2025 Gamekeepers / Spring - Crappie Tactics with Whitey Outlaw

Pan fishing, lake fishing and cane pole fishing are all synonymous with crappie fishing. For many Gamekeepers the first fish they ever caught as a youth was likely a brim or a crappie. For some the sport of crappie fishing never wavers and is just as much of an affliction as say big game hunting, and the pursuit of crappie can be lifelong. Whitey Outlaw was raised in St. Matthews, South Carolina in the shadow of the Santee Cooper Lakes that are host to pro fishing tournaments for multiple species each year, and after 42 years on the professional crappie fishing circuit, he is newly retired and fishing home waters full time.

“Crappie fishing in Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion where I grew up was something that my Father instilled in me,” said Outlaw. “In one storied area called Rimini, where the duck hunting was just as good as the fishing, everyone out there knew one another and got along just fine for the most part. My depth finder was my 12-foot cane pole, which I would probe down in the water when we were fishing along the bank. Fishing for crappie around structure we could see like a tree, or along the bank, was about all we did because we could not tell where crappie might be hanging suspended in the deeper water. I won my first two tourneys in a 16-foot Duracraft aluminum boat with a 30-horsepower engine and a cane pole.”

 

“Today I either run a 21-foot War Eagle Black Hawk with a 150-horsepower Suzuki or a 22-foot Ranger with a 250-horsepower Mercury,” said Outlaw. “My requirements for these boats include having live wells and the ability to sit low in the water so that the wind doesn’t push you around as much. The three big keys to crappie fishing are keeping an eye on your electronics, controlling your boat and making precision casts. One angler with the skills to multitask can be productive while fishing solo for crappie, but it’s still good to have two anglers aboard especially when it comes to landing fish using a dip net.”

To read this feature article in Gamekeepers magazine click on Crappie Spring Tactics.

To view past stories from Mossy Oak Gamekeepers click on Ducks around Landmark Lakes -  Mallard DNA-  Quail Habitat Philosophy -  2024 Fence It In -  2024 Reforestation -  2024 Predator Control- 2023 Wild Turkey Decline - 2022 Managing Duck Impoundments - 2021 Regional Wood Duck Study -  Fall 2021- Summer 2021 - Winter 2020- Spring 2020 - Fall 2017- Spring 2016 - Winter 2016 - Fall 2015 - Summer 2015 - Spring 2015 - Winter 2015 - Fall 2014 - Summer 2014 - Spring 2014 - Winter 2013 

2025 Turkey Season IN - April 3

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) sets the hunting regulations for wild turkeys in South Carolina, and there have been numerous changes recently. New for 2025 SCDNR reduced the bag limit per hunter to two turkeys per season, a strategic move that counters the decline of wild turkeys. Turkey hunting season opens April 3, hunters may only harvest one gobbler during the first seven days of the season, and juvenile jakes are no longer legal to harvest.

April 3, 2025 Opening Day Harvest

The April 3 opening date is the latest ever for the Lowcountry, which for decades was set at March 15. What this means on the landscape is that the woods have already greened up, because the cooler temperatures of Spring have transitioned to growing season conditions with warmer overnights. It was a balmy 72-degrees on April 3, but no atmospheric conditions can stop a turkey hunting enthusiast on opening day. With a whippoorwill sounding off in the last bit of darkness, I heard my first gobble from a roost tree at 6:42 AM and I quietly walked close to his position.

Not knowing if the bird would fly down and immediately be in front of my location, meant that I was tense right from the start. Not making any sound meant that I needed to be still, and blend in with the ticket of vines and trees that I was sitting beside. When I heard a hen call in the same area as the roosted gobbler I know that meant there would be a competition for his attention. When they both flew down in the opposite direction from me, I knew the hunt just got tougher. I called my hen yelp turkey call and the gobbler answered right away, and this repeated several times, but he did not come straight away.

Instead the hens led the gobbler in a circular path behind my position so that they could all look for the hen they were hearing. This is a tried and true tactic turkeys use and I was ready for it, and thankfully was hidden well enough that I could turn 180-degrees from my original set up in order the shoot the gobbler at 40-paces when his circular path brought him in range. Though the shot was at 7:25 the hens did leave for a while and I got to watch some bonus Spring turkey behavior before collecting my opening day tom. 

To view past blog entries about the Turkey season opening day click on 2024 (Last Day) - 2020 - 2016- 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2010 - 2009 

2025 April Saltwater Fishing Forecast for Charleston

March winds came in like a Lion and saltwater anglers are glad to be done with the windiest month of the year. Water temperatures remained cool due to cold snaps and cool nights, but those temps will rise quickly in April and the bait will respond with vigor. From tiny minnows in the shallows and creek shrimp on the mud flats, as these baits continue to grow the gamefish will seek them out. Adding time spent on the water back into a life’s schedule is the first step to getting back into the rhythm of catching fish.

 

Capt. Brian Hawkins of HawkinsFishingCharters.com on Folly Beach is a veteran guide who gives back to the community. “Each year I donate guided fishing trips to organizations like Toys for Tots, Marsh Tacky Horses, and Coonhound Rescue with the hope that it may help someone come and experience the saltwater fishery,” said Hawkins. “We just had the first flood tide of the year, and when inshore water temps hit 65-degrees, the redfish will respond by splitting into smaller groups and becoming more active.”

To view this feature article in the Post and Courier click on Tideline.

To view past blog entries from Tideline click on Turkey Season Gear - Spring Conservation Calendar -  Edisto Flora and Fauna -  Horseshoe Crab Research -  Bird Banding Conference - ACE Basin Refuge -  2025 SE Wildlife Expo - S.C. Master Naturalist - CHS Outdoor Adventures - CCA oyster recycling -  SEWE / DU conservation -  Search for Shed Antlers -  Save The Light - Christmas Wish List - 2025 Christmas Bird Count -  December Saltwater Forecast - Fall Hunting Seasons -  2024 Red Trout tourney -  Sullivan's Island Bird Banding Station -  Beidler BioBlitz