I've never fished for Crappie before.  Panfish...yes but never crappie.  I seem to recall hearing that Jan. or Feb. was the best time of year.  If so, why?

I'm thinking of hiring a local guide just to get me started.  I am interested in learning to catch a different species during off season peaks for bass.

Ozark,

Getting a guide is a wonderful idea.

He will show you how and where to fish for the Crappie.

I know people in Virignia fish for the Crappie in the winter but since I do not I really do not know if the winter months are the best for Crappie.

I do catch them in the summer when fishing for bluegills and bass.

Beautiful fish.

Welcome aboard!

January and February are not the best times for crappie. Hire a guide or at least talk with them and they will know when prime crappie time is in your area. As a rule of thumb or an old wives' tale, when the dogwoods bloom it's prime time!

I don't know about old wives' tales but when the dogwoods start budding it's time to be on the big pond!

As a rule of thumb or an old wives' tale, when the dogwoods bloom it's prime time!

There's a couple of tributary bays to Lake Ontario that have excellent rock bass fishing in the string. For as far back as I can remember, the conventional wisdom has been that the good fishing is during apple blossom time.

Since both blooming and spring fish habits depend on the progression of the weather, I suspect these are more reliable than many of the theories that are considered old wives' tales.

I don't wanna chase you off the site.  But if you want excellent crappie info, CRAPPIE.COM is a great website.  The folks there KNOW crappie fishing.