Frankfort, KY (March 21, 2004) - The longer days of March produce more sunshine to warm the surface of Kentucky reservoirs and signal the crappie to move toward the shallows, build a nest and reproduce. Go now for springtime crappie.

"When the water temperatures hit 57 degrees, crappie move shallow to spawn," said Paul Rister, western fishery district biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR).

Rister oversees Kentucky Lake, Kentucky’s premier crappie lake. "With the last few mild winters we’ve had, we are now seeing the crappie spawn in mid-March," he explained. "The spawning time for crappie depends on what kind of winter we’ve had and what kind of spring we are having."

The droughts of the late 1980s and early 1990s changed the crappie population on Kentucky Lake. Black crappie now outnumber white crappie because black crappie prefer the clear water caused by the droughts.

"Black crappie also tend to come shallow earlier than white crappie do," Rister said, "often in mid-March ahead of the whites."

Blood River, Ledbetter Creek, Bear Creek, Jonathan Creek and Anderson Creek all produce spring crappie on Kentucky Lake. A neon lime green curly tailed grub cast into brush produces strikes from crappie in March. A small red/white, red/chartreuse, blue/white, white, pink or chartreuse tube jig worked in cover also works. If you don’t get bites shallow, move to the first drop off or creek channel near the shallow brush, stake beds or weed beds. Work the deeper water with tubes, live minnows or small spinners.

Lake Barkley also offers good crappie fishing in March. The lake now possesses burgeoning numbers of fish just under 10-inches which should make for good fishing over the next couple of years. Lake Barkley isn’t as deep as Kentucky Lake and may warm earlier.

The same lures and techniques that produce crappie on Kentucky Lake will work on Lake Barkley. Live minnows drifted in shallow brush out fish just about any technique in March on this huge reservoir.

Moving eastward, central Kentucky should offer excellent spring crappie fishing on Nolin River Lake this year. The lake possesses large numbers of papermouths between 8 and 10 inches with a few trophy fish in the population. Look for standing timber, stump beds and trees laying in the water along the shore to dunk minnows. Conoloway Creek is the top embayment for crappie on this reservoir.

Also in central Kentucky, Taylorsville Lake offers good spring crappie fishing. The standing timber in the Beech Creek and Ashes Creek arms and the upper lake hold spring crappie. Small blue/white, chartreuse/red, chartreuse with green sparkle flakes and white tube jigs worked in the standing timber works well on Taylorsville. Neon lime green curly tailed grubs also produce.

In eastern Kentucky, Buckhorn Lake is an excellent crappie lake during March and April. The winter drawdown confines crappie to the river channel in the upper portion of the lake. Try tube jigs, small spinners and live minnows around stumps or other woody structure in water 10 feet deep or less in the old river channel. There may be a noticeable current in the upper portion of the lake and crappie congregate in eddies and inside turns of the old river channel. There are good numbers of crappies of all sizes in Buckhorn Lake.

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