Pool 4 area spring time crappie locations????

It is not to early to start thinking about the spring time crappie fishing action. We have caught some nice sized slabs by the damn to down past the ‘Y’ while walleye/sauger fishing. I would like to try to target crappies for a change.Where on pool would a guy try if launching out of Evert’s ramps? I keep hearing about the “back waters”, but I am not certain as to where these back waters are located. I am familiar with the area from Everts to the damn, but very unfamiliar with the area south of Everts. Can you guys help me out by pointing me in the right direction and if you really feel giving, maybe what you are using for lures/baits/depths/presentation/structure, etc.? Any help you can lend would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!!!!

Scott, you’ve got a PM!

hmmmmmmm i see how you guys are ….where’s my pm? i would love to target some panfish too but haven’t a clue to where to start or use either since i’m a newbie if you want it to stay a secret just pm me so i can some nice slabs too thanks guys!

when launching at Everts, run the back channel down to the bay city flats. the timber area around the bay city ramp and any timber on the flat itself can be good. Also any flooded timber along the back channel is worth a shot.

This is a little off the subject, but one of my goals is to learn the backwaters a lot more this year. I was always so nervous traveling it until I finally made the run last year. It looks to have some very promising areas to catch all kinds of species.

Sorry guys, I did not intend to make it sound like I had some inside info on the crappies! . I didn’t want to go and give out anybody’s secret spot, but when I reaad my pm to Scott, I didn’t give any specific hotspot, just general areas to try, so it wasn’t a big secret or anything. This is what I told him…..

The backwaters below Everts Resort consist of a bunch of “ponds/bays” off of the Wisconsin backchannel for the most part. The main waters of the backchannel are loaded with fallen trees/timber. These “snags” are prime areas to hit for crappies. Go right in em and tie up to a branch and vertical jig a minnow or tube jig on a small 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig head. The areas off of the main backchannel also hold crappies, but the water level will determine what ones to fish. Look for areas with “some” current vs the stagnant backwaters. These fish do need O2…and the stagnant backwaters are not where thats at! Goose lake is a good “lake” off the Wisconsin backchannel to try for crappie. This “lake” ranges from 3-4 feet deep to a hole with 30+ feet (this area also has lots of springs) so be careful if venturing out on the ice here. In a nutshell, I mentioned fishing the flooded timber in the backchannel.

The other area that doesn’t get much recognition is the vermillion river, which dumps into the Mississippi ABOVE Everts Resort. This area is basically a “mini” backchannel. It is not nearly as wide, but is a little deeper. However it does have some shallower bays you can get into during the spring highwater. These areas will warm up faster than other areas…which will attract crappies! A popular shore fishing spot in the spring time for crappies is the railroad bridge you come to while going up the vermillion. Navigating the vermillion is pretty much safe other than the mouth where it dumps in the big river. There is a sand bar there that is exposed right now, so stay to the outside bends of the river and you will be fine. As for now, as Jack mentioned a week ago, the backsides of wingdams are a good bet to find some crappies!

On a side note, about this time last year, I was using my underwater cam to look around up at the dam and b/w the top two wingdams, tight to shore, at the base of the rip-rap, I saw hundreds of gar all facing the rocks and mixed in with them were crappies. Kind of neat to see all those gar, just staring at the rocks oblivious to my cam. Good Luck to all.