Crappies either leave and come back later to spawn or they'll linger around for a few weeks until conditions are conducive to repopulating. Sunfish spawn much later, and they typically retreat to harder bottom zones to breed. There are several criteria to look for when selecting a shallow water venue to pursue early spring sunfish and crappies. The obvious first place to investigate, as stated earlier, are shallow bays. But not all bays are created equal.
Shallow bays featuring predominately soft bottoms win the prize.
Two integral parts of an ideal spawning bay are remaining vegetation and submerged timber. Both structures provide feeding stations as well as cover. Live greens hold oodles of aquatic morsels and sunken wood is used for crappie egg laying and general panfish feeding. Bog and cattail edges are other structures worth investigating. Cattails and floating bogs thrive in shallow, soft bottomed, and stained water environments.