With the right gear and techniques, you can catch Kansas’ best-tasting fish during the spring spawn
Kansas’ fertile waters provide excellent fishing year-round, but there’s no better time to fish than in spring, when crappie gather in the shallows to spawn. Beginning anglers with basic gear can expect success with what many consider Kansas’ best-tasting fish.
Fishing can be just as productive whether you’re fishing from the shore or from a boat. Craig Johnson, a lifelong angler and longtime fisheries biologist at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, offers the following tips to maximize your experience during this spring’s crappie spawn.
Where to Find Crappie in Kansas
Most public waters in Kansas are home to crappie. For the best fishing spots, anglers can visit ksoutdoors.com and navigate to the “Fishing” section, then to “Forecasts” and “Crappie Combined” for the latest population information and fishing reports for lakes and reservoirs.
Anglers can also use the website or the GoOutdoorsKS app to purchase fishing licenses, which are required for residents ages 16 to 74 and all nonresidents 16 and older. These resources also provide daily creel and length limits, which may vary by location.
Timing and Conditions
Prime spawning time for crappie is usually between mid-April and the end of May, when daylight hours get longer and water temperatures range from 60 to 68 degrees. Both species of crappie in Kansas, black crappie and white crappie, spawn at the same time. Stable weather and water conditions are ideal for fishing success, but water releases or spring cold fronts can hamper fishing success for several days.
During the spawn, crappie are drawn to shorelines with small gravel and scattered flooded brush or other structures. Kansas crappie typically spawn at depths of 2 to 5 inches of water; they spawn at greater depths in clear water conditions.
Equipment and Techniques
Crappie fishing during the spawn doesn’t require specialized gear. Bites can be subtle, so medium to light-action rods work well, and reels with a 6- to 10-pound test line do the job. For bait, consider lively small to medium-sized minnows. Look for gold hooks in sizes #6 to #10 and use small floats, no larger than a quarter, which provide minimal resistance. A tiny split-shot positioned about 4 inches above the hook keeps the minnow at the proper depth, ideally where a crappie might be near a nest.
Johnson prefers artificial lures and usually fishes with 1/8-ounce jigs with plastic or marabou bodies. He uses natural-colored jigs in clear water and switches to black and chartreuse jigs in murky conditions. He often fishes the jigs below a small float, with a very slow retrieve, pausing near good habitats such as flooded brush or timber.
Kayaks are excellent for crappie spawn fishing because anglers can move quietly in shallow waters. If you have waders, try “doodle-socking,” which involves slowly wading through shallow waters with a fly rod or specialized crappie rod (up to 10 feet long). Lower the jig or minnow into promising spots for a few seconds before moving to the next location. This technique is especially effective in densely covered areas that are difficult to cast into.
Tips for Success
Even during peak spawn, some shorelines may have fewer fish. Johnson advises anglers to fish an area for no more than half an hour before moving to another section if the action is slow.
Traveling to different parts of the state can extend the fishing season, as lakes in southern Kansas generally warm a week or more earlier than those in the northern part of the state. In every lake, clear water warms more slowly than turbid water, and open, rocky shorelines warm faster than shaded areas or those surrounded by grasslands or woodlands. Understanding these nuances can help anglers find success in crappie fishing throughout the spawning season.
