Basin crappies: Mid-winter = Mid-lake

It's officially winter, now that long weeks of frigid temps have finally set up the ice for safe travel on inland lakes. And, as truck travel begins, we enter one of the most predictable bites of the year: the basin crappie bite.

The basin is loosely defined as the deepest part of any given lake. In our area that may vary between 10 feet of water and 50-plus feet of water. Most basins I concentrate on bottom out in the 20-to-30-foot range.

Most local lakes set up well for this bite. Even shallow lakes have slightly deeper sections that will draw fish. One notable exception is ultraclear lakes with strong weed growth. The crappies tend to make a daily migration from deep to shallow water focusing on minnows as their forage. Timing the location and bite window of these fish can prove difficult. On the other hand, basin crappies tend to roam far less, concentrating on insect larvae rather than minnows.

Identifying likely basin areas and corresponding fishing locales is easier than ever. I have several high-quality mapping apps from Hummingbird and Navionics right on my phone. These maps offer incredible detail, showing countour lines in 1-foot increments. It's simply a matter of studying these maps and laying out a milk run of potential hole locations. Although crappies can set up in the deepest of the lake, I begin my search on the lip or rim of the basin as it begins its ascent back toward the shallows.

These transition areas are often key. In many lakes the transition is from rock to mud. In other lakes, the transition is a subtle shift from hard pack substrate to muck. These different bottom compositions harbor the insect larvae that are the focus of the crappies' winter dinner plans. Although these fish will spend much of the winter in the basin, they are often on the move. Many fishermen set up permanent shacks, and corresponding "shanty towns" pop up in basin areas. However, it pays to be mobile. If you're not marking crappies on your graph, you should be moving.

The marks on your graph that betray the crappie schools below will often be in the bottom one-third of the water column. It pays dividends to work just above these fish with your bait. I often run small jigging spoons tipped with wax worms, or the smallest Rapala Jigging Rap. Additionally, a myriad of soft plastics tipped on small tungsten jigs imitate the natural invertebrates that have drawn the crappies in the first place. Once location is pinned down, adding a second rod with a crappie minnow suspended below a slip-bobber will help put more fish topside.

The nice thing about nailing down these basin locations is you can bet the crappies will be within a football field of these locations each winter for years to come. For me, this makes the basin crappie bite one of the most predictable patterns of the entire year, and one that I look forward to each and every time the frigid weather sets in.

Bret Baker is a lifetime resident of Cloquet. He is a proud husband, father, educator and outdoorsman. Bret began guiding fishing trips when he was 16 years old. Today, in his 40s, his passion is to introduce people to the tremendous outdoor adventures available in our region.