chrissmithmug.JPG

East Texas is fortunate to be the home of some of the nation’s — if not the globe’s — best fisheries.

Lake Fork is known far and wide to be the home giant bass. Lake O’ the Pines is also home to premier bass fishing with double digit sows appearing regularly. Catfish anglers also flock to both of these lakes adding limits of keeper size channel catfish as well as heavyweight blues and flatheads.

This time of year, however, is dominated by the crappie. Both black and white crappie are present in both Pines and Fork and few lakes in the state can compete with these two crappie factories.

Each year beginning on Dec. 1, Pines and Fork institute the winter season.

From Dec. 1 through the last day of February anglers are required to keep the first 25 crappie caught and there is no minimum length limit. This special limit idea was put into effect years ago to preserve and protect the resource.

As the late fall passes into winter many of the crappie on these two lakes to the deeper, dam ends of the reservoir. Fish pulled too quickly from this deep water scenario sometimes expire because of not being able to clear their swim bladder to decompress.

Fish will spend the next few weeks building in numbers and forming larger and larger schools. Shad are also making the same journeys to main lake points or offshore structure avoiding the bitter surface temperatures of winter. These large crappie schools patrol the bottom topography setting up camp near wherever the shad are concentrated.

Usually the crappie will be just under the bait. Imagine the crappie school on a main lake point, as schools of shad approach and swim over the crappie and the attacks begin from below. The shad disperse and scatter and the crappie ease back into their waiting position. Any current from the wind or spillway pull should position the crappie on the downstream side of a bottom feature such as a ridge or point.

Waiting downstream and watching upstream for incoming shad snacks literally allows the crappie to be served a shad buffet. There are other fish like bass, catfish or yellow bass that utilize the deep shad, but crappie make up a much larger percentage of shad herders.

The latest intel on Lake Fork crappie is 20-40 feet of water on brushpiles and standing timber. The bridges are also holding large numbers of crappie that will be keepers on the Dec. 1.

Lake O’ the Pines is also warming up for the winter crappie season. At Pines the fish are in standing timber in 25-30 feet of water. Jigs and minnows are working at both lakes so bring both to insure success.

Watch the weather as the season progresses and be prepared to get off the lake if conditions turn bad. Good luck and get on those crappie.