After the spawn, crappie move out to offshore structure and cover for rest, revitalization and reconditioning, and brushpiles come into play. Woody structure, either natural or artificial, offers everything a crappie needs for post-spawn recovery. Shielded from predators, the fish can loaf about relatively safely; further, brushpiles attract baitfish, and so provide an ample food supply.

Although I love fishing the spawn, I love fishing the post-spawn almost as much. I can cruise from one brushtop to another and catch a mess of fish off each one. In fact, I generally can catch a limit from just two or three spots. If I'm fishing with friends, I'll have to visit a few more. Oh, what a burden!

Technically, the post-spawn period doesn't last very long, but the post-spawn pattern can last for weeks, even months. As long as crappie are in brushpiles, you can catch all you want by dunking minnows.

Finding brushpiles, or "tops," is easy with a depthfinder: Look at the shoreline and get a visual image of the shoreline contour, and then follow, graphing the areas in which you believe that points and channels converge. A brushpile presents a distinctive profile on the screen of a sonar fishfinder. When you find one, mark it with a pair of buoys and fish it with live minnows under a slip-cork.

One of my favorite places for catching big crappie is in the upper end of a large water-supply reservoir near my hometown. Brushpiles are not allowed there, and almost all of the lake's natural vegetation rotted away many years ago. However, the lake is full of slab crappie. In this particular area, they spawn on whatever cover they can find, and when they're finished, they back off the shore about 30 yards and settle along the main creek channel that runs under a bridge. There's always wind-driven current in that spot, which keeps the water comfortable and full of food. There's no cover there at all -- just a subtle contour change at which certain crappie-friendly elements converge.

By understanding the various phases of the crappie's reproductive cycle, you can find places that will produce for you from late winter to early summer.