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Crappies at Lake Evergreen- Part 2

Our return trip to Lake Evergreen on May 6 found the crappies biting again, but in a different location.

Two weeks after our April 23 trip to Evergreen Lake, we headed there again to see if the crappies would still be cooperative.

Temperatures had been chilly during the previous two weeks and storms had dumped several inches of rain on Central Illinois. The lake level was at normal pool with water running over the spillway.

We launched at the north boat ramp at 6:30 a.m. and headed for the trees and brush in Osprey Cove, which is located one-quarter mile west of the ramp. Air temperatures would rise to 70 degrees by 11:30, rebounding from the low 40's the previous night.

The sky was mostly sunny and winds were from the northeast at less than five mph, shifting to east winds by mid-morning.

Water temperature at the ramp was 59 degrees while our cove was 61 degrees. The cool weather and rains had kept the water temperature at the same level as our previous trip.

Our effort to leave the shallows and find deeper brush was rewarded with 15 and 16-inch Saugeyes in addition to two limits of crappies.

We started in shallow water at the same large trees and stumps where we had caught crappies during our April trip, but found very few feeding fish on them. We were using the same slip bobber rig with minnows that was previously successful.

Since we were getting few bites, we figured that the cold night temperatures had driven the fish deeper. We moved off the bank and found some submerged brush in 11 to 14 feet of water and fished at different depth levels above the brush.

Soon our willingness to change our location was rewarded with suspended crappies feeding at 7 to 8 feet deep above the brush. This brush was within 10 yards of one of our most productive shoreline trees in April.

This minor adjustment in location and depth allowed us to keep two limits, as well as 15 and 16-inch keeper Saugeyes that took our minnows just prior to leaving for home.

We returned the next day to the same area and the fish were not as deep and had moved closer to the bank in preparation for spawning. We left Osprey Cove at 11 a.m. with 30 crappies. On the way to the boat ramp, we stopped to fish a small, main lake pocket and caught 10 more crappies that had moved into two feet of water. One day and sometimes only a portion of the day can make a big difference in fish location.

My recent Newton Lake trip for bass reminded me that fish don't always move. Sometimes you just need to change your presentation to something they prefer. The Evergreen trip for crappies taught us that, if they do move, they often don't move far.

The crappies had not spawned yet so when conditions caused them to move, they stayed close to their spawning areas to move back shallow when conditions improved. The next time weather and water conditions cause your fish to move, change location but check nearby for them first.