BUCKHORN LAKE
One other little 1,200-acre hole of water that biologist Kevin Frey recommends this spring is Buckhorn Lake in southeastern Kentucky. Buckhorn doesn't get a lot of attention on the crappie circuit, but Frey's most recent fish study information suggests the lake's papermouth population is in excellent condition.

More so than the lakes in central and western Kentucky, eastern reservoirs experience a pretty heavy drawdown in the winter. This confines and concentrates fish in the main-river channel. Wherever there may be cover along that channel, you can bet fish will be on it. If you go before the actual spawn hits, you can still find crappie with a little patience and persistence. On Buckhorn, Frey said fishing along the main-river channel is the place to catch more and bigger crappie through April.

It's a little different than fishing right on the shoreline in bushes and stickups, or around vegetation the water level may have temporarily overtaken. Eventually, as the lake level rises, crappie will move out onto the flats and into the bank cover, but most are going to be on a ledge or dropoff somewhere along the river channel in March and April.

Frey reports "good distribution and numbers" of crappie are available, and that fishing tends to be best in the upper portion of the lake during early spring.

Drifting a jig or minnow along the ledges of the channel, paying attention to spots where it changes directions or turns, is a good approach to locating feeding fish. Look for spots along intersections of where creeks come into the lake. Close to the mouths of Coal Branch, Langdon, Bills, Trace and Wilder Branch, when the water is up enough, are good spots to find crappie.

As the spring wears on, Frey said crappie transition to the mud flats to feed on schools of shad. He reported they still remain in pretty shallow water along ditches, ledges and drops associated with the main channel, even into the heat of August. If you're out there before the lake starts filling back up, you should be able to identify a few places where crappie will come to when the lake level allows. Fish locator equipment would be handy to find schools and cover out on the feeding flats. Be sure to drop some jigs down into those spots.

These are five of the better spots to give crappie a try this spring. Remember, don't always rely on the notion that spring spawning runs are going to hit around mid-April every year. Nature just doesn't work that way. Watch the weather and water temperatures every few days starting in mid-March, and if black crappie are what you're after, be ready to go a little earlier than you might have in the past.

For complete size limit and creel limit laws for all Kentucky waters, pick up a copy of the 2006 Kentucky Sport Fish and Boating Guide at your local license vendor. Any new laws for this year will be included in this guide. You may also want to request a copy of the 2006 Kentucky Fishing Forecast from the KDFWR at (800) 858-1549, or simply go online at fw.ky.gov and review or download both publications under the "Fishing" tab on the state's homepage.