“White crappie do much better in West Texas than blacks,” he explained. “And in Central Texas, most of the fisheries are primarily white crappie. But in East Texas, we see a lot of black crappie. The ratio could be as high as 50-50 between black crappie and white crappie.

“When we do our annual sampling, the ratios of one to the other that we get in our nets isn’t always similar to what shows up in anglers’ creels.”

The two crappie prefer different kinds of structure, for one thing. Where you fish could be determining what you catch. Given that, there’s at least a chance that because you focus on areas that white crappie prefer, or that black crappie favor, your favorite East Texas lake has plenty more crappie that you never see.

It’s just another fascinating element of Texas’ tremendous dynamic crappie fishery. As this new season unfolds, you should expect to enjoy better fishing than you have in the recent past. And as you do, you should remember that it’s just the first taste of the good action to come over the next few seasons.

Find more about Texas fishing and hunting at: www.TexasSportsmanMag.com