Crappie have just stayed tough this spring. Hit and miss days, with one day producing in 2-3 feet of water on the banks, and the next finding fish back in 10-15 FOW have punctuated a spring of crazy temperatures and funny storms. What we needed was a good old fashioned “super-moon” to get things moving in our favor.
We would, in spite of super-moon, 
awaken to the same unseasonably warm temps, with chances for the same inconsistent and funny storm systems threatening to spoil our fun. With a morning that would include both a bit of work and some time to play, we set to task, did our best rain {prevention} dance, and headed to our first stop… the duck blind on our favorite waterfowl hole.
Right. So I failed to mention the fact that the Outdoorsmen have been plotting and scheming up a new duck blind design. Or that this morning was a designated tear-out-the-old-one day. So we would begin our Super-Moon Sunday with some exciting manual labor. Thankfully, we had a couple young bucks along through which we could fish vicariously as we toiled away on the demolition 
project. These efforts produced a couple of small farm pond bass, while ours produced nothing more than a couple of water snakes using our dwelling as a summer home. This one felt obliged to pose for a portrait right after Ashton almost stepped on him…
As we finished up our time at the pond, we were mocked by a pair of Canucks – not the least bit bothered by our presence – who locked up and came in within 20 yards and landed out front, in obvious celebration of the destruction at hand. They were joined by a second pair, intent on rubbing it in, resulting in a rather entertaining turf battle as we watched the two pair chase each other around.
With the blind lot cleared and readied for construction in our not-too-distant future, we set our sights on racing the rain and seeing what Hillsdale might have to offer in the way of biting crappie. A quick stop for minnows and we hit the water.
The shallow banks produced
a few here and there, but not quite at the pace required to hold the attention of our younger guests. The unanimous vote went in favor of seeking out more active fish, and better size. With Nick piloting us, this usually doesn’t take too long to do.
We moved out into deeper water, graphed some nice marks 10-11′ down – right on top of brush piles in 15′ of water. We tied up, rigged up slip bobbers, and put the boys to work. Within moments, we put a couple in the boat. Then Trent slung a nice 13″ slab in the boat. A fine fish for Hillsdale, for certain. A few minutes later, Ashton got rocked and had one take him into the brush. Working it out, giving it some line, he got it up and carefully landed this 14.5″ monster. I don’t see many fish this size come out of Hillsdale, and it was far and away the largest crappie my son has ever landed.
It was still not the hottest bite we’ve been on, but with several really poor outings the past couple weeks, cleaning a dozen fish, with several 13″+ & seeing both boys land a few really nice ones, this one would go down as a big win.
The fish are still tough to pattern, with keepers come from anywhere – 3 FOW to 15 – and with most eggs still a bit firm. The key is to keep moving, keep looking for active fish, and staying on them until the bite subsides, and move again.
Our “super-moon” may not of triggered every crappie in Hillsdale, but it turned a couple of real nice ones on, making for a “super” time to get a couple of young dudes out from in front of the video games for half a Sunday – and onto the biggest crappie either of them have ever caught.
