By David Hart

A couple of warm days and the next thing you know, Virginia crappie anglers are uncovering their boats, dusting off their tackle and heading for the nearest lake or tidal river. However, the anglers who spend a day on still water will likely go home with an empty livewell and a mild case of depression.

"Too early," they'll say.

But those who spend a day casting tiny tubes and grubs to laydowns and other wood cover on rivers - the Chickahominy, the James, the Potomac or the Rappahannock, for instance - are basking in the glory of a cooler full of slab crappie. It's never too early to fish a tidal river.

While crappie in Virginia's reservoirs are, for the most part, still hugging brush in 25 feet of water, tidewater crappie are as vulnerable as they will be all year. The fish will be in predictable locations and they'll be eager to eat a jig or a minnow. All you have to do is find them (an easy task right now) and put something in front of them. They'll take care of the rest.

But just because Parker, a bass and crappie guide, spends the bulk of his time in the creek so close to his doorstep, don't assume you have to go there, too. Virtually every major tributary of the tidal Potomac is home an abundant population of crappie.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

"I've done very well in the Occoquan (River), Little Hunting Creek, Potomac Creek and the major tributaries on the Maryland side, as well . . . they are all pretty much the same and I'll fish them all the same way I fish Aquia," he said.

Parker actually prefers the colder months simply because the fish that scatter in the summer are stacked up in predictable places in the tidal creeks when the water temperature drops down into the low 50s or lower. During the warmer months, tidewater crappie tend to move into thick stands of aquatic vegetation, even going out to the main river where they forage and spawn in the dense grassbeds found throughout the main river and larger sections of the tributaries. In other words, they could be anywhere in a couple of months. But right now, finding a mess of Potomac slabs is as simple as heading to the nearest major creek.

In order to find the fish this time of year, Parker simply puts a foot on his trolling motor pedal and keeps moving and casting until he finds fish. Contrary to popular belief, however, the crappie that he catches aren't hunkered down 20 feet below the surface. Parker will catch late-winter and early-spring crappie in as little as 2 feet of water, no matter what the water temperature is.

"I've caught them in water as cold as 39 degrees right up on the banks. It pretty much shuts down if it gets any colder, though," he said.

His choices of lures are as simple as his tactics. Most of the time, he's throwing run-of-the-mill 1 1/2-inch crappie tubes rigged on a 1/16-ounce jighead. If the current is pulling hard or if there is a steady breeze, he'll move up to a 1/8-ounce head. The colors he uses vary daily, but only because crappie are notoriously fickle, shunning a color that worked so well the previous day and favoring something completely different. Even Parker admits that he has to work through a couple of colors until he finds the right one for the day.

"I use black and chartreuse a lot. That's probably the color combination I have my best success on. I also use red and white and solid chartreuse. I'll fish with a particular color for 20 minutes or so and if I haven't caught anything, I'll try another. Sooner or later, I'll figure out the best color," he said.

Parker casts to obvious shoreline cover such as wood and docks, but he'll also cast to banks that seem to offer no obvious hiding places. Sometimes, the fish are indeed holding on brush under the surface, or they are simply cruising the bank in search of an easy meal.

"I just cast and slowly retrieve the lure as it falls through the water as I make my way down the bank," he said. "It's that simple. Sooner or later, I'll find the fish."

It's important to remember that crappie can be just as tide-sensitive as bass, shutting down when the water comes to a halt and picking back up again when the tides shifts and the river starts to flow. In other words, if you aren't catching fish, wait an hour or so.

Parker can be reached at (540) 659-9860.

"The last couple of years were pretty tough all-around on the river. The real dry weather allowed the salinity level to go up pretty high and that made fishing tough," said Pratt. "But with all the rain we had last winter and this year, I expect it to be real good right now. It got real good after we started getting rain last year. The fish will stack up in the backs of creeks, and all you have to do is find the deeper holes and you can do real well."

He favors such larger tributaries as Morris and Gordon's Creeks, but adds that just about every creek will have an excellent population of crappie right now. Pratt also catches crappie at Walker's Dam, specifically in the deeper holes found within casting distance of the steel and concrete dam.

"When I'm fishing the creeks, which is where I prefer to fish for crappie on the Chick, I just head up to the very ends of the creeks and find the last few deep holes before it flattens out or becomes too small to reach with a boat. Everything stacks up in those upper holes this time of year," he said.

To catch the fish, he simply rigs a minnow under a bobber and probes different depths until he figures out where the fish are holding on that day. Sometimes, he finds them in as little as 2 feet of water. Other days, they'll be holding just above the bottom in those holes. Typically, however, he'll start by fishing a minnow about 4 feet under a bobber, casting his bait toward fallen trees, partially submerged logs and just about any other type of obstruction he can find. Pratt says it's vital to use light line, he likes 4- to 6-pound monofilament, because the water tends to run fairly clear this time of year.

Like tidal bass, crappie that live in tidal rivers will stop feeding when the tide quits moving, so if you aren't catching fish, says Pratt, try another spot or wait a while. The tide will turn and that will turn on the fish.

"It's not out of the question to catch them during all stages of the tides, but if I had to choose my favorite, I'd say the first hour or so of an incoming tide is ideal. The crappie don't seem to be as tide-sensitive now as they are in the spring and summer," he adds.

Although Pratt has seen crappie up to 2 1/2 pounds come from the tidal Chickahominy, he catches lots of fish around 1 pound, a good average for any water. He also catches tons of yellow perch and lots of quality bass, as well.

"The ring perch (yellows) seem to be getting more numerous every year. Sometimes it's hard to catch a crappie with all the perch, but they run pretty big, so unless you just can't stand catching yellow perch, you shouldn't have anything to complain about. You can also catch some real nice bass doing the same thing you do to catch the crappie," he said.

If you don't want to mess with live bait, Pratt suggests using small Beetle Spins, 1- to 2-inch tubes and grubs and even in-line spinners. Tubes and grubs should be rigged on heads that weigh between 1/32-ounce and 1/8-ounce. Smaller heads work best when the fish are either in shallow water or unwilling to move fast to eat. Pratt also goes a little heavier if the tide is moving fast or if there is a steady breeze.