Here’s a list of Oklahoma’s “speck-tacular” crappie lakes.

ARCADIA LAKE
Just east of Edmond is Arcadia Lake, a 1,820-acre water-supply reservoir that’s home to solid numbers of crappie. The lake is turbid most of the time, owing to the inflow of the muddy Deep Fork River. However, don’t let the murky water keep you at home, because suspended beneath that stained surface are many strategic brushpiles and much flooded timber -- homes to schools of pan-sized crappie.

“The lake’s average crappie caught will be smaller than we hoped for,” said the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s crappie expert, Jeff Boxrucker. “Nevertheless, the lake has good numbers of crappie weighing just under a pound. I witnessed that fact when I accompanied the ODWC’s biologists on a spring netting survey a few years back. The net surveys sampled lively numbers of hand-sized specks weighing just under a half-pound each.

The lake has some well-marked ODWC brushrows placed in strategic areas, and plenty of timber to keep a doodlesocking angler busy for hours. The best lures -- according to local expert Carl Jones, who operates a bait shop a few miles away -- are small jigs and minnows.

So does the murky Edmond lake with small crappie merit a winter fishing trip? “Absolutely,” said crappie fanatic Jones. “I catch some really nice crappie there in February, with some over 2 pounds.”

According to Mixer, in February anglers can also find success by targeting slabs off the rocky riprap area near the 15th Street boat ramp, and by using small jigs around any of the boat docks. The lake limit is 37 crappie.

LAKE EUFAULA
It’s hard to mention winter crappie fishing without mentioning the state’s largest fishery: Lake Eufaula. Near the town of the same name, this productive fishery spanning 102,000 acres is a popular destination for crappie anglers of all ages. I cut my crappie-fishing teeth at Lake Eufaula nearly 35 years ago, and it remains one of my favorite lakes for taking bragging-sized papermouths.

Lake Eufaula offers a diversity of habitat, as well as varying degrees of water clarity, with parts of the lake being extremely clear and others muddy. The ODWC has improved the fishery with the addition of several brushpiles marked with buoys.

February is a great month for catching Eufaula’s crappie. The lake offers several heated fishing docks, but I prefer to fish the brushy habitat during daylight hours and, using a crappie light, beneath the bridges at night.

Several of the lake’s fishing docks are great spots for jig-fishing. My favorite setup is to tie two or three jigs on my line spaced 12 inches apart and then swim the jigs around the moorings on docks. Most docks are baited with evergreen trees and harbor more crappie than most anglers are aware of.

The water temperatures in the south end of the lake generally warm first, and crappie seem most active there prior to spawning, when the lake comes alive with frenzied panfish.

Fishing guide Todd Huckabee (405-520-8980) rates Lake Eufaula as an excellent lake for February crappie. He advises winter anglers to target crappie in creeks, where the fish stage before moving toward spawning areas. And he notes that when you catch two consecutive days of sunshine with temperatures in the high 40s, you can bet that the next day will be a good day to go after crappie.

“Normally I look for muddy water in the 6- to 10-foot-depth range,” Huckabee offered, “and I normally find crappie suspended between 5 and 7 feet. I catch 70 to 100 crappie a day that will average 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, and usually a few in the 2 1/2-pound range.”

Huckabee likes larger baits, his preference being a 2-inch Yum Wooly Beavertail in either black and pink or black and chartreuse.

The top winter spots on Eufaula are Gentry Creek, Rock Creek, Coal Creek, Gaines Creek, Duchess Creek, Belle Starr and Mill Creek. The lake limit is 37 crappie.

CANTON LAKE
A newcomer on the crappie roundup is Canton Lake, 75 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Originally built as a water-supply lake for OK City, Canton is best known for the annual Walleye Round Up -- a festive fishing contest. Yet this prolific 7,910-acre fishery is overlooked by many anglers, according to Donnie Jinkens -- a 40-year resident of the lake.