1. Crappie will move to shallow waters at the first sign of warm, sunny weather. This is a feeding movement. Don't mistake this as the spawn.
2. Spawn occurs when the water surface temperature reaches around 62 degrees. Fish outside the spawning area to catch the bigger females.
3. Smaller jigs (1/64 oz. to 1/32 oz.) catch big and small fish, but larger jigs (1/16 oz. to 1/8 oz.) could eliminate catching a lot of the smaller fish.
4. If you are using a strike indicator (float), use only the size needed to just stay afloat for the size of jig you're using. There will be less resistance for the fish.
5. After the spawn starts, if a cold front moves through and the barometric pressure drops, the fish did not move. Slow way down and fish tight to the cover with no movement. Fish with a plain minnow or add a minnow to your jig.
 Crappie feed primarily on minnows and aquatic insects. Several dozen live minnows and a bucket, or soft plastic jigs, a pole of any sort, a package of split shot and a couple of floats and you have all that is needed to catch these aggressive fish.