Larry Clontz of Bluffton used a small jig with a twistertail to fool this slab. Photo by Mike Gnatkowski.

There are certain rites of spring that signal that the long, cold winter is finally over.

In Kansas, spring means that hot action for crappie is in full swing. No other fish, with the possible exception of catfish, gets the Sunflower State's anglers fired up more than spring crappie. And the good thing is that there's a good crappie hole not far from where you live.

Most of the action focuses on the state's major reservoirs. With adequate moisture in recent years, the stage is set for some incredible action this spring.

"In recent years, we've gotten the one thing you need to have good crappie fishing in Kansas -- water," said regions 4 and 5 state fisheries biologist Tom Swan. "Water levels are the most important factor for good crappie fishing on the major reservoirs. You need the right water levels for good reproduction. The last couple of years we've had good water."

But water alone won't produce great crappie fishing. Timing is important, too.

"Ideally, the water comes up just before the crappies spawn," said Swan. When that happens, crappie can use the newly flooded vegetation to spawn in, and the fry, and then fingerlings, have a place to hide to avoid predators.

"Then all you can hope for is that the water doesn't drop too fast," said biologist Swan. If it does, that would leave the newly hatched crappie high and dry.

The young crappie also need something to eat. If we have a successful spawn, the next most important thing is forage, particularly shad. While crappie are not above eating aquatic insects, nothing jumpstarts a crappie's early life stages than a steady supply of fat shad. When a good shad hatch coincides with a healthy crappie spawn it can set the fishery up for several years of great fishing.

Large reservoirs give crappie plenty of room to roam. There's usually ample forage, so crappie populations rarely get overpopulated or stunted in reservoirs.

But that may not be the case on some smaller lakes. Predators then play an important role in keeping crappie numbers in check.

"We may introduce walleyes, largemouths or wipers on some of the smaller lakes to balance the crappie population," said Swan.

Biologists use a different set of variables to determine the status of a fishery. The term "density" is used in the fishery forecasts to indicate the number of fish that were of higher quality (in the case of crappie, 8-inches plus) per unit of sampling. The higher the rating, the more high-quality-sized fish there are per acre.

The preferred rating indicates how many above-average fish are in the reservoir as a percentage of the sampling. A reservoir can have good density, but produce few fish more than 10 inches and a low preferred rating.

Lunker rating is like density rating, but it's relative to the density of trophy fish in the population. Biologists also rate the fisheries depending on species as (F) fair, (G) good and (E) excellent. Crappie fishing reports and forecasts are available on the KDWP Web site: www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/fishing/fishing-forecast.

Each year a fishing forecast is compiled for each region. Net samplings are conducted in the fall by fisheries personnel in an approximately one-acre area in the same location each year. Although changes in water levels and other factors can affect the accuracy of the reports, it gives biologists a relative idea of crappie size and abundance in each body of water.