It is crappie time. Those in the know have been putting on their overhauls and catching some nice fish, often in very shallow water. While the water temperatures have been in the 40s the fishing has been hot. Mother Nature has helped with very little rain for this time of year-keeping water clear. Here is the report for 2021 March Crappie Indiana.

Shallow Crappie On Morse Reservoir

I have fished Morse twice and caught crappie shallow, but don’t go there; not until you find out if the Carrigan bridge underpass is open. You cannot access the lower half of the lake.

Big Crappie On Geist

I’ve had mixed reports from Geist.  Two anglers getting into some big ones while on another day some others never caught a fish. If the crappie bite is slow at Geist, start throwing a 1/16th-oz. Charlie Bee from the Charlie Brewer Slider Company. The big redear loves these baits and so do bluegill and crappie. A redear (shell cracker) was taken from these waters five years ago that missed the state record by two ounces. It weighed 3-lbs., 12-ozs.

Slow Crappie Bite On Salamonie

I’ve had mixed reports from Salamonie. Two friends began their day on this reservoir. After three hours without a bite, they trailered their boat to Mississinewa. The move paid off with some nice slabs. On another day, at Salamonie, two guys filled their livewell. A few of their fish measured 14-inches.

Crappie Limits On Mississinewa

Mississinewa is the hot lake. Last Sunday, an angler caught his limit fishing 1.5-feet deep under Red Bridge. This past Tuesday Laevell McKinney and Mike Hubbard fished Mississinewa. From daylight to 1:00 pm they never had a bite. The fish began turning on and by 3:00 pm, they were catching fish on almost every cast. They kept 47 dandies.

Monitor March Crappie In Indiana

The best site to monitor the crappie harvest is “Indiana Crappie Fishing,” on FB. There are some sixteen inches being caught in central Indiana.

Summit, Prairie Creek, and even little Westwood lake will produce some nice crappie.

 There are various reasons why some anglers are successful and some are not on any given day. A number of crappies move shallow very early in the season. These fish are easier for most anglers to catch.

While one group of anglers are going to the backs of bays and up creeks and rivers, another will be fishing 12-18-feet deep on the channel edge of flats. These folks will use markers and/or GPS units when they graph a big school of fish on a break. The shallow anglers will usually be constantly on the move while the deepwater practitioners will catch them in one place.

Jig Colors For Indiana Crappie In March

When using jigs, the color often makes a big difference. The most effective color is often a two-colored grub such as black/chartreuse. Fish in deep or murky water can see dark colors the best. Orange/black or orange/chartreuse is becoming popular. One time, I slew them on a pumpkin body with a chartreuse tail. I ordered a bunch of those grubs and have yet to catch another fish on one.

Often, when Crappie Pro James Lasswell is shooting docks, he uses a 1/32nd ounce jig. He is usually fishing less than four feet of water and wants his offering coming through the shadows of those docks very slowly. A deep-water angler would likely use a ⅛-oz. jig.

 I have not gotten into Spider Rigging because I don’t know that much about it. It can be a quick way to catch a lot of fish in a tournament, but for me, it is not that much fun.

 No need to wait for the daffodils to bloom, the big paper-mouths are biting now.

Check Out

Spider Rigging With Garmin Livescope Side Imaging

Know Your Crappie Temps