With air temps in the mid to low 70’s and water temps fluttering in the mid to high 50’s, the spring crappie bite for western Wisconsin is in full swing! From what I’ve heard, folks are doing very well on many different lakes in the area, and Lake Menomin is without a doubt no exception. With a slow to mediocre bite chasing walleyes yesterday on the opener, this morning my focus was taking advantage of the knock-out crappie bite that will fade out here in the next few weeks. Now is the time to get out there for not only numbers, but great quality fish as well.
I had the pleasure of getting out fishing this morning with my father Kevin and girlfriend Kristie, whom were both excited and ready to hopefully get some fish in the boat. Kevin just got a new (used) boat and we figured that a quick crappie trip would be appropriate for its maiden voyage 
The crappie targeting tactics were relatively simple, find warmer water and fish just outside or on the weed-line. This seemed to be the most crucial part of catching these fish, not to say you won’t catch some in the weeds on out in open water. With the water being so clear right the light penetration has these weeds on a fast paced growing spree and they seem to be growing further every trip out. Depth really didn’t seem to make much difference as fish were caught in 2fow to 9fow.
Equipped with a simple bobber setup we used a combination of small jigs and plain panfish hooks set about 3-4ft under the water; however this seemed to vary depending on the wind. When the wind was really whipping it seemed like keeping the bait deeper in the water column was more effective than when it got calm. Simply twitching the bobber and slowly retrieving greatly increased time in-between fish. As far as bait is concerned small jigs didn’t seem to out-fish a plain hook or vice versa, as long as you had a lively crappie minnow.
The great thing about the bite right now is that if you find one fish, you found a school of them. That being said, don’t be afraid to keep hopping around and trying new spots, even if it’s within the same general area, the fish are there and when you find them, its game on!
See ya out there 
Pete
Couple More Pic’s from the last few trips
Super 1st. Report from Mr. Crappie! Halfen tells me you have some serious skills with the slabs. Thanks for sharing.
Nice report Pete!
You sure have been getting some good lookings slabs up there this spring.
Excellent first report Pete. Nice read and pics.
Looking forward to seeing more of those slabs!
Great report on some dandy slabs Pete.
Looking forward to hearing more from your neck of the woods. 
Awesome report Pete!
Great Post. I am also in Menomonie and enjoy the wonderful crappie fisherie we have here. If you have children or want to get a kid into fishing get them to out in Menomonie. The bite is usually fast and furious. They will be begging you to go back every chance you get.
As for the Red Cedar walleyes this year, where did they all go??? Last year was phenomenal and this year was horrible. Anybody know the story on where all the walleyes went?