To avoid spooking fish that are spawning among trees growing in 2 to 5 feet of water, Steve Danna, an angler from nearby Farmerville, will approach with great care. When close enough, he'll swing his limber 11-foot crappie pole, which is fitted with a fly reel, and drop one of his homemade hair jigs into the dark waters. He'll attach the jigs to 4-pound test fluorocarbon line that nearly vanishes once in the water.

Danna catches many of his fish on hand-tied 1/32-ounce "Steve's Special" hair jigs equipped with a No. 4 hook. For the clear, black water, he favors smoke, smoke and chartreuse, black and chartreuse or red and chartreuse jigs, each of which he tips with a chartreuse Berkley Power Bait crappie nibble, which gives added flavor, color and substance. The tiny jigs attract surprisingly large fish at times.

"The biggest crappie I've ever personally caught weighed 2 pounds, 14 ounces, but a lot of crappie are between 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 pounds," Danna said. "They are so big that I seldom keep a limit of 100 with two people. I can't fit them in the livewell." A 1/32-ounce hair jig entering the water doesn't make much of a commotion, but sometimes in crappie fishing, stealth often brings more fish than does noise (as in, say, bassing). Frequently, a hungry crappie approaches a bait to nudge it or to taste it before gingerly sucking into its mouth. "I let the fish decide how they want the presentation, but I usually don't move the bait very fast," explained Danna. "Often we just hold the rod as still as possible. It's almost impossible to hold it completely still with the boat movement, but the wind and the waves can add just enough action to get fish excited. I've caught plenty fish that way. On a good day, two people can catch 45 to 50 crappie, but I've caught that many by myself. It's the best technique in February and March, but I've caught fish around the trees up through June."

Besides numerous cypress stumps, trees and knees, anglers can also fish at several artificial reefs created by the LDWF in conjunction with the D'Arbonne Lake Association and other groups. Biologists created these reefs from plastic pallets and pipe. Looking something like artificial Christmas trees, these reefs draw in minnows, shad and other baitfish, which in turn attract big crappie and bass. Large yellow buoys mark each reef so that anglers can find them.

OTHER HOTSPOTS
Similar reefs exist at Claiborne Lake, a 6,400-acre lake east of Homer, and other northern Louisiana water bodies. Largely devoid of cover, these reefs provide excellent hiding places in the deep, clear lakes.

Also in the northwest corner of Louisiana, Lake Bistineau, Cross Lake, Grand Bayou Reservoir and the Red River can produce excellent crappie catches, said James Seales, an LDWF district fisheries biologist in Minden. In these waters, anglers can hope to catch both black and white crappie up to about 2 pounds. Here, At Cross Lake, near Shreveport, artificial reefs like Claiborne's concentrate crappie so that anglers can find them.

"People can usually expect to catch about 10 to 20 crappie per day with the biggest going about 2 pounds," Seales said. "The crappie populations in my district are good, and pretty stable."

Unlike Claiborne and Cross Lake, Lake Bistineau abounds in cover, resembling as it does a cypress swamp. This heavily wooded 17,200-acre lake east of Bossier City can often surrender excellent crappie catches. Here, as at D'Arbonne, a formidable complement of natural cover allows crappie to hide from predators long enough to spawn in peace. Many anglers probe the tree trunks along the channel edges with tailspinner lures, live shiners, and tube or hair jigs.

"Lake Bistineau is a good lake for spring crappie," Seales observed. "Crappie move into the shallow areas as the water starts to warm. The best months are March and April. In the spring, a good crappie fisherman can catch a limit on Lake Bistineau with some fish going up to 2 pounds."

Despite the storms, central and north Louisiana abound in places at which anglers can land a limit of fat slabs. It might take a while for much of southern Louisiana to catch up with the rest of the state, but fortunately, the highly prolific -- and succulent -- crappie can rebound quickly.