In late February, crappie start moving into the many pockets and small creeks on the lake. Almost all these locations have docks in them, and many of those have brushpiles around them. Catch crappie on the move from deeper water by trolling jigs. Then the fish hold on the shallow dock posts and brushpiles to spawn; at this time, shoot jigs under the docks and dabble jigs and minnows around the shallow cover.

Also look for the cypress trees planted by the WRD and Georgia Power in shallow areas on the main lake. The knees that spread out from these trees often hold spawning crappie. Fish all around them with jigs and minnows, just as if you were fishing shallow brush in the creeks.

As the crappie start to move out, they hold on deeper docks. In late spring, shoot jigs back under the docks into the shady areas where they're feeding. Try to get all the way back under the structure to the heaviest shade on bright, sunny days. Respect dock owners by skipping docks that they're fishing from; plenty of empty docks are available for you to work.

Six fish attractors put out by the WRD offer excellent fishing as summer approaches. Drop minnows and jigs around them during the day, or anchor and fish over them at night with a light. You can do the same kind of fishing along the old river channel by targeting flooded treetops and logs in deeper water.

LAKE BLACKSHEAR
When you first see Lake Blackshear, you can't help but think that you're looking at crappie heaven. And you are: The acres of cypress trees standing in shallow water and numerous docks and bridges all look like papermouth hotspots -- and they are. Add to those places the 10 brushpiles put out by the WRD and you can find crappie all over the lake.

According to the WRD, you can catch both black and white crappie at Blackshear. Most of the fish are less than 10 inches long, but a good many 1- to 1 1/2-pound fish are there to be caught. Early spring's the best time to get the bigger fish.

Blackshear's far enough south that many of its fish are spawning by late February. Look for them in the cypress tree knees and around the docks in Collins Branch, Spring Creek, Gum Creek and Boy Scout Slough. Up the main Flint River arm, all the backwaters feature welcoming spawning habitat.

Drop jigs and minnows beside cypress tress, but remember that the root system may extend out several feet. Fish from right beside the trunk out at least 3 feet or wherever the knees are showing; a minnow swimming around just over the roots should get a strike. Or you can drop jigs down to the same areas.

By late March, appreciable numbers of crappie still hold around docks, but you can also catch them off the state's fish attractors or around the bridges. Also, troll creek channel ledges for them. Fish both areas day or night from late March on through the summer.

LAKE SINCLAIR
Probably our most popular wintertime crappie fishing lake -- thanks to the warm water released from Georgia Power's steam-powered Harley Branch plant -- Sinclair's a good bet all spring long, too. Year after year it produces good catches of crappie, and that should continue in 2007.