Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

At the invitation of Gary Dollahon, I was invited to fish a northeast impoundment for crappie. As a public relations expert, Dollahon represents several outdoor companies like Zebco/Quantum, Optronics, and Gene Larew Baits, to name just a few. That day however, we were testing a new soft plastic in the Larew line that was billed as deadly for crappie.

Unable to attend, Dollahon sent his lovely daughter and business partner Crystal to accompany me. We teamed with local fishing expert and guide Red Miller, who works as an inspector for the engineering department in Bartlesville but spends his free time fishing for crappie.

The morning dawned cooler than I was dressed for, and I felt the chill as we motored up a creek channel to one of Miller’s honeyholes. Little did I know that this creek held an ice-chest-load of crappie beneath its stained, timbered surface. Miller’s proficiency was exacting, and we began to catch crappie instantly on our lines rigged with the new 1/16-ounce jigs.

We were testing a new color in the Bobby Garland soft-plastics line, electric chicken. The small, streamlined grub had a lime-green sparkled body with a pink underbelly that proved irresistible to the scrappy slabs.

In a few hours, we caught nearly 100 crappie, while releasing any fish less than 12 inches in length. I brought back an ice chest with 37 crappie weighing from 1 pound to 1 3/4 pounds. All in all, a memorable day of fishing, and one indicative of the phenomenal crappie fishing awaiting Sooner anglers this month.

Here, I’ll feature some of my favorite waters -- selected from years of crappie fishing around the state -- highlighting the top spots on each, and throw in some expert advice, all designed to make your May crappie-fishing trips more successful.

LAKE TENKILLER
Lying in the heart of Oklahoma’s Green Country, Lake Tenkiller covers 12,650 acres near Tahlequah. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s Gary Peterson is sold on the lake’s slab production.

“Tenkiller’s crappie are doing well due to a solid population and a bountiful forage base in the lake,” he said. “We have added a number of brushpiles for habitat enhancement to provide shelters for fish. The lake elevation is normal after last year’s spring rains, and anglers should find crappie abundant.”

A 10-inch minimum-length limit is in force there, and, according to statistics, two of three fish fall short of the legal size. Anglers are allowed to keep 15 crappie in total, and may combine both black and white species. Still, the crappie are relatively easy to catch, and occasionally some real slabs -- fish in the 2- to 3-pound range -- are caught.

Another prospect on the lake involves fishing off one of the lake’s many fishing docks. James Bunch, who manages the Caney Ridge Marina, says that the crappie fishing is worthwhile year ‘round. “We sunk a bunch of trees around the dock and they provide good crappie habitat,” he reported. “We also have enclosed dock that can be fished during inclement weather.”

Bunch reported that, for a small fee, anglers can enjoy a relaxing day of fishing off his docks and usually catch themselves some fish. Caney Ridge Marina is on the north end of the lake in the Dry Creek Cove area

GRAND LAKE O’ THE CHEROKEES
A bountiful fishery, Grand Lake is rated by several professional bass anglers as tops for largemouths. But if you’ve experienced the lake’s crappie angling, you know that it too is as good as it gets.