I fished a Mississippi River backwater with a buddy yesterday, looking specifically for crappies and we did indeed find some. We were fishing an area of heavy shade with minimal current and found 55 degree water where the fish were most active. I'd like to see about 10 more degrees leave the water but judging how the fishing was, the size of the crappies we were catching and the forecast for much cooler evenings for a couple days without any major rainfall to boost the water levels I think mid-next week will be a great time to expect larger fish to begin showing up. Weds is the day.
Yesterday's fish taped out at around 11 inches as an average but the area supports crappies in the 13 to 15 inch range in the fall so what we caught went back. We'll wait for the big'uns. One perch of 14" was taken yesterday too.