Erling adjoins the eastern edge of the Lafayette County WMA. "In the spring, just look for buck brush along the shore and up the creek channels," suggested Claybrook. A group of dead cypress trees right out of the boat ramp in IP Park is another hotspot, especially in the winter.

Hempstead, Howard, Little River and Sevier counties all get a share of 29,260-acre Millwood Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir that's so woody that it requires boat channels -- but that also means there's plenty of crappie cover, too. "Concentrate on the main river channels," said Claybrook.

Last winter, Claybrook was hoping for lots of rain to help refill southern Hempstead County's Bois d'Arc Lake, which has been essentially unavailable to sportsmen since it was drawn down in 2000 for what turned into a complete overhaul. Restocked with Florida-strain bass, crappie and other game fish, it's just like a box of Jell-O: All it needs for something good to happen are some water and some time.

DISTRICT 8: WEST-CENTRAL
The Ouachita Mountains strongly influence this district, which includes Polk, Montgomery, Garland, Saline, Hot Spring, Grant and Clark counties. "In this district, you're really dealing with the big Corps lakes that can be hit-and-miss," said biologist Stuart Wooldridge. "They're generally not as productive for crappie as the smaller, more turbid Game and Fish Commission lakes, which get more plankton and nutrients from the timber and soil."

In southwest Grant County you'll find 350-acre Cox Creek Lake. "It's a small lake, but it has some faithful fishermen that'll catch 10-fish stringers of 10- to 12-inch crappie," Wooldridge said.

And here's a crappie hole you probably haven't read about in a magazine for a while, if ever: the Saline River in Grant and Cleveland counties. "At times, it has some nice crappie," Wooldridge said. "Moving water can be a bit intimidating, but it has some brushtops and fallen trees. It also has some areas where you have to watch for logs. And" -- here he laughed -- "there are plenty of mosquitoes, too.