Spring crappie with reproduction on the agenda can be found along shoreline vegetation and woody cover. The visiting crappie angler may find that until the quarry is close to shore, the slabs can prove tough to locate. Various colored jigs and minnows under a bobber are among the proven bait selections. The sizes of the crappie here are respectable and quantity should be good throughout 2008.

A long crappie pole to reach into close shelter can be an asset. Keep boat and shoreline noise to a minimum and use a stealthy approach when targeting these spooky fish.

Lake Greeson is located in the Lake Greeson Wildlife Management Area in Pike County. The lake is four miles northwest of Murfreesboro off state Route 19 on the Little Missouri River. For more information, contact the AGFC’s Southwest Region office at 1-877-777-5580.

MILLWOOD LAKE
“The next lake I’d recommend would be Millwood,” said Claybrook. “Crappie fishing is generally very good but especially during the winter and spring.”

Look for slabs in what are called the “crappie tops” along the Little River and the Saline River channels in the winter, and then up around the button brush in the spring. According to Claybrook, the population is holding its own, and the crappie are usually large.

The best bet for finding crappie is to use electronics to help locate the submerged treetops that local anglers have placed. Minnows and insects are attracted to the shelters, and the crappie follow them in.

The lake is a Corps impoundment on the Little River covering 29,000 acres, most of which has standing timber and is ideal crappie habitat. Slabs will relate to the woody shelter where they can be tempted to bite a jig-and-minnow or jig-and-tube combination.

Millwood is in Little River, Hempstead, Howard and Sevier counties about seven miles east of Ashdown. A dozen boat launches serve anglers. For more information, contact the AGFC’s Southwest Region, 1-877-777-5580, or the Corps, (870) 898-3343.

LAKE ERLING
“Lake Erling has historically produced very good crappie fishing, especially during the winter months,” said Claybrook.

Bodcau Creek runs through the lake, and submerged brush along this creek should hold plenty of crappie. There are also several other feeder creeks that flow into the lake, and these should produce a substantial number of crappie in the spring.

Currently owned by International Paper, Lake Erling has lots of standing timber and scattered cover. Though Erling is not in his management area, fisheries biologist Stuart Wooldridge gives the lake exceptionally high marks.

Lake Erling covers 7,000 acres in Lafayette County just east of Bradley off state routes 29 and 160. The lake may be one of the Natural State’s best crappie lakes this year. Contact the AGFC’s Southwest Region office at 1-877-777-5580 for information.

DeGRAY LAKE
“The key is the brush tops,” said Wooldridge of Arkansas’ DeGray Lake. “The western end of the lake is more turbid than the eastern end, so crappie will utilize the brushpiles. In the eastern end of the lake, the water is clearer and the habitat changes. There is hydrilla and other vegetation that the crappie will use in preference to the brushpiles.”

The black crappie spawns at DeGray have been very good for several years, and the fishery offers up fish in several year-classes. The 2004 year-class is producing some nice-sized slabs.