Warmer temps will keep crappie anglers happy

Ken White with a couple of crappie caught on Stockton Lake last weekend. One white (left), and a black crappie. (Photo by Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail)

It's one thing to find fishing for crappie in the spring when they are spawning on a lake known for bass and other species, but in December? There is good news for crappie anglers this month on area lakes.

Once you find them, they can be some of the best eating as well as fun to catch. No matter how big, deep or intimidating, places around docks, marinas, coves and brush piles can produce crappie all year.

With water temperatures hovering around 50 degrees, both black and white crappie may provide some constant fishing as many anglers found out last weekend. They can be real picky about which objects they often cling to and often won't move more than a foot or two to grab a lure. Once you find them, you can usually catch them by using jigs or small spoons.

Tuylen Watson, 5, from Lockwood, displays some crappie from Stockton lake. His father said Tuylen loves to fish whenever he gets a chance. (Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail)

Last Saturday, Jack Greer and Gene Elliott, Independence, hit Table Rock to do some bass fishing, but on Greer's first cast with a single spin lure, he hooked a big crappie and the bass fishing trip turned into a crappie adventure.

Greer said, "After hooking that big crappie and knowing how good they taste out of cold water, we decided to go after them. In a couple of hours we had 16 big crappie in the livewell and then went after the bass. We caught two bass to go with the crappie and went home happy."

Crappie anglers at Stockton Lake also had a big Saturday catching fish. Anglers I talked to said it was an excellent day to be fishing in December with temperature in the 60s as well as great fishing. The Hymers, Tina and Dennis, from Strafford, had a good Friday and Saturday catching big crappie. Using a 32 ounce jig on a light-line, they caught both black and white crappie.

Tina Hymer, Strafford, with one of the many crappie she caught last weekend while fishing in 60 degree temperature on Stockton Lake. (Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail)

Dennis said, "The best way to fish for them this month is to let your line go to the bottom and very slowly bring it back. Sometime the fish will hit the jig very lightly, but most of the time they sock it hard, so you need to be ready. Catching crappie is no fluke. I have had many good days catching crappie in December. Sometimes it's the best of the entire year."

Winter crappie is a well kept secret, but the word is getting out and with good weather this month, more anglers have been taking advantage of the good fishing. Its just like any time of the year, you don't always have success, but you can usually catch some fish when using the right gear.

I remember watching some anglers fishing off a dock trying to catch crappie, but they were using the same rod and reels they use when fishing for catfish. There were times that I could see them getting hits, however with heavy gear, they never knew they had a fish hitting. A heavy rod and 12 pound test line won't let you bring home a limit of crappie. Two to four pound test line is the best for winter crappie fishing. After casting, take out the slack and retrieve slowly seems to be the best way to find fish. Most of the time the fish will hit on the slow retrieve. Be ready for a slight hit and set the hook.

Crappie averaging 11 inches have been hitting in area lakes this past week. (photo by Ken White)

As was the case last week, winter crappie seem to be larger. Last Saturday, of all the fish I caught, only one was under the 10-inch length limit.

Jim Wright and son Tom, hit a brush pile in a cove, and started catching crappie within a few minutes they had two big crappie in their boat. Wright said, "We fished the same spot last December in the cold, but today is more like Spring. In a morning of fishing the same spot, we both had our limit of 15 crappie. Most of the fish were in the 11 to 12 inch range. All the fish were healthy and catching big crappie in the middle of December with 60 degree weather would be hard to beat any time of the year. When fishing for crappie I usually experiment with my jigs, by changing color, but Saturday, I stayed with a yellow and white jig because it was working so well. What was so unusual was that I only lost one jig while fishing near the brush."

Charlie Hughes, Blue Springs, was visiting family in Springfield when he heard about the good crappie fishing. Since he knew how good those crappie taste when caught in cold water, he borrowed an ultralight fishing rod and reel along with some jigs and headed for the lake. He was glad he did after catching seven big crappie off a dock at Table Rock. Hughes said, "It made my day, catching crappie is good anytime, but its special in December."