call. Shotgun or spinning rod? Camo or rain gear? Dawn in the hardwoods or midnight on the water. You have to pick.

On Chautauqua Lake and the Cassadaga Lakes, the crappie bite is on. At Chautauqua Reel Outdoors (Guide, Bait and Tackle) located on the Ashville Bay Marina canals, Mike Sperry said the crappie are on the spawning beds and this is a good time to hit the water.

“The bite should continue for the next couple of weeks,” Sperry said. “South basin water temp hovering around 57 degrees.”

The bait shop there just received a fresh load of fatheads Thursday with leeches, redworms, crawlers (100 count too), spikes, waxworms and mealworms in stock as well. Sperry is a charter captain, as well, call to reserve a spot. Major Stearns of Fishing with Dad Fishing Charters confirms the crappie action is hot, but that sometimes you need to find them. With the variable weather and changing wind directions, the fish move.

“Be patient, move around and you will eventually find them,” Stearns said

If walleye, crappie, yellow perch and turkey season are not enough, Saturday, the brand-new 716 Kayak Bass Trail tournament series comes to Chautauqua Lake. It will run from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. from the Bemus Point boat launch location. There is a $30 entry, $5 big bass optional, all catch-photo-release with 90% payout. Register on TourneyX (https://tourneyx.com/) or visit @716kayakbasstrail on Facebook and Instagram, or email 716kayakbasstrail.com for more info.

If you decide on Lake Erie fishing, stay protected with a securely fastened PFD, be safe — if you fall in, the water is killer at 45-46 degrees.

In the DEC fish report, DEC biologist Mike Todd shares that Lake Erie anglers continue to enjoy excellent catches of big yellow perch, with lots of limits reported. The productive zone has been in depths of 50-60 feet of water between Cattaraugus Creek and Sturgeon Point. Live emerald shiners or other small to medium-sized minnows fished near the bottom work well. For walleye, DEC suggests that night fishing along the nearshore reefs and shoals is typically the most productive tactic during the early season. Try trolling stickbaits at around 1.5 mph over rocky areas in 6-15 feet of water. Also, Lake Erie smallmouth bass are pushing up the tributaries right now, with better catches in the lower sections. Drift fishing with marabou jigs or jigs with plastics fished under a float, casting stickbaits, and fly fishing with wooly buggers and streamers are productive angling techniques for bass. There are still some steelhead hanging around too. The NYSDEC fishing hotline can also be heard at 716-855-3474.

Farther inland, according to “Let’s Catch Fish Nation” with host Chuck Anzalone, bullheads and panfish are hitting at the Silver Lake outlet, best bait: wax worms, redworms, fathead minnows. On the north end of Conesus Lake by the bait shop, look for crappies, bluegills and mixed panfish on live bait as mentioned earlier. At world famous East Koy Creek and Wiscoy Creek, look for stocked and native brown trout salted minnows, redworms, wax worms and your favorite trout spinner. Bait near to these inland fishing spots can be found at Riverside Bait and Tackle in Mount Morris (585-750-8142).

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

May 1: Opening Day for walleye, northern pike, pickerel, tiger musky. Visit dec.ny.gov.

May 1-31: NYS spring turkey season, visit dec.ny.gov.

May 2: 716 Kayak Bass Trail tournament, Chautauqua Lake; Info: 716kayakbasstrail.com.

May 4: Chautauqua County Sportsmen Annual Federation Banquet, Lakewood Rod & Gun, 433 East Terrace Ave., Lakewood.

May 5: Children in the Stream, Youth Fly Fishing program, free, Costello Room, Rockefeller Art Center, SUNY Fredonia, 7-8:30 p.m., 12 years old and older, info: 716-410-7003 (Alberto Rey).

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Submit calendar items to forrestfisher35@yahoo.com at least 10 days in advance.