Among the best things about spring is that it is the best time of year to get a mess of crappies. From shortly after ice-out until the heat of summer settles in, crappie fishing is at its best.

My neighbor Tom Parker and I left our homes in Hudson, Wis., driving north to a small lake in Wisconsin’s Polk County. We are going crappie fishing.

We leave the landing and run the boat down the lake to a bay, where I pull back on the throttle of the outboard. The bay starts out with deep water but quickly shallows up. We stop the boat in about 10 feet of water and use the trolling motor to move along a shoreline, which will take us into shallower water.

We are casting light tube jigs. It took only a few casts before we feel ticks on our baits and pull back to set the hook, with fish racing off. They boil to the top of the water, splashing on the surface, and a moment later we are hoisting them in the boat.

Most of the fish we catch are crappies, with the occasional bluegill. Both Tom and I want an early-season crappie fry, so some of the bigger crappies go into the livewell.

Numerous baits work well on crappies. My favorite springtime crappie baits are tube jigs. One-inch tube jigs rigged on a 1/16-ounce jig work well. I prefer 1/16-ounce jigs since they are easier to cast with ultralight spinning gear, especially if there is any wind, which we normally encounter in spring.

Color doesn’t seem to matter much. I have a plastic box full of tube jigs and have tried them all. They all catch fish. But I will admit that my favorite colors are either black or red with chartreuse tails.

Fishing tube jigs is easy. Just cast them out, give them a moment or two to sink, and then bring them back with a slow, steady retrieve. If that doesn’t work, let the jig sink and retrieve it by lifting the rod tip a couple feet, let the jig sink again, and repeat. Both techniques put crappies in the boat.

By late afternoon, Tom and I have caught and released over 75 crappies, perhaps 20 bluegills, and a handful of small bass. It was a good day of fishing. In the livewell are a mess of crappies which we are taking home.

Once we get back home, Tom and I split the mess of crappies, each of us taking enough fish for dinner. I clean my fish in the garage on the cleaning table I have against the back wall of the garage. Taking the fillets, I rinse them in cold water, then put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

A couple of hours later, I put out a layer of paper towels on the sink, rinse the fillets one more time, and laying the fillets on the toweling, dry them with another paper towel.

I roll the fillets in Fry Magic. For smaller fillets like crappies, I use a lighter batter than I normally use on larger fish such as walleyes or bass. Lighter batter or coating for crappies are flour-based, whereas the batter I use for bigger fish start with panko, bread or cracker crumbs or corn meal.

Soon, as I am sitting down to eat my dinner of crappie fillets and fried potatoes with a beer, it occurs to me that there is no better way to celebrate spring than with a mess of crappies.

For more insight and tips for fishing throughout the year, check out the articles in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.