How to Catch Winter Crappie Slabs
by Paul Potter, Grand Lake Pro Fishing Guide
90% of the fish in a lake reside in just 10% of the actual lake. Now you are probably asking yourself, “How do I find this magical 10% section that holds all the active fish?” That is exactly what we are going to talk about in this article.
Having grown up on the lake fishing and becoming the Grand Lake Pro Fishing Guide, I have learned a few tricks to crappie fishing. Today I am going to share two secrets that are going to allow you to locate fish in any lake; especially during these cold winter months.
#1 Hit the Breaks!
One of the best fishing skills to have is knowing where to locate active fish. Channels are highways that flow throughout the lake. 90% of the fish are going to travel by way of the channels. Breaklines are what fisherman call the “drop offs” or “walls” of the channel (see below). Breaks are structures that are close to the Breakline. This can be stumps (as shown below in the picture), or trees that fall crossing the Breakline. During the winter; hit the Breaks! This is where active fish hangout! Buy a contour map of the lake you are fishing, or use a fish finder with mapping capabilities to view the channels on your lake.
#2 Go North!
During winter months, especially towards the end of winter, fish are going to migrate to warmer waters. Warmer waters are going to be in shallow water. Yes, that’s right – you heard me correctly. For whatever reason, people tend to think that crappie hang out in the deepest part of the lake during cold winter months. I have found over the years that this is not true. Shallow waters, on the north side of lakes, will heat up faster causing oxygen to be released into the lake due to photosynthesis taking place. Baitfish will move to these shallow locations. We all know that crappie follow baitfish! Do not be afraid to fish shallow muddy water on the north side of the lakes during winter months.
Fishing the channel breaklines up north is one of the best ways to catch winter time crappies. Take these two secrets and use them to your advantage to catch crappie. To learn more, visit my YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/c/GrandLakeGuy) where there is a whole section dedicated to sharing winter crappie fishing tips and secrets.