Chris Mullins, of Joiner, Ark., a B'n'M Pro Team member and avid longtime crappie fisherman, guides at Enid Lake. He agreed that the deep water is where you find and catch crappie in January.

"I start out in the deepest part of the lake looking for suspended crappie with my depth finder," he offered. "I expect the crappie to be holding in anywhere from 10- to 25-foot deep water. Once I find the crappie, I start fishing for them with the live shiners on 12-foot B'n'M trolling poles. If I can't get the fish to bite the minnows, then I start fishing jigs. If the fish don't bite the jigs, I put minnows on the backs of the jigs. The real secret to catching crappie this month is to locate the crappie first and then figure out what kind of bait they'll eat.

"I like to fish with Southern Pro 1/8-ounce jigheads, and I use a variety of colors. My favorite colors at this time of year are orange-and-chartreuse, red-and-chartreuse and black-and-chartreuse. I put eight different colors of jigs on eight different poles and then let the crappie decide which color they want and at what depth."

Mullins also believes in using a depthfinder, a GPS receiver, and a good topographic map when fishing for cold-weather crappie. The combo of topographic map and depthfinder will help you to locate the fish, and the GPS receiver will make it possible for you to return to the same spot and catch crappie at a later date when the conditions are the same.

GRENADA LAKE
For the past few years, crappie tournaments have thrust Grenada Lake and its big slabs into the national spotlight. Many would argue that this 35,820-acre flood-control reservoir five miles east of Grenada off Interstate 55 is the top trophy crappie lake in the country; few would deny that it's home to some monster white perch.

The main factor to keep in mind about Grenada is its status as a flood-control lake. Typically, this lake is 25 feet below its normal pool in January, leaving many of the better fishing spots high and dry. This is when a good topographic map of the lake is an invaluable tool.

"You have to look for crappie that other people can't see, because with the lake this low, every piece of visible cover will have fish," said Jim Dodd, of Hot Springs, Ark., who has fished for crappie for over 50 years. "Since the lake's so low, the crappie will be concentrated in deep water around structure.

"One of the mistakes many crappie fisherman make is they believe if they locate structure, they will find crappie -- but this assumption isn't necessarily true. You must locate the crappie actually holding on the structure and see them on your depthfinder. Then once you have them pinpointed, you can try to catch them."

SUMMING UP
Almost every crappie angler in Mississippi will hit his or her favorite fishing hole during the spring spawn. After all, some of the biggest stringers and largest slab crappie are caught this time of year. So why not beat the crowds by getting an early start on some of the finest perch-jerkin' action to be found in the Magnolia State?