Thread: Management of lake Conway or lack there of.

Matt, have there been any talks of adopting a length limit for crappie? It works well in larger lakes that I have fished.

Craftshaw does it seem like there is a shortage of fish or of large fish? A length limit is meant to protect fish up to a certain size often to allow them to reach sexual maturity, or to get to desirable sizes. Conway out scores every other lake AGFC assesses every year and should probably not be messed with in my opinion. A lot of times harvest of the smaller fish reduces competition among the remaining smaller fish allowing then to grow larger more easily.

Originally Posted by Bigben7

Craftshaw does it seem like there is a shortage of fish or of large fish? A length limit is meant to protect fish up to a certain size often to allow them to reach sexual maturity, or to get to desirable sizes. Conway out scores every other lake AGFC assesses every year and should probably not be messed with in my opinion. A lot of times harvest of the smaller fish reduces competition among the remaining smaller fish allowing then to grow larger more easily.

X2, We got some big ole crappie!

Yep!



C.J.

Ben, over the years I have noticed a trend in the fish getting smaller each year, also I have noticed the fish changing there seasonal patterns based on fishing pressure. I know there are still large crappie in the lake, just wondering how long it will be before the management of the lake and fishing pressure catch up with us. Crappie are not an unlimited resource, and I see alot of people keeping fish around the 6-8 inch length.

I think there more 10" or smaller fish the there the 12"and bigger fish. It is easy to long arm a fish i been told. I like to know what they think would be the average size crappie in there. I can say I have caught more smaller fish then bigger ones. I would like to see a 12" length limit place on conway or do you think it hurt them.

I am not suggesting a long term stint for the length limit. Two years should be efficient to get the age sturcture of the fish up to an average of 2yrs old. That is around a 12-15 inch fish, depending on the water condition and food source. In MO, most lakes have a 9 inch limit, but it can also flood the lake with smaller fish and put a strain on the food source. It would really need to be a short term thing.

D-10 is finishing up a study looking at growth and harvest of crappie in Conway. That info to determine if and which minimum length limit would be best. They have done alot of work during that study. They should be completing the study soon. They can give you more info about the study.

Jeremy