Ever fished for crappies in Manitoba? More and more people are realizing that this species should be added to their list of species to target in this province.
Many of the lakes in the Whiteshell region of this province are now home to impressive populations of this popular gamefish. I can remember vividly to this day the great time we had on Caddy Lake ten years ago when I took my daughter out for a day on the water. She caught a massive 15 inch fish that is still the highlight of her fishing career.
When I got an offer from Robert Howe this spring to fish this chain of lakes I jumped at the chance. Launching at the campground, we had a chance to fish Caddy, as well as North and South Cross Lake, all of which have great populations of this fish. While it took us about three hours to find our fish crappie, when we did it was worth the wait. This fish were staging along weedlines, getting ready to spawn.
By throwing small jigs tipped with a small Berkley Gulp or Power Bait, we caught a number of fish, some extremely large. It is extremely important to release the larger fish, which can 13 years of age.
We also caught some bonus pike and walleye, just a really enjoyable day on the water. Spring and fall are usually the easiest time to contact these fish but they can be caught all year long.