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Nearly everybody that fishes in Minnesota looks forward to the walleye opener, but that's still over five weeks down the line. Until that day arrives in May, we have the great fortune to target and catch loads of pre-spawn crappies on all of our area lakes.

Reminding anglers about the spring Crappie Bonanza is one of my favorite exercises because it's an annual fishing tradition that is highly predictable year after year. Simply locate shallower muddy-bottom bays, channels and shorelines and the job of putting numbers of crappies in the boat is half done.

There are weather and water temperature considerations to keep in mind, but because crappies continue to occupy these locations for a number of weeks, it's likely that if you get out there more than once between now and mid-May and invest a bit of time, you're bound to find actively feeding crappies somewhere on the lake you're fishing. If you factor sunlight, wind, water clarity and depth, you'll quickly discover that on any given body of water, the shallow water locations that attract pre-spawn crappies warm at varying rates throughout the spring. An ideal water temperature is around 50-60 degrees, but small, incremental temperature increases short of that range will trigger a very nice crappie bite as they begin their pre-spawn staging ritual. If water clarity is dingy, look for active fish in water as shallow as three feet. In relatively clear lakes (or when fishing a sunny day with no wind), feeding crappies may hold out in 8-10 feet of water.

Likely areas to find staging, pre-spawn crappies include Pancake Island on South Center, the extreme north end of North Center, the channel connecting Chisago and South Lindstrom, and areas near the Dinnerbel and the old hospital on South Lindstrom. There are certainly many other good spots on our lakes that attract crappies each spring. Finding these areas and the crappies they attract is as simple as slowly motoring along shorelines and using a good pair of polarized sunglasses to identify dark-bottom, shallow water.

The time-honored methods to fool spring crappies haven't changed too much over the years. I've said it before and it bears repeating -- the dark bottom bays are the first to warm on a body of water. The warm water stimulates the activity and hatching of invertebrates such as mayflies and caddis flies that burrow into these mucky bottoms and rise to the water's surface to hatch. Baitfish feed on the invertebrates and crappies feed on both the baitfish and invertebrates. It's an elementary food chain that is presented to us on a silver platter each spring. Toss a lively minnow out there, or a fly that mimics a minnow or nymph, and we anglers can indeed experience some very good crappie fishing.

Small hair jigs tipped with waxies or minnows under slip-bobbers is one effective rigging method, or simply cast and slowly swim a jig over these shallow waters. If you're a fly angler like me, tossing small streamers, wooly buggers and beadhead nymphs at these fish is like ringing the dinnerbell. Whatever you throw at them, it shouldn't take too long to determine if fish are present. If you don't have a hookup within five to 10 minutes, keep poking along the shorelines until you find the next likely spot. If fish are present, they'll make themselves known in short order and chances are they'll be present in high numbers, so stay put and thoroughly cover all the water.

Ice-out crappie fishing is a great way to usher in the open water season, and it can be done with very little - if any - fancy electronics and high-end equipment. Pick a nice day to dump the boat in the water and be sure to have a kid or two along. Nothing holds the attention of kids like catching fish, and there's not a better time of year to do it.

Dan Brown's weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie's Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.

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