KAW RESERVOIR
Another lake deserving mention by reason of its reputation for huge crappie is Kaw Lake. Kaw is a 17,040-acre Corps impoundment near Ponca City. The ODWC’s Jeff Boxrucker calls Kaw “the cream of the crop.”

Crappie there exhibit excellent growth trends, which are due mostly to the fertile Arkansas River, which flows into the south end of Kaw. The turbid, salty water resulting from the mixture is rich in nutrients, and the spawn there sometimes can run from April into May.

Kaw is a favorite haunt of Miller’s as well, and he touts May as a great month to catch crappie there. His favorite spot on the lake is Beaver Creek where great habitat abounds. “I have really good luck with a 1/16-ounce Bobby Garland jig in the electric chicken pattern,” he said. “Other good color patterns are black/chartreuse, black/yellow, and black/red.”

Anglers using conventional crappie baits will fill stringers, with 1-pound or larger crappie being common.

The limit is the statewide maximum of 37 daily.

LAKE HEFNER
Lake Hefner is a small 2,500-acre water supply lake tucked away in the heart of Oklahoma City. Used heavily during the spring and summer months by sailboaters, Hefner receives very little fishing pressure.

Carl Jones rates the lake as a solid fishery. “The crappie fishing at Hefner now is better than ever,” he said.

Jones has a particular tactic for its crappie: slip-corking. This he accomplishes by using his handmade 14-foot rod to hurl a Styrofoam slip-cork and a pair of handmade jigs, one weighing 1/16 ounce, the other 1/64. (His hand-tied Lightning Strike Jigs attracted so much admiring notice that he now retails them on his Web page, Carljonesfamousjigs.com .)

Preferring to cast his jigs parallel to the rocky area near the dam and then slowly retrieve them, Jones feels that his long rod enables him to make a longer cast, which allows him to keep his jigs in areas where the crappie like to spawn.

Newcomers to Hefner should try casting jigs from the rocky areas near the dam and from the east side of the lake near the lighthouse, according to Jones. The jetty on the southwest side of the lake is a good spot also. Minnow fishermen will do well virtually anywhere on the lake.

Anglers can expect to take crappie in the 3/4- to 1-pound range when conditions are right.

Fishing Hefner Lake requires a $2 daily permit. The limit is 37 fish.

ARCADIA LAKE This 1,820-acre lake -- built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a water-supply lake -- can be accessed by taking I-35 north from Oklahoma City and exiting east at either the 15th Street exit, or the Edmond Road exit. It’s 15 miles north of Oklahoma City near Edmond.

According to ODWC fisheries biologist Kurt Kuklinski, anglers should find above-average numbers of crappie in Arcadia, with the average speck measuring 6 to 7 inches.

Kuklinski advises anglers to focus on the long brushpiles, which are clearly marked by orange-and-white buoys. “These areas,” he said, “are good staging areas for spawning crappie, which sometimes congregate there for weeks at a time.”

Bank-fishermen can do equally well casting small jigs in the 1/64- to 1/8-ounce size in bright fluorescent colors. The addition of a slip-cork can help anglers cast the lightweight jigs more efficiently and control the depth of lure presentation. Though the fishing can be good all day, the best times generally are the first few hours of daylight and the last few before dark.