I got to check out what it is like to fish for crappie on Lake Champlain from a boat for the first time this year today. What a blast it was! We hit the water around 6am but didn’t get any production till much later in the day. We checked a few spots early only to catch several bluegill and bass. The fishing is much different than that of a normal spring setting… The water is low and warming up very quick. I think we hit a max of 48 degrees Fahrenheit. There was lots of activity on the surface of the water from the bait being chased but it proved difficult to catch any of the fish. We determined quickly that we were in a bad spot so onward we went.
The next spot we were on got off to a slow start. We had several fish nibble but not commit. We worked up and down the shore line with little success. We checked on one more spot on the way out of the bay and found good news finally. It took only one cast to know we were on a pile of spring crappie.
We sat in one spot for maybe the next two hours and each pulled around 200 crappie. It was a mixed bag of blacks and whites that heavily favored the blacks. It didn’t matter if we vertical jigged them or were casting with a bobber. If the bait was in the water, there was a fish about to bite it. The hot bait today was a Bobby Garland in any color. Probably one of the best bites from any species that I have ever had part of! We left early because of prior commitments but it was difficult to leave when the bite was picking up and the size was increasing! I went home with a limit to cut for fish feeds throughout this summer.
Here’s the bag from today. Some slabbers for sure!
This is the set up we used
Apparently this was on the menu for lunch today!
Looks like a senior picture right?
D & B Ice Adventures 
Looks like fun! My family crappie fishes at Grand Lake (Oklahoma) every spring. We are missing it this year because our fearless leader is fighting lung cancer. I’m going to show him your blog so he can live vicariously through you!
Good luck to your family while dealing with cancer. Unfortunately, its turning into a part of life for many families everywhere. There will certainly be more posts in the near future. Thank you for spreading the word!