Look for schools of big crappies in shallow water near natural or manmade structure this month. Photo by Tom Berg

Spring is here, and with it comes the best time of the year for limits of slab crappies.

For the next month, crappies will be staging near deep dropoffs adjacent to their spawning flats, or will start to move into the shallows to begin spawning. Either way, this is bonanza time for crappie anglers. The fish will be aggressive, accessible and holding in numbers that make filling a limit easier now than at any other time of year.

Here’s a look at where you can start to fill your livewell with big, hungry crappies this month:

DISTRICT ONE
Ken Cunningham, an Ohio Division of Wildlife fisheries biologist, said District One contains many great crappie lakes. In fact, he claimed that trying to pick the best of the lot was no easy task.

“Delaware Lake would have to be my first pick,” Cunningham said. “It has great numbers of fish, and because of the size limit of 9 inches in place there, it also has some great trophy-fish potential. Crappie anglers regularly take fish ranging from 7 to 12 inches on Delaware Lake.”

Fishermen should concentrate their efforts on the lake’s northern end. There, they will do best if they fish close to shoreline structure.

Delaware Lake covers some 948 acres in Delaware County. Delaware State Park lies on the lake’s western shore, with the Delaware Wildlife Area making up the eastern shore. The state park’s shoreline has boat launching sites and a marina. There are also campground sites in the park as well. The eastern shore wildlife area also has a boat-launching site.

Anglers wanting to fish Delaware Lake can reach the state park off U.S. Route 23 or the Delaware Wildlife Area off state Route 229.

“Deer Creek would be a great second choice,” Cunningham said. “It also has great numbers of fish and lots of trophy potential because there is a minimum-size limit of 9 inches.”

The fish here, according to Cunningham, range from 7 to 12 inches.

Located in Fayette and Pickaway counties, Deer Creek Lake contains 1,271 acres of water. There is a boat- launching site on the western shore as well as a marina. A second launching site is on the lake’s northeastern end. Parking is plentiful, and the lake also has campgrounds, cabins and a lodge. Deer Creek is best reached off state Route 207.

Number Three in Cunningham’s picks of crappie hotspots in District One is Hoover Reservoir. Bisected by the Delaware and Franklin county line, most of the lake lies in Delaware County and has 2,818 acres of water. The lake has several boat ramps, parking areas and boat-harboring facilities scattered along its shoreline.

“Crappies from Hoover Reservoir average from 7 to 12 inches,” Cunningham said. “They have been showing up in good numbers in our sampling nets.”

Hoover Reservoir is easily accessed from an assortment of roads off state Route 3 to the west or from Interstate Route 71, a few miles further to the west.

Anglers wishing to sample the crappie fishing in District One can contact the ODOW’s district office at (614) 644-3925, or write to them at 1500 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215.