# Dogwoods in Bloom



## ReelEazy

Dogwoods in Bloom, you know what that means, the crappie bite is on, lets here some reports.
Mosquito Lake will heat up, boat basins, docks on Erie, etc.


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## jonnythfisherteen2

mind telling me more about this "old wives tale"? because my friend says it's bullcrap.


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## SeanStone

It's all about timing jonnythfisherteen2. With warming air temps./soil temps the dogwoods go into bloom, this also means that the water temps reflect the air temps....warming up. In turn the crappie will go into feeding mode and will start making their way to the brush looking for spawning sites....Where they can be caught by anyone who dares to dangle a minnow, tube bait, grub, etc. in a submerged piece of structure. 

Your friend might have a good reason to doubt this saying, most people catch crappie all throughout the year. Some people have found trends that they find more productive than others at specific times of the year. For example we do really well in November and December vertical jigging deep marinas for crappie. However, its a good general rule of thumb to follow if you want to catch the crappie bite at its peak. 

I live in south west Ohio and surface temps are in the upper 50's to lower 60's on most lakes. Early last week I caught the fish on deep structure and suspended above it, but this last weekend they had moved into the shallower structure. I found this to be true at Rocky Fork Lake, and Turkey Creek lake. Lakes in the lake Erie region should be experiencing this transition soon as well, I figure they might be about a week behind southern Ohio.


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## buckzye11

Everything is way ahead of the norm this year. Also i have never seen so many baitfish stacked up in the shallows like this March(no winter kill i guess). everything is coming in to get the feed on.


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## catfishunter

Been catching crappie for the past 2 weeks only have about 15 decent ones because alot of the have been only around 6 inches GOING FISHING TODAY LET U GUYS KNOW HOW I DO AT PLEASENT HILL LAKE


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## ReelEazy

Thanks, "fishermen helping fishermen"


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## catfishunter

Jus got back from pleasent hill lake fishing was slow caught 5. Two were under the size limit and the other 3 were around 10 inches they were caught on a rapala broken back about three inches long


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## Minnowhead

I think you are confusing the magnolia trees with the dogwoods. Dogwoods arent even budded out yet. Crappie bite shouldn't be far off with these warmer temps but the big boys 12"-14" aren't up yet.


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## Intimidator

ReelEazy said:


> Dogwoods in Bloom, you know what that means, the crappie bite is on, lets here some reports.
> Mosquito Lake will heat up, boat basins, docks on Erie, etc.


My dogwoods are just now budded and not close to blooming yet....when I was younger the spawn was associated with the cottonwood blooming...it seems to get earlier and earlier every few years, heck, if this continues they may be spwning in Feb soon!!LOL


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## Guest

"mind telling me more about this "old wives tale"? because my friend says it's bullcrap."

your friend is wrong. it's a timing thing.


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## Star1pup

A long time ago I produced a crappie fishing video and talked with a lot of experienced crappie fishermen. At Kentucky Lake they said "When the red bud is in bloom". I also heard that it was when oak leaves are as big as squirrel's ears. Here in Ohio I've been told the dogwood theory a lot. One guy would not go fishing until the dogwood bloomed and I was catching crappies while he sat at home. 

I believe it all depends on water temperature as that is what ignites the spawn. Although I might walk out to my dock to see if the crappies are watching the oak trees.


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