Early spring is the best time for crappie fishing; at least in the changing climate of the southeastern part of Kentucky. This cooler time of year seems to be when the crappies are spawning in shallower waters and when they are active closer to the water's surface. In my experience, it is easier to catch them with shallow-water techniques involving a small sinker attached to the line about three feet up from a lure. I've always had better luck catching crappie in shallow water than in deeper water.

You need a light-weight, flexible rod and four to six pound fishing line. The type of reel that is used is entirely a matter of choice. I prefer a close-faced spincast reel. The flexibility of the rod is important in detecting a strike due to the fact that crappie, unlike bluegill or bass, will not hit the bait with a great amount of force. To tell if a crappie is taking the bait, a thinner, more flexible, rod is advantageous. Their strike is so subtle that you may not even realize you have a fish on the line until you reel and feel resistance. Later, I will share a secret that will help in the detection of a crappie strike that my brother-in-law taught me.

The lures I use are small tube jigs with shredded skirts or minnow jigs. I've even successfully used live minnows with the same techniques that I use with a lure.

Crappies tend to gather or nest around fallen trees, so be sure to have plenty of your chosen lure on hand in case of snags. Smaller lures with smaller hooks should be used because crappie have small mouths. It's also not as easy to snag and lose a small-hooked lure on an invisible, underwater, tree limb. Even so, during almost every fishing trip, I have had to add a new lure at least twice due to loss. Even this loss is well worth the sacrifice when you start pulling crappie in left and right. If you prefer, you can also fish with a bobber and live bait such as red worms or minnows. I've had success with both methods but, personally, I prefer to jig fish where you cast, reel, and repeat.

If circumstances and conditions are just right, you can catch enough to have a nice meal. And I have, in all seriousness, upon finding these ideal conditions, pulled fish in one after the other.

When you've chosen a fishing spot, cast toward the shallower waters of the bank, just outside the visible edges of a fallen tree, let the jig sink just a second, hold the rod with both hands and get ready to reel. Don't reel yet! Just get ready to reel. I have

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