When does crappie season start in Texas?

Crappie are a great fish because if you think about where to fish crappie will bite all year long, and even when the waters are frozen solid they are one of the few that will bite, of course this is generally not a problem is Texas. But Texas like every other area in the world has a spawning season and this might be called the magical, mystical and wonderful crappie season basically the equivalent of the everlasting gobstopper. This is when the crappie will bite a bare hook or just about anything you put in the water. I have personally had great luck with new stainless steel hooks, no bait required, but I have heard tales of people tying knots in their lines and the moment the fish bites they would give it a quick yank and presto fish on the bank. Ok now that I am done explaining the magical if not mythical properties of the spawn let us talk about when it really occurs. In general crappie spawn just as the surface water temperatures are hitting 63 %u2013 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This depends on the temperature that the water was during the winter but if you start fishing as soon as the temperature hits 61 or 62 you should be good. This temperature occurs at different times for every lake latitude; some shallow northern lakes may spawn weeks before deeper southern lakes so the best thing to do is look at your local agency such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/) for information about water temperatures.