List affirms Lake Conroe as crappie haven
The Texas Parks andwildlife Department’s inland fisheries division compiled a dozen of the state’s prime crappie destinations, creating a bucket list for anglers.
In Texas, largemouth bass are king. Catfish aren’t far behind.
But ranking as the third-most popular freshwater fish is nothing to scoff at for crappie. Not in this state, where there is no shortage of places for anglers to enjoy pursuing the tasty panfish.
“We wanted to try to highlight them and let people know that not only is bass fishing great in Texas, but so is crappie fishing,” said Brian Van Zee, a regional director for TPWD’S inland fisheries division.
“I think a lot of times they can get overlooked.”
Tucked into a collection of 12 crappie hot spots is Lake Conroe, a 20,000-plus-acre reservoir north of Houston and the list’s shortest drive from the city.
The crappie fishery at Lake Conroe has greatly improved since the drought of the early 2010s. A low water level allowed vegetation to grow on banks and in dried-out coves. Those areas became flooded habitat when the water rose again, providing excellent cover for spawning and fry survival.
Today, the crappie fishery at Lake Conroe is in pretty good shape.
“Even though the crappie fishery is very popular at Lake Conroe, Conroe is a productive lake that easily sustains the levels of harvest we see with a large forage base for crappie,” said TPWD’S College Station-houston fisheries district supervisor Alice Best, who noted how healthy populations of threadfin and gizzard shad are a boon for crappie in the lake.
All in black and white
That forage abundance also allows both species of crappie, black and white, to thrive. White crappie are prevalent throughout the state while black crappie are mostly found in the slightly more acidic waters of East Texas. The two species can be difficult to tell apart, especially in the Houston area where black crappie can appear silver due to water coloration.
“The best way to tell the species of crappie apart is how many spines they have in the dorsal fin. White crappie will have five to six and black crappie will have seven or more,” Best said.
Texas crappie anglers are subject to a daily bag limit of 25 fish, which can include both black and white crappie, and a 10-inch minimum size limit.
Fishing effort for crappie in Lake Conroe reflects the statewide trend. According to the most recent creel survey in 201617, crappie accounted for 8.4 percent of total fishing effort on the lake. Largemouth bass and catfish were 36 and 31 percent, respectively.
Although the fish represent a small portion of angling effort, an estimated 22,088 hours were spent chasing crappie.
It is not a catch-and-release fishery, either. Best said 93 percent of crappie are kept by anglers, taken home to be cooked up as a delicious dish.
Lake Conroe provides great angler success, too, with an average of 2.7 fish caught per hour.
“That’s actually one of the better catch rates in the state of Texas,” Best said.
Despite the high catch rate, Lake Conroe can be a difficult lake to fish. Historically, it is a boater’s destination and has not been as friendly for bank anglers.
However, Best, who is an avid crappie angler herself, said opportunities do exist for bank anglers around bridges and rock piles.
“If fishing near a pier, try to find one that is close to the main body of the lake and deep water,” Best said.
“Most anglers we see doing well with crappie are usually jigging with a shad or a feathered jig. Some do very well adding a little crappie bite above the hook itself, so that you have both a jig and a little bit of a bait to lure fish in.”
Fishing structure is also key to success with crappie.
Guide Butch Terpe said the two best structures for fishing crappie are submerged brush piles and bridge pilings. The improvement of electronics over the years has made finding these structures much easier.
TPWD, the Seven Coves Bass Club and the San Jacinto River Authority have installed artificial structural habitat, as well. Best said that most recently block reefs have been put out in the spring of 2019 and summer of 2018. A map of fishing attractors can be found on TPWD’S website.
For the novice eager to conquer Lake Conroe’s learning curve, a guide like Terpe, who has 32 years of experience, can make all the difference.
Terpe books day trips to pursue any and all species in the lake year-round but will target crappie outside of June through September.
“The best action is from late March through May, whenever they get through spawning and they’ll start moving out on to deeper stuff,” said Terpe, adding that crappie will be aggressive and hungry post-spawn.
Crappie fishing also can be a great activity for the nocturnal among us.
The person to call for that is Bill “Hooker” Harwell, who keeps crappie at the top of his hit list.
“One of my keys to success is I fish at night. A lot. I get away from everybody else,” said Harwell, whose nighttime activities have made him a bit of a rare breed on Lake Conroe since he started guiding in 2009.
Crappie anatomy, namely bulging eyeballs that are much larger than other similar-sized freshwater fish, give the fish an adaptability for feeding at night and anglers abundant chances under the moonlight.
Harwell, like many other crappie guides and anglers, makes his own underwater structures to fish over. He often will set out 30 or 40 at a time in the lake that has become a productive homebase for him.
“I’ve fished it for so long and had such good success, I’ve never felt the reason to roam,” Harwell said.
Crappie are an integral part to Lake Conroe culture. Locals take pride in helping to take care of what some may consider an underrated fishery.
“In addition to excellent natural reproduction and recruitment, crappie in Lake Conroe benefit from the passionate crappie-fishing community, many of who have donated toward efforts to buy additional 3-4-inch black crappie for supplemental stocking,” Best said.
James Tucker helps organize an annual stocking of black crappie by Stow-a-way Marina. He said the marina usually stocks around 6,000 fingerlings around November. The stockings are funded by individual donations and a collection jar.
Sought by big spenders
Tucker considers crappie anglers to be the heart and soul of Lake Conroe. He also believes crappie anglers usually make more substantial economic contributions than those targeting other species.
“Crappie fishermen, they come in and buy minnows, hooks, weights, it just goes on and on,” said Tucker, who encourages anglers to be responsible and conservation-minded on the lake.
Tucker said he guides trips, too, and is another member of the Lake Conroe fishing community who cares about crappie and can help mentor anglers wanting to fish for them.
Sam Rayburn, one of the state’s most renowned fisheries, and Coleto Creek Reservoir in Victoria are two other destinations on TPWD’S list that are relatively close to Houston.
Abilene’s Lake Daniel, Granger Lake near Austin, Dallas’ White Rock Lake and Lake Lavon, Twin Buttes Reservoir near San Angelo, Wichita Falls’ Lake Arrowhead, Lake Limestone, Lake Fork and Lake O’ the Pines round out the list of the state’s crappie hot spots.
“You can go to any one of these lakes and expect to do real well,” Van Zee said.