Thread: D-10 Big fish with eggs Question!!

I am torn on this question as well, mainly due to the lake I fish quite often. Its only about 200 acres and has been very heavily fished the past two years because the crappie have finally gotten to that "slab" size we all like. I have boated many 13-14" fish the past year when just a few years ago you would be lucky to catch anything over 7-8". There is a 30 fish, no minimum length limit and I do believe that "thinning out the small herd" helped the size situation. My only fear now is whether or not it can withstand the pressure year after year in the spring like the past two. I have counted up to 60 boats on this little lake in the spring and although I know not every boat is taking out two limits of fish, there are tons being caught. On lakes of this size is it pretty safe to assume that fishing should continue to be good or will the spring time pressure hurt the numbers in the end?

Originally Posted by mitch_ward

If I catch enough for a mess they're going in the freezer! We eat fish all year long. If the freezer is full enough I will have a fish fry or give some away.

My opinion is it depends on the waters , some places are over populated and it slows growth rates . I take a limit nearly everytime I can even though I usually give them away.

If I want some fish I will keep some. If I don't need them, they get released. I don't concern myself with which ones to keep.
D10, when you bake those thick filets, put a raw onion slice on top of them. I like that and a little lemon juice in the bottom of the dish to cook in. We rarely fry any

Originally Posted by arkcrappie

If I want some fish I will keep some. If I don't need them, they get released. I don't concern myself with which ones to keep.
D10, when you bake those thick filets, put a raw onion slice on top of them. I like that and a little lemon juice in the bottom of the dish to cook in. We rarely fry any

I bet my wife would like that. I'm not an onion guy but I do squeeze a little lemon juice on the fillet when I have fresh lemons.

Ok then. Thanks for the information D-10 and Nimrod. Could these egg sacks that I'm seeing this time of year actually be sperm sacks? Are they the same color as eggs?

The males have a white to greyish color sacks and the females will be yellowish orange. The more developed they get into the spring, they will start to develop more blood vessels in the egg sacks.

D-10, I agree with your answer but how do you attribute the need for the AGFC crappie nursery pond at Lake Conway? If the crappie are so successful at spawning wouldn't the lake provide enough replacements on its' own?

Originally Posted by Skunkum

D-10, I agree with your answer but how do you attribute the need for the AGFC crappie nursery pond at Lake Conway? If the crappie are so successful at spawning wouldn't the lake provide enough replacements on its' own?

Very good question! The nursery pond most certainly played on integral role in the success of Lake Conway's fisheries in the early days. It also is very important when we are coming off of a major drawdown. What we are uncertain about is its effectiveness during the other years. That is why we stocked 160,000 chemically (OTC) marked crappie into the nursery pond canal this year to simulate a nursery pond stocking. Next year we will be able to go out and collect 100 age 1.5 year old and look for the OTC mark on their otolith. OTC leaves a fluorescing ring on the annuli, that is only visible under a certain wave length of light. You can not see I with the naked eye. OTC is not harmful to the fish or other animals that may consume the fish (humans included). We will then be able to determine what percentage of the Age 1.5 year old fish were stocked this year or naturally produced. So hopefully after next years sampling season. I will be able to better answer your question. Thanks.