Photo by Keith Sutton.

If sampling done in the fall of 2007 is any indication -- and it should be -- then Missouri anglers will have their pans full of slab-sized crappie this year. The Show-Me State can look forward to another outstanding year of nonstop crappie fishing in impoundments both large and small, and we're bent on getting you into the action.

Nearly three decades have passed since the Missouri Department of Conservation began researching crappie numbers in the state. What's transpired since then has been nothing short of a success story for anyone who thoroughly enjoys targeting crappie for both sport and sustenance.

State fisheries and research biologists were out in force in September and October of 2007, systematically sampling the state's waters for crappie and other species. What they found was first reported in their annual findings report, issued last November. We've taken the results one step further and broken out the key crappie waters to target this summer.

In order to make good use of a report on the state's waters, it's helpful to examine first how the MDC employs its crappie management strategy. Even though crappie research began in Missouri in the 1980s, it took several years to initiate a strategy for testing and managing the populations in both large and small lakes. At one time, MDC officials believed that medium-sized lakes such as Clearwater Lake in southeast Missouri or Thomas Hill Lake in the northeast region were the largest waters in which good crappie populations could grow and be maintained. It was believed, incorrectly, that larger lakes and impoundments created environments "too complex" for managing a fish species.

The MDC studies eventually would show that larger reservoirs were not producing large or "slab-sized" crappie because the younger fish were simply being caught before they could mature to the size found in smaller waters with less fishing pressure. Sampling and tagging studies revealed age and growth patterns, and restrictions on certain sizes enabled crappie to mature to sizes often found in smaller waters.

Today, most of the state's popular impoundments boast respectable populations of either black or white crappie and, in some cases, both. Here are some good examples of where you might want to start casting those jigs or minnows.

NORTHWEST REGION
For anglers in search of a more confined crappie setting, Grindstone Reservoir is worth considering. In 2005, the city of Cameron raised the outlet on Grindstone Reservoir, pushing the footprint of the small lake to nearly 200 acres. With the expanded water capacity came additional submerged cover -- and everyone knows that crappie like brushpiles.

Last year, crappie fishing was described as "good" in Grindstone, with a large complement of fish pushing 7 to 10 inches. This year, those fish will likely have reached the 11- to 13-inch range, providing patient anglers with an opportunity to fill a livewell by working the smaller water.