Sunday, April 11th officially kicked off the 2010 crappie season for me this year. Up until today, this year’s fishing time has been very limited and it felt good to spend some quality time on the water. After fishing yesterdays Full Throttle tournament on the river, I decided for a change in pace and day chasing crappies sounded great!
With water surface temps right around 50 degrees; these fish had left their typical wintering holes seeking out main lake bays and channel areas. While we’re still a little ways away from the actual spawning process, be sure and check out points and weed edges closely located to those classic warm water spawning bays. Chances are, those fish are starting to stage up and roam close by… 
Fishing in 6-9fow, with the intension of targeting those suspended fish, our presentation was kept simple. A slip bobber rig equipped with a pink/purple B-Fish-N-Tackle Mini Mert and tipped with a crappie minnow took most our fish today. The other more finicky fish were best fooled by a plain aberdeen hook tipped with a minnow. Moving the bait and covering ground was our main key to success. Since these fish are not quite in that spawning mode, they’re not as tightly grouped as many people are accustom to experiencing while fishing in the spring. Fishing a specific area for 10-15min without a bite and it’s time to move on. However, be sure to recheck those spots as the day goes on, chances are a few more fish have filtered in.
All in all it was a great day on the water with great company and a fantastic way to kick off Crappie season 2010. As the water temps continue to rise, keep a close eye on the transition areas leading towards the typical spawning locations for fish as I’d expect a lot of movement to happen within the next few weeks. With this nice warm weather we’ve been having, my guess is that everything will be slightly ahead of schedule from last year but all the same locations and presentations apply.
Get out there and we’ll see ya fishin’! 
Pete
Nice job Pete
Great looking Crappies Pete.
Jack
Nice looking crappies Pete!
Atta boy Pete, nice slabs.
Nice slabs
Nice report, I have been thinking about the crappie bit this spring as well!
Gosh Pete, I must not have heard my phone ring for the invite
You did call right?? 
Nice work brother 
Good report and I have been chasing them a bit for the past 2 weekends and it is a little slow, but I’m expecting it to pick up very soon.
Nice looking slabs Pete
Wallster ><((((>
I guess I need to go crappie fishing, after readig your advise.
Pink and purple eh, I guess I need to do a little shopping too. Thanks for the report Pete 
I guess I need to go crappie fishing, after readig your advise.
Pink and purple eh, I guess I need to do a little shopping too. Thanks for the report Pete 
Good Job Pete
Those fish look to have some pretty good weight! Nice fish Pete
Very nice crappies Pete
Thanks Guy’s
Nice Specs!