Photo by Michael Skinner

After talking to a veteran Kansas fisheries biologist about April crappie angling, I'm beginning to think that the title of this story is perhaps a bit vague: Crappie action can indeed be found in the Sunflower State this month, some of it pretty good -- but you'll have to do more than just show up at your favorite fishing spot to enjoy it.

"April is really tough when it comes to crappie fishing here," said biologist Kyle Austin. "And it's mostly weather-related."

For longer than I care to admit, I believed that crappie finished up spawning here in April, and that the post-spawn doldrums were the source of such difficulty in catching slabs early and often. Austin corrected me quickly.

"Things don't really come together for the crappie spawn until May," he offered. "But I can see how you might think the post-spawn recovery was responsible for things being difficult in April. Crappie actually are still in their pre-spawn pattern now.

"You might have a few males move up shallow in late April, but they're just building nests. The big females won't move shallow until May. Through April, they are still using deep-water structure."

Austin noted that crappie and bass are members of the same family of sunfishes, so influences affecting one affect the other -- which isn't to say, however, that crappie and bass act the same, especially when it comes to the pre-spawn.

"Crappie behavior doesn't really change when they enter pre-spawn," he said. "Bass get very aggressive, and it's a very exciting time to fish for them. Crappie, on the other hand, stay in the same mode all winter long."

As Austin remarked, that mode involves relating to structure in deep water. As a result, catching them this month often involves more searching than actual fishing. And it was discussing this concept that led Austin to suggest some things about crappie that might surprise some of you reading this.

"I spent 15 or so years in the field working with crappie and other species, and talking to a lot of Kansas fishermen," he explained. "My experience suggests that crappie don't ever move more than a couple of hundred yards horizontally in their entire lives. Their movements are much more vertical in nature."

An interesting concept, and one that you should keep in mind as you head out this month for crappie. If Austin's right -- and there's no reason to doubt his analytic skills -- you should be able to use your experience from catching spawning slabsides to your advantage this month.