Crappies are king in Minnesota — at least until the walleye opener comes around in May. With willingness to bite, sweet-tasting filets and light-tackle-busting strength, the crappie is a much sought after species.

Go to that trusted crappie hole you had so much luck at a few years ago, however, and you could be sorely disappointed with what you find. Crappie hotspots can change from decade to decade — and even year to year — due to ever-changing populations. A lake considered to have a hot crappie bite may last for only a few years because it only held one strong year-class.

“A lot of lakes have good year-classes that move through, only to go away over time,” said Al Stevens, a Department of Natural Resources fisheries program consultant. The unfortunate thing about good crappie lakes is that those with the most consistent crappie populations tend to have a shortage of large slabs.

Depending on whom you ask, a true slab tends to be anything larger than 1 pound, 8 ounces. Catching a crappie in the 2-pound range is reason to celebrate, and anything over 3 pounds is reason to gloat heavily. The state-record black crappie is 5 pounds, while the state-record white crappie weighed nearly 4 pounds.

“Catching a crappie over 10 inches is an impressive catch and a rarity on those lakes with major populations,” Stevens said.

The reason for this is because large numbers of crappies means greater levels of competition. The presence of other predators such as bass and walleyes can also limit the size of crappies. Upper Red Lake is a perfect case study.

“It’s the oddball, in that it has a large population of large crappies,” Stevens said. “But the reason that happened is because there was a lack of competition from walleyes for so many years.”

Obtaining a recent copy of a lake survey can be a great tool for finding the next great secret crappie lake. Check out the population numbers and the bulk of the population according to the data. If there are a lot of small fish, mark down that lake for three years from now. If there are a lot of larger fish, hit it now before those fish die out or are caught.

“Crappies tend to live around 10 years in most southern lakes and 14 years or so in northern lakes, meaning that if a lake has a strong 1995 year-class, such as Red Lake does, it is near the end of its cycle,” Stevens said.

Another good resource for finding quality crappie lakes is flipping through the fishing regulations. Check the special regulations section where all the lakes with slot limits are listed. You can stumble on some hotspots or some lakes to keep an eye on for the future. If the lake has a slot limit on crappies or a restricted limit, chances are there’s a healthy crappie population that’s being protected.

Being a crappie is difficult. Besides having the most mispronounced name in the fish world, there are so many things anglers think they know about you that are just plain wrong.