April is the prime month to load up on crappie. Across the Mid-Atlantic, any pond, most lakes and even some rivers are likely to be at least decent destinations for getting a stringer full of these tasty panfish. However, some waters stand out better than others for loading up on specks. We highlight five waters in three states that show great potential to be the better crappie destinations this month.

VIRGINIA
Virginia has so many crappie waters that are good that it is tough to figure out which ones to go fish. However, April tends to be the best month for the three waters we feature here. Fisheries biologists and discussions with local anglers tipped us off as to where to head this month.

First we have to start with Buggs Island Lake (or Kerr Reservoir, as some know it). At this massive impoundment, measuring nearly 50,000 acres, one could argue that crappie are king, and most of the thousands of anglers who fish there each year would agree. If fact, it has been said in many circles that Buggs is in the top five impoundments for crappie fishing in the nation. Fisheries biologist Vic DiCenzo with the VDGIF agrees.

"We see anglers from all over the country that fish Buggs for crappie. The fishing in Buggs is consistently good from year to year."

April is the prime month to be at Buggs for crappie, although anglers actually begin catching them in good numbers in late February. No matter if you prefer to fish shallow, deep, with jigs or with minnows for crappie, you can find your favorite type of fishing in April at Buggs.

DiCenzo said, "April is the transition month at Buggs. The first week of the month the crappie will be very close to the bank. Sometimes they are in water so shallow they can be easily seen. By midmonth you have to back off a little bit and fish in a few feet of water. Then the end of the month often puts the best crappie fishing back on deeper structure just beyond the shallows."

Fishing an impoundment such as Buggs Island can be a bit overwhelming, to say the least, simply because of the vastness of the lake. The best bet when searching for April crappie is to ignore the big water and head for the tributaries. On the upper end of the lake this means fishing the upper reaches of Buffalo or Bluestone creeks, which in themselves are quite large. If you launch in the middle portion of the reservoir, head for Grassy or Butcher Creek and begin hitting structure in the upper ends of those tributaries. On the lower end of the impoundment, Eastland is always a good bet too. If you are up for a boat ride into North Carolina waters, you should definitely be able to rustle up a mess of specks in Nutbush Creek.

There are dozens of ramps all over the reservoir and each of the named creeks above have ramps on them to put the boat closer to the fishing.

The anglers who really want to put some fish in the boat will use a light or even an ultralight rod and reel setup with minnows. There is a 100-fish limit on Buggs per angler per day. The average fish is 10 to 12 inches long, and during April there are some 3-pound fish regularly caught in any of the named creeks.