Crappie fisheries in northwest Mississippi flood control reservoirs are valued from social and economic standpoints. To mitigate variable recruitment rates of these recreationally valuable species, I sought to gain a better understanding of the population dynamics of these fish during their first year of life. My analyses indicate that embayment habitats in the study reservoirs display a longitudinal distribution gradient of both habitat composition and age-0 crappie abundance during late summer. Additionally, age-0 crappies inhabiting uplake floodplain areas grow to a larger size than downlake embayment-inhabiting conspecifics. The results from this study provide direction on potential management strategies to promote annual recruitment of age-0 crappies in these reservoirs.