Driftwood Outdoors column: Fishing for crappie

Time to start filling the freezer

Mark Wasson of Harrisburg holds a fish he caught at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Mark Wasson of Harrisburg holds a fish he caught at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Standing in a buddy's barn the other day, watching as he was winterizing his boat, I couldn't help but think, that poor fella just doesn't like crappies.

The fall crappie bite is on, and anglers fishing Lake of the Ozarks, Truman and smaller waters in-between are busy filling freezers with fillets.

Crappie fishing in the spring and fall appeals to me. I enjoy getting up close and personal with the bank and structure. I'm not a fan of going deep for panfish. If you're like me, and you like your panfishing to take place in shallow water, and you don't mind fast action, then now's the time to be on the lake.

Water temperatures are holding in the mid-60's, but are closer to 70 in the shallow spots by afternoon. Crappie are drawn to the ....