Really, I may try the forward view shallow, have not tried that. I guess you know I always use down view, Mr Paty got me hooked on down view, which really does not do well 10ft or less, the deeper the better for down view.

Well, a lot of posts on here are:
Had an awesome day fishing for _____. Not gonna tell you exactly where, but I can give you a hint: It's somewhere in a massive lake.

Y’all have fun chasing this mythical February spawners. Just because they’re shallow doesn’t mean they’re spawning. Earliest I’ve ever seen spawning activity was march 10th and that was in a muddy, warm creek in an ultra warm spring. It’s just simply too cold right now.

William Oliver says ... 11 hours of daylight and 50 degree water temp.
There are some interesting tips in this video.

https://youtu.be/XYB2sOCdVkI

Good Luck,
Bozz

If those eggs are mature and ready to ooze out.... I don't think some are waiting on a certain temp .

William Oliver says ... 11 hours of daylight and 50 degree water temp.
There are some interesting tips in this video.

https://youtu.be/XYB2sOCdVkI

Good Luck,
Bozz

Daylight has alot to do with it too IMO

Here is some proof that fish spawn earlier than most think. The thing is you have to know where to look and if you don't, you would think the same thing. Just because you haven't found them spawning doesn't mean they aren't.




This is from 2 different years. Both males shallow and colored up! My thought has always been once can always be a fluke and twice is not...

End of this week shows 4 days in a row of lows in the 50s and 60s.. If you aren't looking for spawners during that time, you are missing out.

a round ya, when I see the bluebonnet stems shoot up and a few flowers here and thar, and a few little WREN birds start showing up, I know its starting. . I pay no attention to water temp, or month of spring. That myth burned me for too many seasons.
Also I wont be fishing 17 miles of bankline, in 2 feet of water looking for them.. I will start looking in 18 to 21 feet, and work shallower with the best spawning locations being 5 to 10 feet. yes some of the small males set up nest in very shallow water, and a few decent females come to the nest to check it out, but for the most part, folks will catch mostly barely legal males along banklines.. and thats just fine.
The old myth that the males build the nest, and the females come in on a full moon night and drop thier eggs has always been funny to me.. The males and females link up in groups, and the males release thier milt on the eggs. If you actually catch them doing thier thing, you will catch big females with the eggs spilling out, and big males with the milt dripping out. its kind of rare to catch them in the act of doing this.
white bass do the same thing, largemouth do it in a more single fish manner
most of the small, 1 to 2 year male crappie build thier little nest, hoping for some action, but is not the first choice for the females to go. This is why u rarely catch big females along with the males.