I would really appreciate hearing some thoughts on how the clarity of the water affects the crappie bite during the spawn. I have acquaintances that will hardly go fish shallow if the water is too muddy.

I personally have caught them and not caught them when the water was badly stained.

Comments? And many thanks

I have caught alot of fish this time of year with only 2" of clarity, infact it seems to me that when the water gets muddy or stained the crappie tend to move up shallower making them at times easier to catch. I use darker colors in these conditions. Blk/blue or blk/Char do well. You might try minnows if the jigs are not working.

Yep...don't be afraid of the chocolate water. We were catching them up in 2' on Fork in water that had no clarity at all. Caught a lot of fish over the years in water that a lot of people run from

A theory to ask...Can anyone feed in your opinion?
I guess it would depend on how big the rain is. Wouldn't there be enough food overflow from the shorline to feed them good for a few days? Thus, they usually don't bite well the next day after the down pour?

The murky water doesn't bother me as much as the plentiful of natural food they can find before taking a look at our jigs or minnows?
I must agree that I can catch em in murky water better than clear 90% of the time but only after a few days later. What y'all think?

All I can say is that I can't stand clear water, and I agree with your theory there Slab. I can be tearing fish up before a rain, even better during the rain, but after the rain, it's like a dern norther blew in or sumthin. Either slows down or near shuts off at times for me. I ussually wait a couple days and it is good to go again.