Since at this point, bluegills and crappies won’t spawn for a month or six weeks, the main attraction could be forage density, as opposed to warmer water. Several species of panfish might occupy the same bays or spots, because small minnows concentrate in these shallow bays, too, and the warming water encourages insect hatches in shallow, soft-bottom areas. It doesn’t have to be a cove or bay; big shallow flats draw them, too, when water temperatures broach 50°F.

When conditions dip back below 50°F during the day due to a cold front, the bite changes dramatically. Bluegills may move out to the base of drop-offs outside these bays, while crappies move back over open water and suspend, in a complete reversal of the shallow migration.

In states like Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, reservoir crappies in winter tend to congregate near the intersection of the main river channel and a creek channel. They occupy the front third of major creek arms, suspending over 30- to 50-foot depths or holding on breaklines in that range from November through early March. Fishing can be good at this time. “Crappies start moving out of those wintering holes at about 50°F,” according to In-Fisherman co-founder, Al Lindner. “The first thing they do is rise. Straight up. They suspend for a short time, then begin moving toward the creek arm. Not all of them go at once. Little pods of crappies rise and slowly begin to migrate, 10 to 20 feet under the surface. Later another pod follows, so fish are spread out over a large area.

“Crappies stay or stop where they’re at during bad weather,” he says. “They gather for a time and stage at the creek mouth at the head of the creek arm. Huge concentrations sometimes occur, suspended over the area around the intersection of the creek arm and the main river channel. Then they spread out and migrate to the back third of creek arms, as water temperatures approach 60°F. At 60°F, most crappies begin making the transition to shallow brushpiles and wood along shorelines where they later spawn, when water temperatures reach the high 60°F to 70°F range.” Of course, some crappies spawn later on main-reservoir shorelines, because it takes longer for that bigger, deeper body of water to warm.

In northern lakes, much the same happens at all key temperature points Lindner mentions. At about 50°F, large groups of bluegills and crappies gather in shallow bays, though some stay deep in the main lake (Mother Nature putting eggs in various baskets). This is not a spawning movement or “staging” in the classic sense. It’s a foraging movement. Somewhere above 60°F, actual staging begins, and often, many panfish leave the areas they inhabit at ice-out, moving toward traditional spawning areas. Bluegills seek out sandy shorelines and old lily-pad beds, while crappies head for reedbeds or emerging weeds. Both species begin spawning in water temperatures approaching 70°F.

At any given juncture during these spring migrations at any given latitude, cold fronts and falling water temperatures slow the progression or even reverse the migration pattern. In Canada or Arkansas, or any point in between, panfish often retreat from shallow spots into deeper water after a severe cold front.