Try these Carolina hot holes for springtime slabs
If you’re looking for fast-paced crappie fishing action in March, the fishing is wide-open at most North and South Carolina lakes. The pre-spawn patterns rule this month, and any lake can be productive. But some lakes are prime hotspots and offer abundant and slab-sized crappie.
Here’s a look at some of the top spots for 2025 based on recent trends.
Lake Wateree
Spring fishing at this Catawba River lake offers diverse opportunities for crappie anglers. From March through May, the pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn crappie fishing is excellent, with the best bite early in the season generally taking place in the upper end of the lake.
The bite improves further down the lake as the water temperature warms.
Three tactics are productive at Lake Wateree during the spring, including targeting fish via forward-facing sonar, longline trolling, and spider rigging.
Will Hinson is a crappie fishing tournament pro, winner of the 2021 Crappie USA National Championship at Lake Hartwell, among many other tournament wins. More importantly, he’s a local crappie fishing veteran of 40 years on Lake Wateree, and he employs all these tactics successfully.
Hinson (843-618-5776) also does professional Livescope consulting and helps anglers set up and fine-tune their system.
“Many crappies are roaming, and I’ll begin targeting these roaming crappies from January through the spawn,” he said. “By March, most of the creeks are productive with Beaver, June, Dutchman, Colonel, Stillhouse, White Oak, and Molly creeks all loaded with crappie.
“I catch crappies on points, ledges, humps, and also when suspended in the middle of the creeks during March, April, and May,” he said. “I use forward-facing sonar to target slabs. But pushing, or spider rigging, is effective, and longline trolling is another excellent pre-spawn tactic. Longlining continues to be effective during the post-spawn as crappies move deeper.”
Hinson said his go-to bait for forward-facing sonar or longlining is Fish Stalker Lures. Their Slab Tail Grub in the 2-inch and 1.5-inch sizes are his Lake Wateree favorites.
“The tail action on this lure is fantastic, and I’ll use the 2-inch version most of the time. But if crappies are finicky, I’ll switch to the 1.5-inch size,” he said. “I prefer 1/64- and 1/32-ounce jigheads with a small split shot about a foot above to help the lure sink quicker. Best colors vary, but the Mountain Dew pattern is consistent on Lake Wateree. It’s always a good color to start the day.”
Jordan, Shearon Harris
The proximity of Jordan and Shearon Harris lakes is ideal for pre-spawn crappie fishing because both lakes produce excellent action. And anglers can fish in either lake based on weather and water conditions.
Crappie fishing guide Travis Bradshaw from Willow Springs, NC, guides on both lakes.
“During pre-spawn, they’re both productive lakes,” he said. “March and April are peak times of the year for catching slab crappie from either. I fish Jordan more often. But when weather or water conditions dictate, or a client requests it, I gladly fish Harris.
“By March, the big females are on the move in both lakes. But they usually start their migration by the middle of February,” he said. “The biggest fish move in the early season, and these fish typically range from 1 1/4 to 2 pounds.”
Bradshaw (919-669-6989; Pigpen Guide Service) said weather fronts significantly impact where he’ll find crappie. Under normal weather conditions, they may be deep or suspended shallow over deep water. With successive warm, sunny weather in the mid-60s, crappies may migrate shallow, perhaps as shallow as 5 to 8 feet of water.
“During March, we’ll have severe fronts blow through, and the water temperature falls,” he said. “Crappies retreat to deeper water, sometimes back to the creek mouth. It’s a constant search to stay on fish.”
Bradshaw said as the water temperature trend rises, crappie migrate up the creeks. He employs multiple tactics to catch these pre-spawn fish.
“The fish stage at the creek mouths, but they’re still deep, often in 30 to 35 feet of water,” he said. “I’ll fish this deep water with a rig of No. 2 Aberdeen hooks on a 6-inch leader with a 3/8- to ½-ounce weight at the terminal end.”
Bradshaw uses live minnows, and he slowly works this rig around and over ledges, deep humps, and channels as he searches for crappie.
“I move the boat slowly when searching for crappie,” he said. “Speed varies from 0.3 to 0.5 miles-per-hour, depending on the daily preference of the crappie.”
When crappies move shallow to spawn, Bradshaw employs a slip cork rig to search the shallower water.
“I work different depths and try various shallow water areas while changing the depth of the minnow regularly,” he said. “When I find crappie shallow, we get real busy catching them.”
High Rock Lake
Brandon Miller is a successful multi-species fisherman from Gold Hill, NC. He targets crappie from late winter through the spring spawn. He fishes multiple lakes, but High Rock Lake is king for his crappie fishing.
Miller’s game plan for most pre-spawn fishing is longline trolling the creeks.
“High Rock Lake produces quality and quantity of crappies,” he said. “I locate crappies by using electronics to determine the specific areas and depths.”
Miller said they congregate in specific areas, and once he locates them, it’s a matter of working out the best speed, depth, and color combination patterns for the day. He primarily uses jigs for his longlining and varies the size of the jigheads and the color of the plastics.
“I’ll switch colors because color makes a difference in changing water color situations,” he said. “I’ll rig two 1/16-ounce jigs on the same line, giving me two opportunities on the same rig. But a 1/8-ounce single jighead is productive. Different weights of jigheads also allow me to test different water depths.”
Miller’s favorite plastic bodies at High Rock include the Bobby Garland Stroll’R because this lure produces excellent vibration, which is crucial when watercolor is dingy. He also uses curly tail plastics.
“The nature of High Rock Lake is that different creeks have different water colors. So I’ll move around to find the best water conditions,” he said. “I’ve found fish-catching action slow in one creek, but wide open in the next.”
Miller said the depths and situations vary, and a prime target is creek channel ledges. Fish may also be suspended in the middle of the creek channel, perhaps only 8 to 10 feet deep over much deeper water.
Lake Murray’s shallow-water connection
Brad Taylor is a multi-species guide from Batesburg, SC (803-331-1354). He specializes in crappie fishing during the pre-spawn at Lake Murray.
“March provides excellent action at Lake Murray, but fishermen need a solid plan,” he said. “I follow crappie as they first enter the creeks in deep water in late February, and I follow them to the shallows when they spawn.”
Taylor enjoys the shallow water spawning action and loves to fish for them in shallow water.
“When the females move into the shallows to spawn, often by the end of March and sometimes earlier up the lake, that’s prime time to catch slabs,” he said. “My experience with water temperatures and crappie is they’ll linger in slightly deeper water before migrating into the shallows late in the month.”
Taylor said jigs or minnows produce shallow water action, and angler preference rules.
“I’ll use a 12-foot rod with a float set two feet or shallower depending on the cover fished when using jigs,” he said. “I prefer a black and chartreuse jig for shallow water fishing.”
He said the key for anglers opting to use minnows is to hook the minnow in the tail because minnows wiggle more, and are more attractive to crappie.
“I’ll probe shallow water cover around brush, logs, stumps, docks, or any visible target,” he said. “When you find fish, work that area until the action slows, and then start hunting again. Find a few hotspots in shallow water, and you’ll probably be culling fish.”
Go now to find your crappie fishing hotspot in North or South Carolina. They’re already on the move. Check regulations for size and creel limits as they vary on different bodies of water.
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