WOODEN CRAPPIE HOUSES
Some docks are, as is case with most fishing structure, better than others. Baker's suggestion: Find the oldest wooden docks, and those with the largest surface area.

"The crappie hold more on those old wooden docks that have been there for a while," he noted. "I also look for crappie under the biggest platforms, which create the most shade."

Regardless of the location, Bailey suggested a systematic approach to fishing a dock. Fish a dock thoroughly, especially one that has been known to produce in the past. "I think one mistake that many people make is fishing a dock too quickly," he observed. "I usually start on one side or the other and work my way in or out until I locate fish. If you don't find them on the side, work the front. By fishing a dock too quickly, it's difficult to determine how the fish are locating."

Baker likes to start from the front and then fish the sides. "It's important to stay off the face of a dock and not spook the fish," he remarked. "Stay far away from the dock but still be able to shoot comfortably."

While wooden docks appear to be best for holding crappie, floating piers also attract fish -- especially if some other type of structure, like treetops or brushpiles, has been planted there. Bailey also noted that the shade of boats, especially those with a wide bottom like pontoons, serves as holding areas for crappie.

SEASONAL APPROACH
The pre-spawn weeks of March or, perhaps, early April offer one prime time for shooting the docks on Weiss Lake. The fish begin their pilgrimage from deepwater haunts to the shallows and target water three to 10 feet deep. Logic dictates that those docks closest to winter holding grounds will hold fish first.

Baker also pointed to the post-spawn -- that roughly one-month window during which the crappie begin to leave the spawning areas -- as another ideal time for shooting docks. At Weiss, this post-spawn fishing occurs from late April into May.

"Shooting docks may be the best way to catch post-spawn crappie on Weiss," Baker said. "Fishing can be tough at this time, and the fish hanging around the docks are still aggressive and hungry."

PRIME WEISS LOCATIONS
Any place that claims the title of "the Crappie Capital of the World" won't lack for crappie fishing water. Docks are plentiful around most of the 447 miles of shoreline on the lake.

On the lower end of the lake, both Russ Bailey and Darrell Baker are likely to be fishing in or around Church House Slough, Yellow Creek, or in the Bay Springs area.

Moving up the lake, major tributaries like Big Nose, Little Nose, Cowan, Spring, and Mud creeks are good locations to begin a dock-shooting trip.

SUMMING UP
"I don't know if there is a bad place to shoot docks on Weiss," Bailey concluded. "It's more about the individual dock and whether that specific location will hold fish.

"Weiss has so many docks that do hold fish -- that is why dock-shooting is about my favorite way to fish here.