Thread: Weiss Lake Catch & Release Campaign

There are a lot of crappie in Weiss Lake, and according to our state biologist, the crappie spawn the last few years has been excellent. Yes, our local guides and their clients catch many tens of thousands of nice crappie every year. So why practice "Catch and Release" ?

Because we see very few 3 + pounders any more, we have good spawns and bad spawns some years, we have many more lakeside homes and campers, we have lost much of the natural habitat over the years, and we hear many complains from bank anglers and those not using guides that the lake is not what it use to be. We also have reduced water flows due to Georgia taking water out of the Coosa River Basin for Atlanta, droughts that cause poor spawns some years, and a lot more of those big birds eating fish; and I could list many more reasons. Weiss Lake is a wonderful and special lake and some of us locals want to keep it special, and renew our claim of "Crappie Capital of the World"

To protect our lake for the future and our grandchildren, we must always be willing to be good caretakers of our natural resources. We need to replace lost habitat, fight to protect our water flows,
keep water quality good, stock fish when needed, abide by all game laws, and keep only enough to eat but don't keep all you can catch just because you can. Voluntary "Catch and Release"
won't won't be practiced by everyone, but every female crappie full of eggs will lay 10,000 to 20,000
Eggs but only 1 to 2% will live to reach 10", that is about 100 to 200 more crappie that will be available for harvest, and a few might make grow to 3 lbs. or more. The "Catch and Release" system did wonders for bass angles, and if we want a good crappie population every year, not just some years; then consider letting some of those egg filled crappie go, to have a chance to spawn.

I don't want anglers to have to go to Grenada, Mississippi to catch a 3 lb + crappie. Where there is a 12" minimum size limit, a daily creel limit of only 15 crappie, lots of man made fish habitat, no houses and docks around the lake, and a lot of game wardens to inforce their strict regulations.

Great post. I would fully support 12" min size limit and 15 daily creel limit. 30 fillets from foot long or better crappies (60 if you have a buddy...or better yet a youngster along with you) is a great day and plenty enough.

In a perfect world that would be great. The only problem is its not a perfect world some lakes just will never produce a lot of 12in. Fish. Most small lakes will over populate. I think that would be great on some lakes like Guntersville. Probably needs to be lake by lake .

Pop Rivers, You can tell that you really know about Weiss Lake. I enjoyed your explanation on catch and release.

I have a place on Weiss now, in Mudd creek. I LOVE this lake! I started my own conservation last year, I released all fish over 14" only killed one mess for a fish fry. Has any studies been done on the actual health of the fish? Are they safe to eat? From Weiss ?had one neighbor tell me it was only safe to eat these fish once a week? Huh? Just asking not wanting to stir up anything!

I got no dog in this ... but, I wouldn't think 2 weeks of C&R by a few concerned souls would make much of a difference, overall, unless the fish actually spawn during that timeframe. Even then it would take a majority of the anglers following the campaign suggestion, to have any major impact.

I also don't see the guides & their clients necessarily following suit. (with exceptions, of course)

... cp