CHRIS SMITH

The first day of December is marked on calendars all over the state as well as many other states for opening day.

These folks are the crappie fishing purists and East Texas is their favorite place to practice. East Texas is well known for world class fishing and legendary lakes. In the crappie fishing world, two East Texas lakes are considered bucket list destinations. Lake Fork and Lake O’ the Pines are on the top of this list.

Each December thousands of crappie lovers head to our corner of the state and share the bounty of a special crappie “season.”

These two reservoirs have this fame due to a three-month length limit suspension.

Here’s how it breaks down: Texas has a statewide crappie limit of 25 fish 10 inches or longer. From Dec. 1 until the last day of February on Fork and ‘Pines, the limit changes to the first 25 crappie caught must be retained.

This special restriction is only on these two lakes. Regulations on Lake O’ the Pines do have one detail that should be mentioned. The upper reaches of the lake terminate and is considered river, which is still under state regulations.

Usually this isn’t a consideration because the majority of the action will take place on the lower part of the lake. This brings us back to the reason for the annual regulation change.

The crappie at both of the lakes will form schools in the deeper water, following shad as they migrate deeper for the winter. This scenario will start to play out as the crappie head shallow for the spawn. The shad and crappie will be in the deepest parts of the lake. Catching an under 10 inch fish and reeling it to the surface too quickly can cause death with fish unable to clear their swim bladder.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department implemented the changes years ago to stop the waste of the resource during the three-month season. In my opinion, the change has worked well.

Anglers still catch giants throughout the year and I believe it leaves a lot of fish in the lake to even out the cyclical nature of crappie populations. I am no biologist, but the crappie fishing at both ‘Pines and Fork seems to be above average any time of the year.

Do a little research on crappie guides at either lake. The advent of the live target sonars, the number of crappie guides has increased exponentially. The technique is pretty cool and a great way a mess of slabs.

These units are nice but it is not necessary to catch the winter crappie. Minnows and jigs near the bottom will catch the fish as always.

Get out there and find a school during the next few months.