In a nutshell, when numbers go down, size goes up and vice versa. Why is that? Well, consider the numbers-down, size-up idea: “When numbers go down, you have reduced the population of smaller fish -- or even just reduce the population, period -- and you have lessened the competition for food,” Hysmith said. “That means that the remaining fish have plenty to eat and can get bigger.”

I can personally vouch for Hysmith’s contention. On Bonham City Lake, a municipal water-supply lake in central Fannin County, I found superb numbers of crappie on a trip a couple of seasons ago. Problem was, despite catching plenty of crappie, we had to search a little harder to find keeper slabs on this water body.

The same year, I fished with one of my sons and my wife’s uncle at sprawling Lake Texoma, an 89,000-acre striped bass factory rarely thought of as a crappie hotspot. Fewer sac-à-lait may have been tugging at the end of our light lines that spring day, but the ones that did were good keeper-sized fish that made for some fine eating once the peanut oil was heated up.

While we’re talking about North Texas crappie-catching hotspots, don’t forget that Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex water bodies like Eagle Mountain Lake, Lake Lewisville, and White Rock Lake offer excellent crappie fishing prospects most years.

And don’t forget the waters lying between Dallas and Houston either -- Richland-Chambers Reservoir and Lake Conroe can offer good-to-excellent slab angling if conditions are right.

OK -- the eastern and northern portions of the state have been covered. So what about crappie fishing prospects in western, central, and southern Texas?

Well, for starters, while West Texas isn’t typically thought of as the state’s crappie-fishing hotbed, the truth is there are plenty of crappie to be caught in the shadow of the Cap Rock, the Panhandle, and the Rolling Plains.

In fact, according to the TPWD Web site, water bodies like Alan Henry Reservoir near Lubbock, Lake Arrowhead near Wichita Falls, Baylor Creek Reservoir near Childress, Fort Phantom Hill Lake near Abilene, Greenbelt Reservoir near Amarillo, Kickapoo Reservoir near Wichita Falls, O.H. Ivie Lake near San Angelo, Palo Duro Reservoir near Spearman, and Pauline Reservoir near Quanah all offer fair-to-good -- and in some cases even excellent -- crappie fishing.

How about Central Texas? Well, while certainly not the best crappie fishing region in the state, some of the area’s water bodies like Brady Creek Reservoir near Brady, Granger Lake near Granger, and Lake Lyndon B. Johnson near Marble Falls can offer good to even excellent crappie fishing at times.

Down south, prospects for crappie are also a bit limited according to Randy Myers, a TPWD biologist stationed in San Antonio.

When the area isn’t wasting away amid drought conditions and water levels are good, some fair to good crappie angling can be found in smaller waters like Averhoff Reservoir (174 acres), Lake Casa Blanca (1,680 acres), and Lake Findley (also known as Alice City Lake, a 247-acre water body).

But as a general rule, the area south of the Alamo City is better known for bobwhite quail, big bucks, and Rio Grande turkeys than for its crappie fishing.