When and Where do Crappie Spawn?

When Do Crappie Spawn?

Crappie spawn in the spring. During the spring, crappie move from their deeper water lies to shallow breeding areas. Spawning activity starts when temperatures approach 10C (50F) – 15C (60F). Activity increases as the temperature does, with peak breeding activity around 20C (68F). The onset of ideal temperatures vary year to year, but typically occurs between late April and early June.

Typically it takes a few warmer days before the crappie move into shallow water to spawn. Crappie spawning often corresponds with smallmouth and largemouth spawning in the same water body (Often occurring after smallmouth bass, but before largemouth bass).

After the crappie are finished spawning, the fish will move to their summer habitat. The specific habitat varies by waterbody. Crappie are very structure-oriented and will hold in dense cover throughout the year. The exception is if the crappie are suspending deeper in the water column.

Where Do Crappie Spawn?

Crappie typically breed in shallow water with some sort of vegetation or structure nearby. The water depth of the breeding grounds are extremely shallow. The nests are often found in 1 to 5 feet of water.

Nest will be created around structures such as submerged vegetation, stumps, branches, and trees.

The water that warms up earlier in the season is often where breeding will take place. In lakes, this means north shore back bays protected from the wind. In rivers and resevoirs, this is often spillways and headwaters, as the water above the spillway has been warming in the sun. If the river is quite slow, then you can treat it like a lake and calm back bays are equally likely to become spawning grounds.

Multiple males will often breed with one female. The female lays a large number of eggs (up to 65,000) in a depression created by the male.

Like many sunfish species, there is parental protection of the eggs. The male crappie will guard the eggs while they hatch. Crappie eggs take between 2 to 5 days to hatch.

Crappie are schooling fish, so many individual fish are often present in the breeding area at one time. They’re also extremely prolific breeders, this makes them quite resilient (but not immune!) to overharvesting. This is quite fortunate, as they are often targeted for retention as they are one of the best-tasting freshwater fish.

Final Thoughts

The information above relates to black crappie specifically. White crappie behavior (spawning, breeding, and seasonal movements) is quite similar, although it’s not uncommon for white crappie to breed a few weeks later. White crappie prefer slightly warmer temperatures than their black crappie cousins.

If you’re looking for lure suggestions for spring crappie fishing, you can’t go wrong with Crappie Jigs (Amazon Link).

If you’re a fly angler, check this out for a more in-depth discussion about targeting crappie on the fly.