About Crappie Fish Beds

Fishing provides relaxation, fun and food.

Crappie make their beds in sheltered areas filled with debris such as fallen timber, brush, stumps or other cover. They seek out protected areas to use for protection, spawning or as places to find food.

Artificial Habitats

Natural bedding sites have declined in some areas, leaving crappie with decreased choices for beds. Artificial habitats constructed in these locations effectively attract crappie, giving them ample places to spawn, search for food or seek shelter.

PVC Beds

Structures built of PVC pipe cut into pieces and inserted into concrete-filled plastic buckets offer crappie acceptable bedding areas. After the concrete hardens, the buckets and PVC sections are lowered into 25 to 30 ft. of water. PVC pipe sections may be attached in different configurations, such as peaked structures, which also attracts crappie.

Discarded Christmas Trees

Natural Christmas trees--not artificial trees--make excellent crappie attractors. Insert the trunk end of the tree into a 5-gallon bucket filled 3/4 of the way with concrete. After the concrete hardens, place the tree in an area of water that does not have an abundance of cover. Alternatively, attach the tree to a concrete block and then sink it.

References

• University of Georgia School of Forest Resources: Building Freshwater Fish Attractors
• Georgia Wildlife Resources Division: Georgia Reservoir Fishing Information
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources: Fishing for Crappie

Resources

• Croppie World Magazine: What Fisheries Managers Say About Building Crappie Cover