Last year, however, was not the best year for Covington for crappie fishing on Wylie.

"The year 2004 was one of the worst years for crappie I have experienced in a long time. Most people blame it on the extreme water level fluctuations we experienced," he said. "We caught a lot of small crappie about the size of your hand and these fish should good sized in 2005."

He uses jigs, which he ties himself, for crappie fishing year 'round. Some of his best results have come from a jig with a red head, silver collar and a white hair tail. That same head and collar combination with either chartreuse or yellow hair has been good, too. Old standbys that are excellent choices are a red head, white collar and a yellow tail; another is a black head, pink collar with a white tail.

"The main river, Big Allison and Little Allison creeks are where I mostly fish," he added. "It is convenient for me to launch my boat at the Ebenezer Landing to fish these places."

He said he expects the 2005 season to be above average.

On a personal note, Lake Wylie is my home lake, and I have over 200 brushpiles that cover the gamut of a few feet under the surface on down to brush in very deep water. I spend over 150 days a year in a boat fishing, most of which is for crappie on Lake Wylie. My favorite way to catch crappie is casting to them with a 10-foot crappie pole using a spinning reel loaded with 8-pound-test line.

Periodically, vertical fishing is the order of the day, but casting is my choice. Crappie are not known for their fighting ability, but using a long, sensitive rod makes them feel like they are bigger than they actually are.

Eight-pound-test monofilament line is strong enough to let me straighten out the hook if a lure or bait gets hung.

Most of my fishing is done on Little and Big Allison creeks. Based on the number of small crappie the fishermen in my boat caught in 2004, 2005 should be above average as these small fish grow to keeper size.

Like Covington, I've found that crappie fishing in Lake Wylie has changed drastically since I moved to Rock Hill in the '50s. Back then, starting around Easter, you could find fish around almost every tree that was in the water. Stumps and snags were good targets, too, as was the water close around boathouses and docks. You could drift along steep banks fishing 2 to 3 feet deep using a float to control the depth you fished. These tactics still work, but not to the degree they once did.

Crappie seem to be spawning in deeper and deeper water. For the past couple of seasons, I have caught crappie from 20 to 35 feet below the surface over deep brush that had eggs oozing out; these females would lay their eggs within the next 24 hours. Crappie still spawn in the shallows, but they are using deep water, too.

Crappie tactics have changed over the years too. Rarely do you see cane poles in use anymore. One time it was common to see an old wooden boat drifting with the wind in open water. The fishermen would each have several long cane poles with floats attached to the line to control depth. They would drift along the main channel in addition to the coves. If a particular drift was productive, they would motor back to their starting place to make that drift again. Small minnows hooked through the lips were the main baits they used.