Where to catch crappie

[Hunt1834]

Looking to take the boys out fishing this weekend, anywhere we could find some crappie fishing.
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[idahoron]

Where are you located? Do yo have a boat?
Crappie are going to be deep. And in Strike very hard to find. They have been on the low side for population for a couple years. You need to the water to warm up a bunch for crappie fishing to get good. But good luck anyway. Ron
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[dtayboyz]

There where boats in the narrows at strike crappie fishing last week and I saw one monster floating and several small perch. Where were the seagulls? They must be farming. Talked to some guys that were fishing out in front of cottonwood and they had a cooler full of jumbo perch with a few smaller crappie, same place and method we were ice fishing three weeks ago. Bass fishing was slow, caught some nice trout on crankbaits. The Treasure Valley Open is this week at strike. I'm gonna stay away and go to lower salmon for sturgeon.
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[Hunt1834]

OK, I live in meridian, so just looking for a good place for the kids, to try some fishing.
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[StacyR]

It's going to be tough fishing for crappie unless you have a boat. Right now they are in deeper water. They won't start moving shallow until we get a run of at least four or five days with highs in the 60s.

As far as where you can catch them when the water gets warmer, Strike is the best spot for crappie but they are also present in Lake Lowell and Swan Falls Reservoir. Supposed to be some nice ones in Lowell, but you can't launch a boat there until the season opener next month.

Strike was really tough for spring crappie fishing last year, but I think that's because the weather was so cruddy and unstable. I'm sure the crappie are still there, because it warmed up for like a week at the end of April and I just hammered them at Cottonwood. Fish on every cast starting around 4 PM. I fished all night long and they were still biting when I left at dawn.

Then the back to back to back cold fronts started. Six weeks of two or three days in the 60s followed by a run of 3-4 days with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s. Also lots of wind, cold rain and high flows that turned the water into chocolate milk.

I caught my personal best crappie at Strike last year around the middle of June, a female black a little over 2 pounds that was still loaded with eggs. It's usually the biggest females that spawn first, and normally the spawn is nearly over by the end of May.

I really hope we don't have another spring like 2012.
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[JC_Meridian]

I've never done much at Strike on crappie (bank fisherman), but had terrible luck on them at Brownlee last year. Seems like the weather and water levels just never cooperated and it was not good at all.

Hoping for better this year, but not sure when they start up over there....
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[idahopanfish]

In the past i did OK from the bank down below the dam, where the sturgon fisherman were.
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