REND LAKE — When the third or fourth slab crappie hit the bottom of Rick Eskew’s livewell, the veteran Rend Lake fishing guide said for anyone to hear, “Not all bushes are created equal ...

The Illinois crappie records are remarkably similar in weight: hybrid (4 pounds, 8.8 ounces, caught by Ryan Povolish, March 28, 2017, Kinkaid Lake); black (4-8, John Hampton, May 15, 1976, Rend ...

Crappie fishing improving leads this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report, but there’s lots of other options both inland and on Lake Michigan. Peter Chung emailed the photo at the top and this: ...