Current and crappie fishing

Whether chasing crappie in a 100,000-acre reservoir or a slow-moving river, one of the prime keys is finding current breaks, according to crappie pro Kent Driscoll.

“Current breaks act as rest stops where crappie will pause along their migration routes in lakes, and it’s where they’ll spend the majority of their lives in rivers,” he said.” These rest stops are places where crappie can get out of the current to rest and eat.

“An ideal current break offers some type of structure that provides enough profile to block the current and also attract baitfish. ”

When it comes to rest areas, Driscoll ticks them off on his fingers as crappie favorites: “First is a big old stump, second is a natural blowdown or logjam and third are manmade stakebeds” he said. “Crappie will hold along a creek channel on the downcurrent side of any of this structure, out of the flow of water.”

But finding and catching crappie is not as simple as pulling up to any brush or stump on a river and pulling out a fish. Crappie prefer a more gradual slope into a creek channel over a sharp drop. A sharp drop off will channel current flow, but is often followed in a river by a wider, deeper, scoured-out pool.

“Look for a gentle slope of the river channel, like an inside bend in the channel,” said Driscoll. “Slack water piles up on the inside of a bend and forms eddies while current will trace the outside of the bend, which moves water faster.”

In order to locate this feature in a creek channel, Driscoll will use the sidefinder technology built into his combination sonar/GPS unit. This eliminates a lot of searching for Driscoll as he can motor down a creek or river channel and make note of every piece of structure on both sides and use the sidefinding sonar to make notes of any fish he sees.

“Once you find them, then you have to figure out how to get in there and get them to bite,” he said. “But it’s always better to fish where there are fish and not where there aren’t.”

Editor’s note: This article is part of the A river runs through it feature in the July issue of Mississippi Sportsman. Digital editions can be downloaded right to your computer or smartphone.

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