Photo By Ron Sinfelt

You know, life ought to be simple for crappie fishermen in the great state of Arkansas during the spring. The decisions seem easy enough. For example, the best time to go crappie fishing is . . . well -- whenever you have the time. And then you start either shallow near the shore or deeper into structure. You choose cane poles or spinning gear, minnows or jigs, and peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying your catch. You elect whether to fish alone or with a buddy, and, more important, whether that buddy gets to see where you've been sinking your Christmas trees the past few years.

But when it comes to where to go fishing? That's different. Like all sunfish, crappie tend to get around. They're in rivers, creeks, ponds and vast reservoirs. This year's fishing depends on each fishery's ups and downs in recent years, including water levels, forage, the proficiency of anglers and other predators and countless other variables.

To help with the difficult question of where to catch your first full stringer this spring, we've rounded up 11 folks who know our crappie waters inside out: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries biologists from each of the state's fisheries districts. Here's their advice for springtime crappie action in the Natural State.

DISTRICT 1: NORTHWEST
This is one of the state's smaller fisheries districts, but Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties offer some fine fishing.

"Beaver is the main lake in this district, and you need to go up in the creek arms and feeders and fish any structure you see to catch crappie," said assistant fisheries biologist Stephen Brown.

Eastern Benton County gets the largest share of Beaver Lake, but Carroll County also has a sizeable piece, and the lake even trickles into Washington County. Public accesses are numerous in all three counties.

Lake Bob Kidd in Washington County has historically been a good crappie lake, Brown reported. "The population isn't really dense right now," he said, "but there are some large fish."

Try fishing the standing timber in the middle of the 200-acre lake or deeper waters on the north side. Access is off U.S. Highway 62 or state Highway 156 near Prairie Grove.