Photo by Michael Marsh

It's springtime in Illinois, and that means it is time for some exciting crappie fishing!

As the weather pulls from winter's grasp and water temperatures warm, fish will begin making their way toward favorite spawning locations in shallow water. This can be one of the best times of the year to fill a stringer with jumbo-sized papermouths.

Many anglers head for the large impoundments and reservoirs across Illinois to take advantage of this spring feeding frenzy. But there is some superb crappie action in some of our smaller lakes as well.

Crappies are hard for fisheries personnel to manage in small lakes because papermouths are very cyclic in nature, meaning they have a tendency to have one great year-class followed by a couple of poor spawning years. Nonetheless, some small lakes have dynamite crappie fisheries, and these waters are expected to be on the upswing this spring.

JONES STATE LAKE
In the Shawnee Hills east of Harrisburg is 105-acre Jones State Lake. This Saline County impoundment has a "pretty decent population of black crappies," according to Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Kurt Daine. However, the size of the slabs here is what's unusual for a lake of this size.

No one knows the exact reason why this lake always tends to produce huge crappies, but one logical speculation is attributing the quality to a substantial population of largemouth bass. It is believed the bucketmouths prey heavily on the young-of-the-year crappies, thereby keeping their numbers in check and not allowing them to overpopulate and become stunted in size. A good supply of gizzard shad also helps give the crappies some broad shoulders.

Daine said this lake has nice-looking black crappies and good size distribution. The average size is probably around 10 to 12 inches, but many people often catch slabs up to 1 3/4 to 2 pounds.

Jones State Lake would be very clear and infertile without management. Biologists use a tool known as a Secchi disk to determine water clarity. With this test and without management, the clarity reading can be as much as 12 feet deep or more. However, this lake is fertilized every year to get an algae bloom, which in turn reduces clarity down to about 18 to 24 inches.

There is also some other work ongoing at the lake that should enhance the fishing opportunities and quality. The lake level was drawn down, which facilitated the installation of fish structures such as wooden pallets and stakebeds, as well as doing some much-needed work with brushpile structures. Additional work included putting in a new boat ramp, a bathroom and other facilities.