do we really have 2 spawns

here in Texas?

To answer your question...I am not sure...biologists suggest it is possible (he who shall not be named actually chased down such a biologist several years ago)...crappie are a member of the panfish species...so who knows, I don’t, and I rather doubt it...but I do occasionally mention that possibility in my comments...just to keep the theory open for discussion...there are three camps on this issue...those who know they do/can; those who know they can’t/won’t; and those who don’t know/care! The question is...Which camp are you in? UJC, ...what do you think...you are a master crappie fisherman...any biologists out there?

What I have seen is more like a staggered spawn that fully takes about three months to complete before both species have finished...some are early, while others are later, water temp, clarity, moon phase ,daylight hours, cold fronts, age and maturity of the fish are all variables that keep us scratching our heads and give us many different opinions, non of Wich are totally scientific or set in stone....if someone asked what time is lunch in America,an obvious answer could be 12 noon... but that would put someone on the west coast eating lunch three hours after the someone on the east coast, and both would be 12 noon.....if that makes any sense.

There are always oddities in nature, but the vast majority spawn in several waves in the spring.

IMO there is no long debated fall spawn as sone would suggest. Again, it's just MY opinion. I could be swayed if (and only if) someone can show me some pictures of male crappie in their tuxedo colors caught in the fall months.

Now that you have called me out Dale (crapicat) the crappie spawn begins answer here and ends answer here. Fill in the blank for the correct answer.

TroyKing's response is good enough for me. I just go fishing when I can. And when I go, I try to make it a catching trip, not just fishing.

Maybe Steve can give us a better scientific answer - this is a compliment Steve as I enjoy your thoughtful input.

water temp is not a factor in my opinion, as has been stated many times, if water temp were a factor, crappie in the north would never spawn. The temp theory has been a myth that has been repeated for many years. As humans, we tend to think of what is feasible for us, not fish. Fish live by thier own rules of life. the reason cold fronts delay the spawn and causes fish to move in and out of areas is likely due to moderate to drastic barometric pressure changes that always occur when major weather condition changes occur. the temp of 25 feet of water column does not change signifigantly due to a one day coldfront moving over an area.
if I has to rank factors that I believe trigger the spawn it would look like this.
1 biological trigger built into the dna of the fish

2 water conditions, nutrient rich content

3 barometric pressure conditions

4. hours of sunlight vs darkness

the reason for the 1st one is that it all really starts with the growth of the eggs in the female in the fall, and this is a biological trigger, just as in humans a woman natural ovulates every month. its encoded in the life . The female crappie cannot hold the eggs forever and deposit the eggs when conditions are most suitable, during a window that is most conducive for the eggs to survive.
\

Crappie only spawn in the spring from what I have seen. The fish don't have developed eggs in October/November to be viable. Crappie in the spring will spawn in waves and at different parts of the lakes at different times. Water temp is the most important factor with length of day being second.

If it does happen, it’s not in large numbers, usually the spring, like April-may is the best time. When the water temp gets right, they will move to the shallows.

Always an interesting topic. TroyKing's post pretty well covers it for me. And like Jimmy, I go when I can and try to make it a catching trip. I really don't care if they spawn once or 10 times a year or what the water temp is. I just go from experience and observations of where I caught some and when.

In reference to when and water temps and other parts of the country, here's an article about the crappie spawn in Ontario from the Ontario Fishing Network Newsletter.
http://ontariofishing.net/news/april2005-1.html

And here's one from Duck Bay Lodge about spring crappie spawn in Lake of the Woods, Ontario Canada.
http://www.duckbaylodge.com/services/fishing/crappie-fishing/

An here's an In-Fisherman article about crappie spawns from Florida to Canada. Long read, but you can scroll down near bottom to read the part about crappie spawning in Canada and water temps.
http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish/early-spring-crappie-tactics/

So enjoy the reading and good fishin.

Enjoyable reading Ken...thanks, always love your links...

BTW Jimmy, the devil made me do it...

Leaning post, I always thought water temp in a given range during a full moon phase, was a key. That said, I’m siding with Jimmy...I’m going often and looking to go catching more than fishing...I do my fishing/ exploring at other times of the year...OR when I’m fishing with Jimmy!

Troy, you gave the answer away much too early in the post...IMO.

Believe it or not, I start looking for crappie shallow first this time of the year, instead of vice versa, just because I want to get in on the front end of the shallow move, the staging move, etc.,I don’t stay shallow too long, but I go there first just to check...hey, I have been late to the shallow party once too many times in my life...

From lanes posts looks like they can be found gorging on Shad in open/deep water currently.

If water temp is not a factor, why don't they spawn in the middle of the winter?

keep this in mind. articles in fishing magazines are written by people who may or may not just repeating the same myths thier father was told and thier father was told. I guess if you can convince a magazine editor that you are an authority on the subject matter in question, then you can pretty much write whatever you want. one article posted even narrows the exact spawn temp to 66 to 68 degrees. this is ridiculous to think that crappie would only spawn during a 4 degree temp range as was posted in the article.


"As the water heats up, once again crappie will head to shallow water. As soon as 66-68 degrees is reached, the spawn will commence."

if your waiting on a specific temperature to go fishing for spawning crappie, I can just about guarantee that you are missing out on most of the spawners. I have caught spawners from the 50s to the 80s. this is what makes me so confident that temp doesnt matter. This is information based on fact that I have observed. check things out for yourself , spawn is just around the corner. Start fishing around the end of february, no matter what the water temp is, from 17 feet and work your way shallow. not the other way around. you may be shocked at what you learn. once you learn the real secret to the spawn, you will never beat the banks for miles and miles, only to sometimes find the little immature males again.

Hey Kirk, good to see you are hanging in there.

Ok, leaning post...what you suggest will get me in trouble with the doctor...he says I need the exercise, and it is one of the few ways I get out of the 4 mile daily hike with my wife!

maybe I need to become a magazine writer, sound like an authority...no special knowledge necessary, just convince some editor that you can turn a phrase and/or catch a fish...do they actually get paid for the effort?

Since we are referencing articles!!

https://scout.com/outdoors/fishing/Article/Crappies-By-Degrees-105099554

https://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/fishing/2007/09/crappies-degrees

Some good reads!

Hit a dock to kill time. In 15 minutes I landed 4 fatties, missed 1 bite, hung the biggest crappie I had on in years anf while lifting it out of the water it broke my line. And the kicker is......... all were caught in 3' to 4' of water. 3 vertical ju=igging poles and 1 shooting under. VERY aggressive bite. THEN not another bite for 45 minutes.

Very enlightening Banger, thanks.

hey there s a lot of bullchitters making a buck off of the ignorance of others.
many people believe everything they read, like they were programmed to. it is why speeches are written for politicians.. I mean heck, if they are so smart, cant they just speak off the cuff with bullet notes?
Spawn should be the Easiest time of year to slay crappie if the temperature and location myth were true, but the fact is, most struggle and few do great, because they believe the myths. Joe Blow bullchitter extraoedinaire claims they all go shallow at 66.5 degrees as he sits behind a desk with his cup of coffee, but he doesnt know squat.
I hammer the spawners on Belton every year and will again this year, and hopefully many years to come, because I looked outside the myth, I found out for myself. part of the discovery was watching 3 guys in a boat slip corking a submerged treeline with the cork set at 12 to 14 feet, in 16 feet of water. The year before that, the fish were shallower, but the water wasnt clear like it was that year. The fish were in the nutrient rich water even though it was warmer and shallower further back in this cove. The females will usually be in the most nutrient rich water they can find, no matter the temp or depth. it is crucial for the survival of the eggs. thats all folks! you can believe it or not. keep in mind, there are folks who fish these lakes, that are more concerned abt being braggarts , than sharing information that will really help others. you have read the post and seen the pics, they never tell where they were specifically, or show you, you get ho hum info like lure used and depth. ( the reason they mention the lure used is they are trying to smootch butt to get a few freebies)..
MANY people on this forum who see me posting pics of my catch private message me, and I help them as much as possible. I have no status to uphold in any fishing clubs, I have no rankings to obtain to convince myself that I can fish and catch fish. I have no hidden agenda, and get great joy out of seeing someone have a good day of fishing.
PRIDE is a major pitfall of life, one to which I will not partake in. I really think if some of the folks that frequent the crappie section did alot more sharing, and being genuine, they would garner alot more respect. Dont get on the forum and proclaim that you have 50 years of fishing experience, are in the best crappie club in the world, post pics of your catch, brag on others in your circles, promote companies that you think you can score freebies from, but neglect to do the most important thing.. SHARE what you know. you cant take it with you. when you pass, in 2 years nobody will ever even mention your name. You will be chisel marks on a granite headstone that nobody even acknowledges. SHARE HELPFUL information with people and you will live on. People will say, yeah man, that old guy such and such taught me this, and now im teaching you. the wisdom gets passed on, and you make a difference in peoples lives.

this website should start a flagging system, where members decide what posts to keep, or delete, If it is a BRAGGART , promote myself, look what I caught post, with no helpful information, then it can be flagged for removal based on the "BRAGGART and FREEBAIT AZZSMOOTCHERS soliciting rule.

PS anyone of retirement age who cannot afford a bag of plastic baits, PM me and I will buy you a bag of baits. if you are a retired veteran, I will buy you 2 bags!!!

Looks like you and I see eye-to-eye, well except I’m am not totally convinced about temp not playing ANY PART of the spawn...great rant BTW...so, next time I head down to see my dad, I should give you a heads up so we can go fishing...and I can get the Paul Harvey unsensored edition!! And we can go catch fish...I am down for gas/food/launch fees...

I am sure the mods will get right on this idea...NOT...lol

Part of the focus of this forum is advertising, which pays the way, I’m guessing...

I always figured you were the owner.

Here is a helpful tip that I tell everyone each year!

When the water temp reaches 57 degrees in the shallows, I will start catching females!!!!!

Are they all up there shallow? (10' or less) No.

Are they spawning???? No, I don't think so, but,

I do know I can start catching females shallow.

On warm spring days, the longer the sun is up, the warmer the water will get, that's just common sense.

That's why some think it's the amount of daylight hours that triggers the spawn, well they are right because you know the longer the sun is up, the longer time period the sun has, to warm the water up. Correct?

As the days get longer and when a cold front moves in and has dropped the water temperature back down in the low 50's the fish in shallow water will move back out to deeper water. Regardless of how long the day light hours are. Correct?

I follow the water temp to find fish year around.

I don't get free baits and never wrote in a magazine.

What was the water temp?

Black crappie like to move shallow around 55 degrees. Well that's the temp I look for, if I am targeting black crappie. Are they all up there at 55 degrees? No but you can start catching them in shallow water.

Leaning post maybe if you backed up your post with fish we might believe you.You didn't last long as a guide so tells us you we'ent that good as you say you are.bpBut all animals that lay eggs must have a tempature that will make eggs hatch .😳🤔🤔🤔🙄 when you start winning tourneys an prove your theory then what you write is just words.if your temp theory is true then why do fish in power plant lakes spawn EVERY yr earlier than other lakes.Your way off base

Crappie and bass are spawning on Martin Creek right now!

Where is the Martin creek located?

it's a hot water lake between Tatum and henderson.

Hey DW, glad to see you are hanging out...say, speaking of power plant lakes...when do the fish on that lake we fished start moving shallow?...or should I ask, based on Kirk’s info...what is the temp on that lake right now?

I know last year I told myself, that I wanted to fish that lake some during the spawn...prespawn...man, I love fishing cattails/Moss/ weedlines around the shoreline!

March

SHOW ME THE FISH!!!!!

I care that fish spawn every year and hope it's a good spawn to keep a good number of fish out there to catch from year to year.
The only thing that I care about is learning the lake and following the fish as they move.
Every lake has different characteristics and patterns, It usually takes about 2-3 years to figure out a lake with about 300 hrs of fishiing a year.
You can read all the posts, books, etc. and still not consistently catch fish on any given lake.
There is NO substitute for TOW.
Learn the LAKE, not the SPAWN.....
Of course this is just my opinion.

^^^ Good advice.

Getting back to 2 spawns, I kinda believe it. A about 4 weeks ago I caught a 2 inch crappie thought it was a shad at first. Now I don't know how small crappie are when they are hatched nor how long it takes to grow to 2 inches but seems like it would not take that long. So leads me to believe either 2 spawns or that was a very late spawn for that crappie.

I've. Been waiting for someone to mention something like this...it do pose a question now don't it?

Many factors play a role in something like this happening.

1. This fish could have been from a late spawner (may/june)
2. This fish could have also not hatched for a good while after the egg was laid (due to lack of sunlight, rain moving egg around to not ideal conditions then be moved back and it hatched)
3. This fish could have been hatched on time but due to lack of nutrients, it didn't grow as fast as they normally do.

Lots of reasons to find a small fish and a fall spawn ain't one of them LOL.

Never have I caught nor saw a dark male come from 1 ft of water in October LOL.

great perspective!... I have a real shallow water hole that dries up several times every summer... whenever it gets some water,in no time, there are always little fish in it... possible there are eggs in the mud...who knows?

I've caught crappie in mid June with eggs running out several years. Fish don't grow near as fast in lakes that aren't as fertile as the east TX lakes. Local biologist said it takes 3-4 years for a crappie to reach legal length in Lake Belton.