Waters rising in both depth and temperature will soon bring crappie into scopes of trees and brush too thick to easily admit a boat. That’s when enthusiasts like Curt Brown, of Baldwyn, hitch up their waders and walk their way into an abundant crappie haul.
“If the water gets into the trees and the water temperatures are in the 50s, I’m in there trying to find them,” he said. “That’s my favorite time to fish them.”
Brown has been fishing for crappie since his single-digit years.
“I grew up going with my dad to Yellow Creek and Sardis,” he said. “We didn’t go to Grenada or Enid in those days. We cut our teeth together on the Waterway, Walker’s Bridge and Pickwick.
“The water isn’t up deep enough to wade just yet, but it’s getting there. Even when it’s still very shallow, the crappie will relate to ditches, and the ditches don’t have to be all that deep. A ditch one or two feet deep will be deep enough, many times, to hold crappie.”
Brown said those are the avenues crappie will use to come and go from an area, and they’re what he makes his key targets when fishing.
Of the several proven methods Brown regularly uses to chase crappie throughout the year, walking through water is his favorite. The few weeks of wading afforded by the spring are a special time.
“It’s just like regular fishing,” Brown said. “When the water gets back to the bushes, sometimes it’s hard to get boats back to where the fish are. That’s when you wade. It’s pretty relaxing fishing. You just ease along slowly. You’re not spooking them like a boat and trolling motor would.
“You can wade (at other times) when the water is low, but there are bad slough beds you can step into. “The best time to wade is when the water’s at full pool at Sardis and Grenada. You’re looking for thick stands of cypress trees, primarily, and for vines hanging on trees. Look especially for cypress trees with a lot of taller knees. Those produce a little bit better than others, it seems.”
Full pool is the best time to wade for crappie for many reasons. During this time, land that is not normally flooded will be under water, which typically promises firmer footing. The crappie instinctively want to be there in the tightest stakebeds for the upcoming spawn, and the territory is generally inaccessible in any other way.
“When the water temperatures get above 50 degrees, the big males will move into the trees,” Brown said. “The females will hold out deeper and, when it gets up to the 60s, they’ll run in.”
Fish all the way
Interwoven among the trees will be brush such as ironwood and duck brush. While the trees themselves are the primary targets, it’s important to fish along and not just wade tree to tree.
“They mainly relate to cypress trees, but you have to establish the pattern every day,” Brown said. “They might be on trees today and on ironwood tomorrow.”
Brown prefers to wade fish with an 11-foot pole and either hair or plastic jigs.
“A lot of people use shorter poles, but I don’t like to get up on the tree that close,” he said. “Still, don’t be afraid to get into the tangles. If you’re in good crappie territory, you’ll be in tangles. When you find a cypress tree hanging with vines, pull your jig up tight to the tip of your pole and work it into the tightest window you can find. Nine times out of 10, that’s where a fish will be.
“I use a hair jig exclusively in the winter but, in the spring, I’d say you should tie on whichever, hair or plastic, you’ve got confidence in. At Sardis, Enid and Grenada, those fish like big baits. You don’t have to scale down very much there.
“Some people tip their jigs with minnows, but I don’t. That’s just something else to manage. If you can get a jig in front of a crappie, minnow or not, they’ll usually bite it.”
As to jig color, Brown lets the light of the day and the clarity of the water dictate the choice.
“My motto is: Dark day, dark jig. Bright day, bright jig,” he said. “In the trees, the exact color pertains to the water color. Jigs with green and chartreuse usually work well. On a super bright day, a pink jig can be really good.”
Tight cover notwithstanding, Brown likes to swim a jig where possible, as opposed to making a strictly vertical presentation. Horizontal movement of the bait underwater means more snags, but the presentation is improved in the trade.
Step slowly, carefully
Wading among the trees has its hazards like any other outdoor pursuit, but none that can’t be overcome with care. Some snakes will be out, their numbers rising along with the temperature. Also, in places where water has come up quickly, clumps of floating fire ants can be encountered.
“Just be visual when you’re wade fishing and that’ll keep you out of trouble for the most part,” Brown says. “I carry a little skulling paddle to smack the water if a snake is getting close. You can smack the water, or smack the snake with it.”
Other gear Brown carries includes a chain stringer as opposed to the nylon rope variety.
“That keeps you from untying a rope every time you catch a fish,” he said. “With a chain stringer, you just clip each fish on and keep fishing. Some people like to carry a little short-handled fly fishing net, but I don’t carry a net at all. I do sometimes lose fish for lack of a net, but I like the trade of not having that one more thing to carry.”
The hazard chief above all others is falling down or stepping into a deep hole, but there are remedies for this as well. Brown wears an Onyx life jacket. This is the style preferred by bass tournament anglers. It sits flat in two vertical bands on the wearer’s chest with a strap around his back like suspenders and has bladders that can be inflated from a gas cartridge at the pull of a handle. Also, a belt cinched just below the top of waders will prevent them from taking on water if the wearer does go under. Modern, breathable waders come equipped with just such a belt but, if your waders lack one, definitely address this need with a belt, bungee cord or something similar.
“The main thing is to just walk very slowly,” Brown said. “If you try to walk fast, you’re going to trip and fall, just about guaranteed. You’ll be going through brush tangles all the time, and walking slowly will let you just push through. Watch for blown-over trees. If you see a blown-over tree, you can be certain there’ll be a big, deep hole at the end of it where the root ball pulled up.”
Further tips offered by Brown and other wade fishermen include cutting a cane pole to use for probing the ground ahead. Cane in crappie territory is abundant and free and, if dropped, a stick of cane will float. Consider wading into the wind or the current where you’ll be fishing to avoid muddying the water ahead. A fanny pack is a good way to carry along a small store of possibles like extra jigs, hooks, clippers and a knife. An inner tube designed for use in a bicycle or small tractor tire can be rigged as a floating seat to relieve back strain.
Ultimately, the hauling of gear for wade fishing, much like that for cross-country backpacking, is a series of trades between handiness and encumbrance. It’s up to each practitioner to decide what’s more help than hindrance.
“It really is a lot of fun,” Brown said. “When the water levels at Sardis get up to 258 feet to 260 feet (levels posted by the Corps of Engineers in relation to sea level), there’ll be a lot of trees ready to be fished.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
