Photo by Tom Evans

By Noel Vick

I've been there as well, gazing at winter's final breath. A layer of rotted ice spans indefinitely toward the horizon, into a March mist. The surface is too porous for travel, yet days - at worst, weeks - from parting and dissipating.

It's a bleak time. Ice-fishing is in the books and the open-water season waits to happen. Spare time is spent playing with winter tools, prepping the boat and summer gear, and all the while neglecting domestic duties and ducking spouses. Rakes are like kryptonite.

Because spring yields this layover, however, anglers have ample time to prepare. The gap is a godsend. Summer isn't like that, though. It changes into autumn without warning. One must sacrifice sunshine and bobber bites to untangle decoys and repair mouse-eaten camouflage. Same goes for fall. One day you're field dressing a buck and the next day you're setting a string of tip-ups.

The moral of this story is to embrace the acrimonious transition of seasons. Use the intermission to your advantage. Plan more than ever. Prepare like a field general and attack the hardwater like a Bud Grant-coached Viking squad. And as part of the regimen, digest and dissect the following crappie hotspots as soon as you can float your boat.

Now, having said that, there are a number of lakes offering the promise of mass, and Hennepin County's Lake Minnetonka is the best.

At 14,000 acres, Minnetonka's magnitude alone begs for attention. And what makes it especially fascinating is how those acres span and link. Minnetonka is a skein of contiguous lakes, bays, harbors, coves and connecting channels. Likewise, it's a shallow and stained fishery that doubles as something clear and deep. Essentially, it's built for rearing fish both voluminous and massive.

In the spring following ice-out, Minnetonka becomes a magnet for shore-casters. Despite the challenge of accessing on foot some of the most treasured areas, panfish are caught off public piers, along channels and community stretches along wind-protected bays.

From a boat, however, the lake is yours. Eyeballing from west to east, consider Halstead's Bay, focusing on the inlet from Spring Creek. Leading downward, motor to the southernmost tip of Smithtown Bay and place a few casts in the channel. Adjunct Lake Virginia deserves honorable mention, too, but you'll have to re-launch to sample it.

Straight overhead on the topside of Enchanted Island sits Phelps Bay, another springtime favorite. Zimmerman's Pass is a good starting gate there. Farther up, you'll encounter the legendary trio of ESB: Emerald Lake, Seton Lake and Black Lake. The petite but feature-oriented tracts warm early and kick out photo-quality panfish every spring.

Moving east, it's prudent to traverse the perimeter of Big Island, paying keen attention to its coves and fields of emerging weeds. Nearby Gideon's and St. Alban's bays offer a weekend's worth of spots, too.

Keep the backwaters of Carson's Bay on your shortlist, as well as the upper and shallower reaches of Brown's Bay, particularly where it bonds with Tanager Lake. Traveling south and east, put a bead on Gray's Bay and its battery of arms and channels.

Minnetonka's definitive north, including West Arm and North Arm, houses its share of panfish, too. Stubbs Bay and Maxwell Bay produce with consistency, and the shallows of Jenning's Bay and Forest Lake heat quickly and attract crappies and bluegills.

In general, no matter where your internal compass points, center on finding dark and shallow water in an element-protected setting. Minnetonka's many connecting channels, private harbors and back channels are without question the key locations to begin. Fear not shallowness, either, because depths of only 1 to 4 feet often hold fish. But during cold fronts, panfish frequently move back out into 6 to 15 feet of water.

If you don't live in the metro area, you can get local lodging information from the Minnetonka Chamber of Commerce at (952) 471-0768 or www.lakeminnetonkachamber.com.

White Bear Lake, at 2,416 acres, puts up some impressive panfish numbers, too, and getting on the water is far easier. Once the ice recedes, head straight to the southeast flank of Manitou Island. Here, cattail upon bulrush paints the shoreline, covering a wide range of depths and structures. Pick through the dead hardstems and you're sure to raise a slab.

The west shore at Lions Park is fishable by boat and shore. In fact, crappies and bluegills frequent the entire span from the fishing pier east to Bellaire Park. And if you continue southeast, there are several first-rate spots leading to White Bear's southern brink.

Although the upper part of White Bear isn't as prolific, it too harbors a contingent of spring panfish. Check the northeast bank of Manitou Island, particularly where it and the mainland bridge converge. The shallows north of Ordway Bar commonly contain panfish as well.

For area information, contact the White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce at (651) 429-8593 or www.whitebearchamber.com.