Taking their temperature

What’s the perfect water temperature for white perch to begin the spawn? I’ve heard a lot about this. Most folks would say the answer is right around 60 degrees. Down on the big lake at D’Arbonne, surface temps are running around 50-51 degrees. It’s a little warmer upstream where the water is mostly shallow,

Andy Davis of West Monroe with a monster slab caught at D’Arbonne this weekend. These are few and far between now, but things will pick up.

but this past weekend’s blustery conditions and the recent rains have the water conditions a little off for this time of year.

Here’s something to remember: If the ideal water temperature for the spawn is around 60, they’ll be moving up to the shallower areas a few degrees below that. If the actual “spawn” — the nesting and laying of eggs — begins at 60 degrees, then fish will be looking for a spot to do a bit earlier. What it means for fishermen right now is that the fish are about to be on the move. Some days they are moving shallow, some days they are bunching up in a holding pattern off ledges and creeks and sloughs and the nearest deeper water. The fish are scattered out everywhere and not biting well. But it won’t be long until they move shallow. The best way to tell will be 1) when you start catching them there, or 2) you start seeing boats all around the lake near the banks and on shallow flats.

Just be patient. And keep taking their temperature.

Special Note:  We wrote about “the nibble before the bite” earlier this week talking about using Crappie Nibbles with jigs for white perch. One of our readers and veteran fisherman Steve Streeter offered a good tip for handling these messy things: “Kinny, take your crappie nibbles the ones that you will use that day out of the bottle and put them on a flat surface in the sun. This will dry them out some and they will last longer on your hook. You will have to watch them as they dry so not to dry them out totally. They will melt in the water like they are supposed to do, but they won’t be all over your hands and everything you touch. Try this and see if you like it.”      THANKS, STEVE!