Photo by Keith Sutton.

No real “secrets” are involved in catching spring crappies: Of that much Curt Harvey’s certain.

Seasoned by more than six decades of crappie fishing, Harvey has concluded that, come spring, big slabs impelled by romance will inevitably move into the shallows. Almost as inevitably, that’s where anglers will find them.

But even the best crappie lakes have cyclical crappie populations, and anglers like Harvey have learned to take this into account. Crappie numbers peak and drop with few solid explanations, though fisheries biologists suggest that weather, water conditions and available forage all affect spawning success.

The bottom line is that even excellent crappie waters go through a few years of relatively low yields and then bounce back with good year-classes of fish. The trick lies in knowing which lakes are on the upswing -- and going back every year to your own traditional early-spring honeyhole may not be the best way of getting that done, Harvey observed.

“Old spots may be great,” he counseled, “but don’t spend too much time fishing down memory lane -- or you may not put many crappie fillets into the frying pan.”

Here’s a look at where the crappie action should be hot in the Hawkeye State this year.

LAKE RED ROCK
Harvey hangs out his guide shingle at this 19,000-acre Marion County lake. He puts a lot of crappies in the boat here -- though not without effort.

Red Rock can be a tough lake to figure out, he acknowledged. During and immediately after the spawn, Red Rock’s bays and coves tend to offer fast-action shoreline fishing, but there aren’t any guarantees. Fluctuating water levels can present problems, and areas producing lots of crappies one day can be dead the next. Fish the cover and remain flexible if you want to stay on top of the slabs.

“Lure selection for crappies (at Red Rock) can be as high-tech as your wallet will allow,” said Harvey. “In the last decade, crappie equipment has mushroomed in the marketplace, but it’s still hard to beat a gold hook and minnow presentation. This is doubly so in muddy or stained water, and you can tweak this setup by having the liveliest minnows available.”

Red Rock’s nine ramps can handle fishing boats of most sizes. For more information, contact the IDNR’s Boone Fish Management Unit at (515) 432-2823.

LAKE OF THREE FIRES
Lake of Three Fires has recently been renovated, and its crappies are growing fast as a result. According to IDNR fisheries biologist Gary Sobotka, crappies in the 8-inch range last fall will be much larger by the time anglers start to tangle with them this spring.

“The fish are growing extremely fast,” he reported, “and the population is at or above keeper-size and will only improve. By the summer, this crappie population will be as good as anyone could expect.”

Three Fires’ crappie numbers have been fairly steady for a few years now. To keep things hopping, biologists have provided additional cover by dropping several new fish structures in the lake.