Which get active first?

Now that open water is here
I am one of those who cares little about what he catches as long as it can fight.
My question is what is the order of the most active,(defined as ones willing to bite), fish in the spring?

ps. 2nd question what order do they spawn?
Starting with the earliest in the spring?

I always have found that the fish under someone elses boat bites first.

1. Pike 39 – 52 deg
2. Walleye 43 – 52 deg
3. Smallies 60 – 67 deg
4. Largemouth 64+

Hey Kevin:

Do perch go in between the pike and walleye or before the pike?

Mark

Crappies start biting pretty early in the Spring. Pretty easy to get at since they’re shallow early.

Perch spawn after the walleyes. In Iowa that’s about late April through mid-May. Crappies spawn when the water temp gets up around 65, and the old wives’ tale that it’s “when the lilacs bloom” is pretty close, usually (late May here). Gills are next, early June.

For the next few months, there’s a fish somewhere waiting to stretch that line, you just gotta find ’em!

Gianni is right about the perch. THey spawn after walleyes. I didn’t have a temperature for them but I would guess it’s at least 5 degrees higher.

The crappie are now active here in NW Iowa!