For crappie anglers, February is the beginning of spring
Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) on the North Carolina-Virginia border is well known for producing excellent fishing for several species of fish including largemouth, striper, and catfish.
The crappie fishing is also exceptional, but sometimes overlooked.
According to Kerr Lake crappie anglers, the fish are large and anglers typically have plenty of elbow room to find and catch slabs.
Pete Jordan and his son Joe live in Wake Forest, NC, and they have excellent spring crappie fishing close to home. But they prefer the waters of Kerr Lake because of the opportunity to target slab crappie.
They make the hour-plus drive to fish Kerr Lake regularly and “Team Jordan” has developed dependable patterns to consistently catch slabs.
“From February, through the spawn in April, we’ll catch a lot of quality crappie from Kerr,” Jordan said. “The numbers are good. And the average size here more than makes the trip worthwhile.”
Jordan also produces and sells specialty green LED lights designed for night-time fishing (www.ultimategreenlights.com), but during the spring he’s all about the daytime patterns.
“Anglers new to Kerr Lake need to understand it’s a big lake with an abundance of great crappie fishing habitat,” he said. “That’s a good thing on one hand. But the flip-side is it provides crappie plenty of places to go. When the weather patterns change so does their migratory pattern. Joe and I hunt them down.”
They’ve developed dependable strategies to find fish, but every trip is an adventure in locating crappie.
Watch weather patterns
“The weather from February through April is ever-changing. And that means the crappie move back and forth a lot,” he said. “But beginning in February, they’ll get on their spring spawning migration and we’ll follow them right on through the spawn.”
Jordan said the crappie-catching pattern is always a moving target. And even on successive daily trips, he’ll usually have to modify his tactics to be successful.
“During February, and into early March, the weather influences fishing daily,” he said. “We’ll have fronts pass through, and that’ll move the fish deeper as a rule. But then on subsequent daily warmups, we’ll find fish changing patterns toward the shallows again.
“And that’s precisely why long-line trolling is so effective this time of year,” he said. “Joe and I can cover a lot of water quickly, determine a daily pattern, and then work that pattern.”
Jordan said his favorite depth for active crappie is in the 7- to15-foot range, even during February. He’ll check areas in at least a couple of different creeks with electronics before he starts longlining.
“I’ll use the graph to help me target areas where I’m marking fish in favorite depth zones,” he said. “Spending a little time scanning with electronics pays off by ensuring we’re in a good location before we begin.”
If he fishes on consecutive days, and left with a strong pattern the day prior, he’ll certainly work that pattern first. That’s especially true if no major weather changes have occurred.
“But when I find a lot of crappies in the 7- to 12-foot depth range, I’m usually going to have a good day,” he said. “As the spring progresses, the depth pattern slowly gets shallower. But the key is, the location where the best bite occurs migrates toward the back of the major creeks.”
Multiple rod strategy
The Jordans have a setup for their longlining strategy. They troll eight rigs, three on each side of the boat and two out the back. The rod lengths on the two back rigs are 9-footers. On the side, the rod length goes from 9-foot in the back, 12-foot in the middle and 16-foot rigs in the front. They use 6-pound test line on the rigs.
“This setup ensures I have a wide swath of coverage and the longer rods on the sides keep the baits from tangling as I make turns while maneuvering the boat to stay on the fish,” he said. “It’s common to get on a strong pattern on a specific depth. And then we’ll follow that productive contour.”
Jordan casts his rigs from 30 to 50 feet behind the boat and begins with a trolling speed of 0.6 miles per hour in February.
“As the water temperature rises, we’ll experiment with faster speeds,” he said. “Speed of the troll impacts the depth of the jigs, unless I add additional weight or use bigger jigheads. But all these factors can mesh into a pattern that works best on a given day.”
Jordan uses a variety of jig sizes and colors, with 1/16-ounce and 1/8-ounce jig sizes his ‘go-to’ choices. He’ll sometimes double up on the jigs on a single line to give him depth and speed options.
“Doubling the jigs on a line has multiple advantages,” he said. “One, I can fish two different colors of jigs. But the double-jig rig creates more water displacement, and that seems to be a big factor in getting crappie bites. Two jigs impact the depth the lure runs. So if the fish are holding a bit deeper on a given day, I can get the lures deeper. I’ll put a small splitshot on the line ahead of a jig on a single line too, to explore deeper water. I factor all this in by what I see on the graph and which rigs are producing the most fish.”
Follow creek channels
Jordan said he’s willing to move from one creek to another, searching for the right water temperature and color patterns. His trolling path typically aligns with the old creek channels.
“I may be catching crappie in 12 feet of water, but the bottom depth may be 25 feet, or it may be 40 feet deep,” he said. “I tend to follow areas where bottom contour changes occur, specifically along old creek channel beds, and over and around humps and points. These depth changes attract crappie, even if the fish are suspended well above them. And it gives me a specific target to focus my efforts.
“I’ll typically zig-zag the route of the boat unless I get on a particularly strong pattern,” he said. ‘This allows me to maneuver the array of jigs behind the boat to different areas along the channels and humps. Plus, the turns will change the speed and depth of the jigs.”
It’s common to find that the zig-zag pattern seems to trigger the bite on some days, he said.
“To be consistently successful, it’s a never-ending process to figure what’s working best on a given time and place,” he said.
By mid- to late-March, crappie are still moving up the creeks and he’ll continue long-lining. But he refines the speed and depth patterns as the fish move shallower and the water temperature rises.
By April, the air temperatures are typically warming significantly. But Jordan doesn’t automatically assume the fish will move shallow in big numbers.
“When the water temperature gets right, they’ll move in to spawn,” he said. “Not because the air temperature may be 80 degrees for a day or two. It’s the water temperature that must get right.”
“Typically, I see the spawn begin incrementally at first and one favored pattern I’ve learned occurs on some of these warm, April days,” he said. “Joe and I will be having a productive day long-lining. But the bite slows noticeably late in the afternoon. Generally, crappie near the back of the creek will make a move toward the shallows on a warm day.”
Change it up
Jordan said he’ll stop long-lining and move to the shady, steep banks where a quick depth change from deep to shallow water occurs. Crappie will move into these areas, and they enjoy excellent fishing by casting to the shallows.
“We’ll typically use a 5 ½-foot spinning rig with 4-pound test line,” he said. “In this situation I prefer to use a small head with a spinner on it, such as a Roadrunner. We’ll experiment with speed and depth. But if the fish are active, I’ll use a 1/8-ounce head and fish fast. If the fish are deeper and want the lure slower, I’ll work a 1/16-ounce Roadrunner.”
In this specific example, the fish moved shallow to feed, so they’re typically quite aggressive.
“This scenario becomes more prevalent as the water warms,” he said. “A lot of these fish are often males, but we’ll catch plenty of quality fish. Eventually the big females move into the shallows to spawn.
“This is the time to focus on the shallows throughout the day. And this cast-and-retrieve tactic works great. But it’s also an ideal time to use a long pole and minnows, or casting live bait along the shoreline.”
Jordan said post-spawn is essentially the reverse of the pre-spawn process with crappie beginning to move back down the creeks, and found in increasingly deeper water.
“Kerr Lake produces excellent crappie fishing action, and Joe’s nickname of “Two-Pound Joe” has been earned by him catching two-pound-plus crappie at Kerr Lake. While those fish are the exception, they are realistic targets. And generally we’ll catch plenty of fish in the 1- to 1.5-pound class.”
From now until the post-spawn, Kerr Lake produces quality crappie action. Work out the daily pattern, then pile the slabs into the cooler.
A reciprocal license agreement for Virginia and North Carolina exists for Kerr Lake. Check regulations for details.
Be the first to comment