Thread: Grapevine

I can't remember if there was a limit when we were kids. Better bring a few blocks of ice and covers from home to cover the wash tubs cause no one sold ice. I do remember a 100 per day limit, no size. A 50 per day, no size.

That Sounds just about right there. 10 and 20. I would SO LOVE for them to do that on Barnett. say 20 and 40 with a 10" min. Makes me Sick seeing so many 7-9" fish being kept on Barnett but the boat load.

Originally Posted by BulldogBruce

2014 for me was way down at Sardis and Enid so I believe that is what was going to happen. I have pointed out on here many times the meat fishing mindset of Crappie fisherman was going to hurt the numbers. Limit at Sardis needs to go back to 12. The limit needs to be like 10 with 20 per boat at the COE lakes. People come to those lakes to fish, not fill their freezer. Crappie fishing is becoming like Bass Fishing was at the first explosion of it. You have to start practicing Catch and Release and get the limits down to sustainable range. There are way more people Crappie fishing than ever before.

limit is 15 state wide in TN and there is a 10" limit on size.

I eat all the fish I put in the freezer each year. I knew after the spawn was over last year we were in for a down turn this next year. The 12 inch slot did not help Grenada or Enid, they had bad years there last year according to the locals I know. We had many people coming to Sardis to catch a mess of fish from Enid and Sardis. Limits were carried out of Sardis in record numbers last year and the year before that. Maybe we will have a very high water spring and the fish will have a good spawn and we can return to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

One solution, which is never gonna happen, is that MDWFP presses the COE to maintain higher water levels in the spring to improve the spawning habitat...say 3 ft. or more higher. Low water levels in the spring have been death to these lakes in recent years....they are being seined because these fish have nowhere to go and are hemmed in. Jmho.

Well DH we know that's not going to happen. The COE will be the first to tell you that the Big 4 weren't built for recreation.

Spoke with Mr GJ at Enid the other day. He said although all the locals want to blame the out of staters for loading up the freezers, the problem lies with locals coming in on 4 wheelers and catching double, triple plus limits in one day. I'm sure this isn't just 4 wheelers but probably includes guys coming in from areas around the lakes that don't have to go back out of a boat ramp.

With that being said there aren't enough officers to patrol this kind of behavior. We have to help law enforcement catch these guys as I don't consider them Sportsmen. I want to make sure my kids and Grandkids are able to enjoy this great sport for years to come.

I do have a few questions to help me understand how we can possibly resolve this issue short and long term.

1. How many eggs does an average female crappie lay?
2. How many of those make it to year one, two and three?
3. How many years does it take for a crappie to reach 12 inches?
4. Are other major lakes in MS such as Washington, Ross Barnett and Pickwick experiencing this same problem?
5. What about the major lakes in surrounding states such as LA, AR,TN and aAL?

The answer to this problem could be closer than we think.

Thanks in advance for your answers. BTW, I primarily fish Grenada and Enid and 2014 was a bad year as far as the numbers go but I did catch some good quality fish.

I dont think the spawn on nader last yr was as bad a folks want to believe, i was catching bigggg spawing crappie befor the water level jumped up, after the jump, i moved in shallow and wasnt catching the quality or quanity of fish as before the jump. I descided to go back out to where i had caught them befor the water jumped and was rite back on big fish and big numbers, i thing the fish had already bedded up and when the water jumped the fish just held tight to their beds, the fish up shallow were not nearly as big as the fish i caught. When i first started catching them the water i was in was 3 to 4 ft deep, when i went back to them the water was 7 to 8 ft deep. They were in the exact same spots, just more water over their heads, and they were just as mean.

Sardis numbers are due to going from 10" to 12". Made for couple bad years and when the fish population and size caught up made for a good couple years especially with the 11" put in place. Sardis has had good spawns since the year of the drought. It's pressure that's it. I say 2 poles each with 1 bait each. 12" size. 8 fish per angler. That will feed a family of 4. That's a good daily limit for supper. If people want more fish take your whole family and enjoy the day together that's what fishing is about not all these tournaments and 20-60k boats so people can look pretty with check in there hand. It has become commercialized. And that brings pressure money money money. Everybody wants it and something has to suffer.