Bush-fishing crappies Rend Lake guide untangles mysteries

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.” Although a cryptic message on the surface, anyone who fishes Rend Lake in southern Illinois during the crappie spawn understands. The lake’s largest crappies spawn in the tangled masses of buttonbush that dot the shoreline each spring.