Poor Crappie Fishing

Note: I wrote this in February and it's sat in draft mode, since. Hooray for the sportsmen and women making money using social media. I'd be homeless. What's unique about this post is, two more seasons in, the crappie fishing hasn't changed.)

(February 18, 2026) Just finishing four days of total commitment to crappie fishing, I can say that crappie fishing is terrible so far, and we have a climate problem.

The fishing. World upside down, the bluegill and juvenile red ear are pestering me to death. Any lake. Aren't these warm water fish?! And the cold water crappie-while not non-existent are far...far...from my expected five per hour for an acceptable day. While tempting to take the weedless jig off the line and otherwise fish the same other tackle and catch a ton of bluegill, I resisted. I'm as excited by what I learn when fish are scarce, as when I'm whacking 'em. The excitement just doesn't last into the night. I don't think it's so much a long freeze and ice over making fishing difficult, as it is the issues I'll outline following.

I'm sure that many believe I'm a "climate change denier". I'm not. I bristle at green haired Amy and blue haired Andy running at me with their arms flailing and acting like tomorrow will be rainbows and unicorns if I stop buying cow farting beef, stop burning coal and freeze my behind with "alternative fuels", etc. Fact is, climate change was going to happen with or without humans. #whatkilleddinosaurs But humans are just adding some additional fuel to speed up the climate change.

I've never seen the lakes I fish, this low. I shouldn't be standing in the cattails above, with so much ease. I've never seen the lakes so ultra-clear. And these are shallow lakes up here-so I can see the bottom of roughly 90 percent of most of the lakes. (Crappie have big, sensitive eyes-do the math.) Add to the climate change thought, vegetation be it duck weed, moss, slime, or the other dozen assorted weeds I've mentioned in previous blogs, is out of control. Probably most telling how bad it's getting is to use Meramec Springs as an example. Clogged with the slimiest moss and some kind of surface vegetation that eliminated fishing up to 40 per cent of some holes. I've never seen that in nearly 50 years of fishing that stretch of spring water.