Few things are met with such anticipation.

I recall piloting a boat betwixt rafts of deteriorating ice. To the right a warming shore. To the left a receding plate of ice, which still entombed most of the main lake. The narrow shipping lane between was our only passageway.

Crappies were at its conclusion. There, at the end of the trail, was a shallow and mostly ice-free bay. First come first served. It’s like that every spring. And this particular April we beat the locals. The bay was ours. The crappies were ours.

Not every cube of ice was dissolved, however. A survey of the waterscape disclosed that one of our best spots remained in the shadows of winter. Not to be denied, we motored to within casting distance of the ice’s brink. Forty maybe fifty feet separated us. The first cast landed with thunk not a splash. The bobber, jig and minnow lay motionless on the ice. A few cranks of the reel later it slid into the water like lion seal. A few seconds later, the bobber slid beneath the surface at the might of a crappie. Hardwater and openwater seasons had been bridged, and bridged again and again, as fish after fish played party to our program.

Ice Team patriarch and fellow Minnesotan Dave Genz knows a thing or two about the beginnings of ice out, too. To some degree, his livelihood stems from an understanding of fish location, beneath the ice, throughout winter’s course. Late ice is vital part of his season – ice fishing’s last words. It’s not uncommon for Genz to jig from his Fish Trap one weekend and casts to the identical spot from a boat the very next. Winter’s evolution into spring can be swift. Don’t miss it.

Lake Melissa

Spring is like a funnel. When the angle of the sun elevates and days lengthen, crappies press together into realizable places. It happens on 1,830 Lake Melissa as well. She’s giant and shapely, but in the spring certain locales rate higher than others.

Genz likes Melissa a lot. “The lake’s been beat up in the past, but it’s definitely coming back,” he says. True pounder crappies – 11 to 12 inchers – are in the script. To great extent, Genz credits the special northern pike regulations imposed on Melissa anglers. The push to increase the average gator size not only makes for more fangs and slime, but also promotes a healthier panfish population. Balance is struck when a wide range of predatory pike engages a wide range of tasty panfish; in this case crappies.

On Melissa, Genz favors depressions in predominantly shallow areas. The finest example occurs on the north end. A 20 foot crater pitches camp atop a massive 5 to 10 foot deep shoreline bar. Genz suggests fishing the edges of the abyss in about 7 feet of water. A couple of similar holes appear along the south shore, as well as a feeder creek, which Genz says is a natural lure.

To the north, he suggests fishing the entrance of the Pelican River, as it drops down from Lake Sallie.

Generally speaking, the warmer and sunnier the day the better, says Genz. The sun simply lights their fuses. On cloud covered days, he finds that crappies hold tighter to the bottom, perhaps only an inch or two off, and their willingness to feed is ebbed.

From the tactical department, Genz opens with a small jig, float, and maggots or waxworms. The Lindy Little Nipper, a feathered jig, is the preferred offering, which he suspends with a weighted Thill float. Weight equals casting distance. Distance equals freedom from spooking edgy fish in the hyper-shallows. 

While working the typical 4 to 10 foot springtime depths Genz sets the jig 3 to 4 feet below the float. He casts long, letting the package settle before beginning a retrieve involving straight and slow drags peppered the occasional twitch.

East & West Rush Lakes

Genz’s next nominees bounce over to the east, near the community of Rush City off I-35. The dynamic duo of East and West Rush Lakes entail some 2,800 acres of prime crappie habitat. The Rushes crappie yielding proficiency isn’t guarded. In fact, Twin Citians descend on East and West the second the ice goes out. But it matters not. The pressure can and has curbed the volume of big fish, but never volume.

The north end of West Rush Lake is as classic a spring crappie spot as you’ll find. Dark and shallow water rolls around boggy points and into bays and channels. Much of the north end is accessible from shore, too. Patterson Park lends access to hardcore panfisherman, weekenders, and picnickers. Oftentimes, the north end gets cranking before the ice has left the main lake.

Besides the fabled north tip, there are crappies to be had along West’s eastern and western shores. The west bank features a prime shallow bay and a couple of coves. Same goes for the east. Think warm and shallow and you’re bound to contact fish.

East Rush Lake is markedly shallower and less feature-oriented than its sibling to the west. Darker yet, the surfaces of East Rush warm quickly, igniting the bite early.

Genz focuses on the necked-down area to the south, where the ridiculously shallow lower lake connects to the main lake – it’s a fish area. A nearby boat channel is also deserving of investigation. Genz says the channel contains sunken brush, a springtime crappie favorite.

Knife Lake

Nearby Knife Lake is equally as intriguing. The Kanabec County waterway spans 1,266 acres of crappie nirvana. Knife is dirtier than spent oil – Secchi disk reading of 2 feet – and shallow as they come, with a median depth of only 8 feet. All of this bodes well for the creation and proliferation of black crappies.

Knife was reclaimed – chemically killed –

Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce
800-542-3992
www.visitdetroitlakes.com

Rush City Area Chamber of Commerce
1-888-855-7976
www.rushcitychamber.com

Annandale Area Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 417
Annandale, MN 55302
Phone: 320-274-2474
www.annandalechamber.org

Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce
9 Central Avenue
Buffalo, MN 55313
Phone: 763-682-4902, 
Fax: 763-682-5677
www.buffalochamber.org

Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 850
Bemidji, MN 56619
Phone: 218-444-3541, 800-458-2223
Fax: 218-444-4276
www.bemidji.org

Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
1 Northwest 3rd Street
Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Phone: 218-326-6619, 800-472-6366
Fax: 218-326-4825
www.grandmn.com