Recent cold snaps have dropped water temperatures, causing crappie to become even more stacked up along deep structure. Anglers that have been willing to brave the cold have been catching plenty of fish.
Scott Paille has been finding good numbers of crappie up creeks off Lake Tawakoni. He’s been targeting timber in 8-10 feet of water adjacent to holes along bends in the creeks.
“The fish have been holding extremely tight to the underside of the timber in the creeks,” Paille said. “So tight that they have been difficult to see on my Livescope unit.”
Paille also has been finding crappie in main lake waters along bridges with cross braces, as well as along bends in creek channels with timber in about 38 feet of water. He said plenty of fish up to about 2 pounds have been suspending about 20-25 feet below the surface around timber along creek channel bends and swings. Jigs have been producing faster action than minnows.
Guide Chris Brasher has been targeting crappie on Lake O’ the Pines, where he said the fish have been holding in 22-30 feet of water near isolated lay downs with branches coming up off the bottom of the lake. Standing timber has also been producing for his anglers.
“The standing timber tends to get a lot of pressure, so I have been focusing on isolated lay downs as much as possible,” Brasher said. “Flats along the river and creek channels have been holding good numbers of crappie, too. Stretches in 20 to 30 feet of water have been pretty consistent.”
Brasher said the crappie are in the 1.5- to 2-pound range. Most have been biting on jigs, but minnows have been producing as well.
On Lake Ray Roberts and Lake Lewisville, guide Daniel Koberna said anglers have been able to specifically target black crappie and white crappie separately in certain locations. The black crappie are stacked up in deeper structure in 35-50 feet of water, while Koberna has been finding white crappie in shallower stretches of 12-24 feet of water with timber.
“The white crappie can still be found out in deeper structure where the majority of the black crappie are concentrated, but you won’t find the black crappie up in the shallower timber,” Koberna said. “They want to be out in that clearer, deeper water.”
Orange and chartreuse jigs have been working the best on days following cold fronts when
Guide Anthony Ruyle has been chasing crappie on Grapevine Lake, Lake Lewisville, and Joe Pool Lake recently. He said the fish have been moving around near structure in 20-40 feet of water depending on the conditions. Timber, main lake humps and deep brush piles have all been producing fish.
“A lot of the fish have been in the 11- to 12-inch range with some 13 to 14 inchers mixed in,” Ruyle said.
