To find spawning crappie near trees in the thickest portions of Louisiana's Lake D'Arbonne, Steve Danna prefers to dangle his own hand-tied 1/32-ounce Steve's Special hair jig, which is equipped with a No. 4 hook, from an 11-foot rod. He stealthily approaches trees growing in 2 to 5 feet of water and dips his jig next to any tree, log or stump that might hold fish. Using barely any line, he uses the long pole with pinpoint accuracy to place his creation as close to cover as possible. Frequently, fish subtly suck in the morsel as it falls. If not, Danna works his way around the tree trunk or brushpile, probing every likely spot before moving to another likely object.

Impounded in 1964, 15,000-acre Lake D'Arbonne in Union and Lincoln parishes near Farmerville produces excellent crappie catches each spring. Most fish average about 1.25 pounds, but some top 3 pounds. The lake averages about 8 feet deep, though some channels in Little Corney Creek or Little D'Arbonne Bayou drop to 30 feet deep. Several creek arms that feed the system pull water from a drainage covering 75 times as much acreage as the lake itself, but considerable portions of the lake resemble a shallow flooded cypress swamp.

"On Lake D'Arbonne, crappie don't always spawn at the same time," said Mike Wood, an LDWF district biologist in Monroe. "Crappie in Stowe Creek historically spawn first; then they start spawning at Four-Mile Creek. It cycles through the lake like that until it extends to the upper reaches of the lake where crappie spawn last. They don't like to spawn in the upper creeks until after they get the rush of water from the spring rains, so they spawn later there."

For tempting slabs in the clear, dark water, Danna favors flies, hair jigs or tubes in either a smoke coloration or combinations of smoke and chartreuse, black and chartreuse or red and chartreuse. He tips each morsel with a chartreuse Berkley Power Bait Crappie Nibble, which gives added flavor, color and substance.

Danna often pulls several fish off one tree trunk, but sometimes he'll only catch one fish before spooking the others. In the shallows, spawning fish must look out for a multitude of predators (including fishermen). For this reason, crappie anglers use long rods and remain as quiet as possible.

STEALTHY APPROACH
"Stealth is the key," Wood said. "If people bump a boat against a tree, they could spook the fish. Even if fish stay in the vicinity, they might not bite for a while. It's possible to catch a bunch of crappie off one tree. Some of the better anglers are very adept at hooking a fish and easing it off the tree and into deeper water, where they land it without spooking the others. Then they go back to the tree to hook another one."

Stealth also applies to presentation. Sometimes crappie are attracted by movement; at others, skittish fish don't want any movement. Danna often holds his fishing rod as still as possible and simply lets the wind or waves give his offering a slight movement or shimmy.