Photo by Terry Madewell

When winter's gloom gives way to spring, water temperatures creep upward and blooming redbuds brighten shorelines across the Natural State. The minds of crappie turn toward their happy duty to produce the next generation, and many Arkansas sportsmen's thoughts turn toward coolers full of our state's tastiest fish.

To help you enjoy this spring crappie bonanza, we've divided Arkansas into northern, central and southern thirds and then profiled the top crappie lakes in each section. We even scouted other nearby lakes so you can escape crowds and still catch fish.

NORTHERN THIRD: BULL SHOALS AND NORFORK
Many folks fishing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes immediately highlight artificial fish attractors on maps and beeline to the vivid blue signs that indicate submerged brushpiles nearby. Like all offers that sound too good to be true, this one also doesn't deserve your trust -- at least, not year 'round, according to Ken Shirley, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries biologist from northwest Arkansas.

"When crappie are spawning, they won't be in the brushpiles," he said. "Fishing in them is best in the winter and summer, when fish are above or in the thermocline -- which is where we place the brushpiles at normal water levels.

"Crappie don't spawn everywhere," Shirley explained. "They'll be in shallow water, and they seem to spawn in the same coves year in and year out. I don't know whether they're returning to the areas where they were born, but I do know that you'll catch spawning fish in the same coves every year. And in some coves, you won't find any."

Shirley's advice for determining how deep crappie build nests represents a mix of science, clever thinking and the homegrown, mechanical ingenuity that seems to be the hallmark of veteran fisheries biologists.

"People talk about water temperatures, and that's important to crappie, but light is an important influence on crappie, too" Shirley said. "In the upper ends of the lake, where you have inflow from the (creek) arms, they'll be shallower than in clear water because there's some color in the water."

Where do males build nests? "In water clarity about 1 1/2 times the depth you can see something under water," Shirley said. "Drop a white ball on a string until you can't see it, and then fish at that depth plus one-half of that depth more. Of course," he said with a laugh, "that trick isn't necessarily true after they've set on the nest and the water level has changed." But if you're exploring new water this spring, this technique is worth a try, and far better than blindly casting at shorelines.

Bull Shoals fishing guide Phillip Stone puts most of his clients on bass, but crappie fishing has been so good recently that plenty of customers book him for papermouths, too.