Hunt Smart, Fish Hard: Following the Crappie Spawn

The crappie spawn starts in Southern Florida around January 15th. By the time February 1st gets here, you can find the spawn in Mid-Florida. A few weeks later you can find them spawning in Northern Florida. Around March 1st you can find them spawning in Southern Alabama and Southern Carolina. Around March 15th you will find them in Northern Alabama, Northern South Carolina, North Carolina, and east of Richmond to the Eastern Shore area. Around April 1st, the western part of the state from Richmond to West Virginia’s border line, Maryland, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey. April 15th you can find the spawn in the southern parts of the state of Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey. Around May 1st the northern parts of Pennsylvania and the New England states.

The crappie is primarily a nomadic species of fish and locations that were hot spots one year may but not be the next. In the heat of the summer it’s near impossible to predict the crappie fish’s locations. That’s why most crappie fishing is done in the spring when they are predictable. In the spring, crappies move into the shallows to get ready for the spawning season. In early spring they migrate to the shallows to feed aggressively to build up their strength from the winter. They also need to fatten up to get ready to spawn. The one time of year that the crappie fish is predicable is springtime. Crappies will normally go back each year to the same spawning area they were the previous year, unless the habitat has been destroyed.

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