By John N. Felsher

Bolstered by two mild winters, plenty of water, few storms and good spawning conditions, crappie populations across the state continue to rise.

Among the most prolific of fish species - they're sometimes called the "rabbits of the fish world" - crappie can quickly populate any waters. A single female crappie might spawn twice a year, laying about 20,000 to 25,000 eggs. With the males guarding nests, fry stand an excellent chance of survival. The reproductive potential of both black and white crappie enables these fish to rebound quickly from adversity, such as was brought by the storms of 2002.

"In a good water body, crappie can grow to 9 inches in one year," said Bobby Reed, a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist in Lake Charles. "It typically takes two years to grow to 10 or 11 inches long. When temperatures stay in the mid-60s day and night, crappie begin spawning."

Fortunately, most Louisiana waters appear headed for good times and increasing populations. Excellent water conditions at the right time led to strong spawns in most waters during the past couple of years, meaning that fish spawned two years ago are now reaching lunker proportions, while abundant newly-hatched fish fill livewells. Whatever the preferred method - dangling a live shiner near a brushpile, suspending a hair jig from a bobber or vertically jigging a tube tipped with crappie nibbles - Bayou State anglers should find plenty of action just about everywhere in the state.

The author admires a crappie from the waters of Lake D'Arbonne. Photo courtesy of John N. Felsher

"I would have to rate most of the waters in my district as good," Seales said. "People can usually expect to catch about 10 to 20 crappie per day, with the biggest going about 2 pounds. The populations are pretty stable."

Claiborne Lake, a 6,400-acre impoundment near Homer, should offer especially exciting fishing this spring, Seales said. In this deep, clear reservoir, anglers need all the advantage they can get from any fish-attracting structures available, as they concentrate fish into smaller areas, making them easier to find and to catch. Artificial reefs made of plastic pallets create structures that are similar to those formed by sunken Christmas trees, but far more durable. Installed in the fall of 2002, these reefs now provide habitat and cover for crappie and other species.

"Claiborne Lake is on an upswing," Seales asserted. "Claiborne is a fair spring lake, but it's a really good winter lake. Those reefs provide anglers not familiar with the lake a chance to find and catch fish. Some of the reefs are in deep water for crappie fishing. Anglers catch mostly black crappie, some up to 1 1/2 to 2 pounds."

In late winter and early spring, many Claiborne anglers fish for crappie in 20 to 35 feet of water near the dam; crappie might crowd into a few hundred acres on the lake. As crappie often follow baitfish, anglers with electronics scan for schools of forage fish and then drop live shiners to them. By late March, crappie schools begin moving into the shallows in the backs of coves; there, anglers fish the brushpiles with tube jigs or work the flooded timber with hair jigs sweetened with crappie nibbles.

Lake Bistineau, a heavily wooded 17,200-acre lake east of Bossier City, should also produce good to excellent crappie catches in 2004. Unlike Claiborne, Bistineau abounds in cover offering promising conditions for crappie to feed in, grow in and hide from predators in. With so much cover available, many anglers fish the edges of the creek channels with tailspinners or tube jigs.

"Lake Bistineau is a good lake for spring crappie," Seales said. "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 Bistineau with some fish up to 2 pounds."

Also continuing on an upswing for both size and numbers: Black Lake, a 13,500-acre reservoir near Natchitoches. Anglers can take many 1-pounders, with a few catches breaking 2 pounds.

"The biggest I've caught is 2 pounds, 14 ounces, but I've heard of some over 3 pounds," said Steve Danna of Farmerville. A lot of crappie are between 2 1/2 and 2 3/4 pounds. They are so big that I seldom keep a limit of 100 with two people - I can't fit them in the livewell. On a good day, two people can catch 45 to 50, but I've caught that many by myself. The lake is full of crappie."

Impounded in 1964, D'Arbonne receives water from a huge watershed. Much of the lake averages about 8 feet deep, but a few channels drop to more than 30 feet. During the spring, anglers dangle hair jigs around cypress trees in about 2 to 4 feet of water. During the cold of winter or the heat of summer, many anglers fish the deeper channel edges with live shiners.

"Lake D'Arbonne is loaded with crappie," Wood said. "Right now, it's especially good. We are on the top of the cycle right now, and it's really good - everything is going great. It's not unreasonable to catch 15 to 20 crappie on an average trip, and a lot more on a good trip. It's not unusual for crappie tournaments to average 1 1/2 pounds apiece with a 10-crappie tournament limit."

Like Claiborne, Lake D'Arbonne benefited from the placement of several artificial reefs. In a joint project undertaken by the D'Arbonne Lake Association and the LDWF, biologists sank six reefs at various places in the lake to attract crappie, thus helping out those in pursuit of the panfish.

To build the reefs, biologists filled 5-gallon plastic pots with concrete, added sections of 3-inch PVC pipe and attached "feed pallets," which create layers in which fish can hide, feed and breed. The large yellow buoys marking each reef, enabling anglers to find them easily, float above installations as much as a half-acre in area and, in some cases, as tall as 10 feet.

"Fish love to get under something," Wood said. "These plastic pallets allow fish to get under them. We put them out specifically to increase angler success. They provide a place where crappie can feed and anglers can find them. It's very common for people to fish right against the buoy, but they cover about a half-acre of water bottom. Most people have no idea how large these reefs are."

The 8,000-acre Saline-Larto system consistently produces some of the best spring crappie catches in Louisiana. Saline Bayou runs through a maze of swamps, small lakes and bayous to link Saline Lake and Lake Larto on the outskirts of the 60,276-acre Dewey W. Wills Wildlife Management Area near Pineville.

"The Larto-Saline Complex is definitely one of our better crappie areas," said Dave Hickman, an LDWF biologist in Ferriday. "When the conditions are right, a person's best chance for catching a limit is on the Saline/Larto Complex and Lake Louis."

The Saline-Larto area dependably accounts for crappie in the 2- to 3-pound range; a few fish will break the 3-pound mark. Strong spawns during the past couple of years should only add to that slab legend this year as fish hatched in 2001 and 2002 continue to grow. Saline Lake produces more white crappie, while Lake Larto produces more black crappie, but anglers in either lake can catch both species.

Much of the fishing action depends on water levels, which are greatly influenced by the nearby Red and Black rivers; falling water brings on some worthwhile action. Some of the better areas for boat anglers include the drops in Saline Bayou and the point at which the bayou enters the lakes. Other honeyholes include the mouths of Muddy Bayou and Nolan Bayou, Open Bayou, Cross Bayou and Shad Lake.

A water-diversion project greatly improved crappie fishing at Lake Louis, a 1,000-acre backwater area in Catahoula Parish that flows near the Tensas River. Better water flow helps to clear the muddy lake, thus bettering the fishing. Known more for numbers than for sizes, the lake does grow crappie up to 2 pounds.

"Other good waters include the Old Rivers at Deer Park, Vidalia and Yucatan," Hickman said. "Most of our crappie waters seem to have rebounded from the drought a few years ago. Otherwise our crappie populations are relatively stable. Most of the time, keeper crappie in our district will average around a half-pound. However, there are times when people catch stringers of crappie averaging well over a pound apiece with some 2- to 2 1/2-pounders as well. Alana Braley caught a 3.9-pound crappie out of Old River at Vidalia on April 15, 2000."

Like the waters remarked on above, some systems along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and Monroe have benefited from intensive artificial reef programs. The Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office, Tensas Parish Sheriff's Office and the Lake Bruin Commission combined with the LDWF to build plastic artificial reefs at Lakes Concordia, St. John, Bruin and the Square Pits on Red River WMA, the object being to improve fishing at these lakes.

"People have a very good chance of catching a trophy fish from any of those waters," Hickman said. "An overlooked lake for catching a trophy is Lake St. John. Lake St. John hasn't really been producing a lot of limits for anglers, but in recent years, we have captured several 2- to 2.5-pound crappie in our sampling. I would say most of our district's waters are good to excellent. They should remain stable, barring another prolonged drought."