Great crappie fishing isavailable in North Idaho

Black crappie are a popular sport fish in the North Idaho Panhandle. Found in many of the area lakes, crappie offer great fishing and excellent table fare.

Some of the region's most popular crappie fisheries are close to Coeur d'Alene. Twin Lakes, Hayden Lake and Fernan Lake all provide good crappie fishing.

Experienced crappie anglers have learned that mid to late spring is a magical time. Crappie are spring spawners, and during the spring, adult fish make a mass migration into the shallows to lay their eggs. Eager to bite a small jig or fly, these fish are relatively easy to find and readily caught.

Anglers need not give up when the spring bite is over. Crappie typically move to deeper water adjacent to those shorelines where they were found in the spring. The challenge with deep water crappie is locating these fish in open water where they often suspend in the mid water layer.

Spring crappie spawning occurs every year, but not all years are as successful as others. Studies show that crappie have highly sporadic spawning success. Due to weather, water temperatures, and maybe just good or bad luck, crappie typically produce large groups of young only once or twice in a three-year span.

In many cases, the good years produce such large groups of fish that anglers that do not notice any difference in their catch rates from year to year. In those scenarios, abundance is high enough that despite anglers taking fish home there remain lots to catch for several years. In other cases the time between good spawning years may mean noticeably fewer fish to catch. Luckily, it only takes a small number of crappie to make fishing great again when the conditions are right. A 10-inch crappie may have more than 100,000 eggs!

Crappie can get large in North Idaho waters, but they are not the fast growing monsters of the southern United States. Crappie anglers prefer to harvest fish that are at least 8-10 inches in length. Catches of crappie greater than 10 inches are truly a memorable experience in North Idaho. Any in the 13- to 15-inch range should be considered trophies.

In North Idaho, the growth of crappie can vary dramatically from lake to lake. In some locations crappie may reach 10 inches in five years and continue to live and grow for another three to five years. These fish can reach lengths upward of 15 inches. In other waters, it may take six to nine years to grow a 10-inch crappie. The cause of these differences is variable, but is largely dependent on available food resources. North Idaho crappie most typically exhibit relatively slow growth.

The general rules for crappie fishing in Idaho are simple. There is no statewide general limit on crappie and no general statewide size restriction.

At times, anglers will suggest there should be size limits on crappie to produce larger fish. However, in most North Idaho waters, the maximum length a crappie will achieve is around 10 inches. The utility of a special rule to make more or bigger fish in these situations is not realistic because most fish would die of natural causes before anglers had a chance to harvest any.

Hayden Lake offers the only fishing regulation exception in the Panhandle Region when it comes to crappie. A special rule is in place on Hayden Lake crappie. The daily limit is six fish, and all harvested crappie must be at least 10 inches.

Hayden Lake crappie grow quickly relative to other regional populations. They commonly reach sizes of 13 to 14 inches. Although anglers must wait to harvest a fish until it is at least 10 inches, these fish have the capability of growing to that size while young enough that death from natural causes has not yet removed many individuals of that age group.

Removing length limits on Hayden Lake crappie would likely reduce the number of fish that were alive to reach a trophy size. By limiting harvest in this lake, a unique harvest opportunity for large crappie has been maximized.

Crappie fishing is an enjoyable activity for young and old that doesn't require a high tech approach. Regardless of whether you like to catch and keep a mess of crappie for a fish fry, or prefer to catch a few select trophy fish...North Idaho offers an opportunity for you.

Spring has arrived early. It is time to get out and enjoy the fishing!

Rob Ryan is an Idaho Department of Fish and Game fishery biologist based in the Panhandle Region.