At 407 acres, it's not big, but with a survey report of 3.63 10-inch-plus blacks per unit sampled, it should be big for black crappie fishing again this season. And Wyandotte County Lake has given up blacks over a pound. That's a good crappie anywhere, but if you get it from a lake that's very close for many crappie anglers, it's a great fish.

Leavenworth and Wilson SFLs are both known to harbor respectable black crappie fisheries, too. The former isn't very strong for white crappie, but it does offer a pretty good bass fishery to go along with the black crappie, so you should consider it as an early-season destination. And like Wyandotte County Lake, it's a short drive from home for many thousands of Sunflower State anglers.

Lebo City Lake, Wilson SFL and the new Yates Center City Lake are other small waters to consider for black crappie, according to the data. During the time I lived in Olathe, the Johnson County seat, I learned just how much fun black crappie can be to catch, because Lake Olathe had a significant population.

The largest crappie I ever caught in Kansas, a black that pushed every bit of 2 pounds, came from Lake Olathe. And it hit a crankbait I was fishing along a steep rocky bank for bass! Make no mistake: Crappie are definitely predatory -- and they're scrappy!

You should keep that in mind as you plan your outings this season, because there will be times during which you can catch some of the biggest crappie around simply by using a different approach.

Now, minnow-tipped jigs are hard to beat for taking slabs, because water temperatures are still fairly low. But as things warm up and the spawn arrives, crappie are going to get more aggressive.

One method that works well when things have warmed up for the season is something traditionally known in the South as "perch jerkin'." The technique involves fishing a small crappie jig around flooded brushpiles and other structure, and suspending the bait at least a few feet below a bobber. Using quick snaps of your rod tip, you impart action to the jig. When crappie hit, your bobber disappears, just as it would if you were fishing live bait under it. It's a fun and exciting way to catch crappie.

From the late spring through summer and into the fall, crankbaits too will take their share of really nice crappie. I prefer to fish ultralight plugs on spinning outfits rigged with 4- or 6-pound line, but as mentioned, some big crappie will hit bass lures fished on much heavier gear.

From here, nothing beats a 6- to 7-foot light or ultralight spinning rod, which gives you the ability to cast small baits long distances. Ultralight-sized minnow and crawdad imitations are very effective on big crappie throughout most of the season. My rule of thumb is to fish them from the end of the spawn until mid to late October.

You can also troll the small crankbaits along the flats on Kansas' lakes and do quite well with crappie. The only drawback to this approach is that you'll also take white bass, walleyes, saugers, black bass, or some combination of all of them, depending on what's in the lake.

The key to trolling these baits is speed: You don't want to go any faster than it takes to get the lure moving through its natural action -- which is quite a bit slower than many anglers might suspect. Troll as slowly as you can if you want fast crankbait-crappie action.

The bottom line on all of this is that, once again, Kansas will offer you some worthwhile crappie action again this season, no matter where you live. Somewhere close by, you're going to find a reservoir or small lake -- or maybe both -- with good numbers of white or black crappie. Or, again, maybe both.

Your fishing should only be limited by the time you have to devote to it, because in Kansas, there's no shortage of places to go to catch a nice bunch of crappie. And there's no shortage of techniques to use to do it!