Thread: The future

Well said.

Food for thought! 8-10 inchers are the most prevalent crappie spawners! So why do we take those younger, better spawners. Many 12inch plus fish will die during the spawn others will not spawn. Why do we keep the males who protect the beds from predators? Why do we throw back the trash fish as some call gar, pickerel, and many others that prey on crappie eggs. How many released fish survive and does the stress keep them from spawning? God made a beautiful, natural and perfect thing! As humans we are destructive and destroy things then try to fix it. If the protection of spawners is so important, why do we have tournaments at all during the spawn? Wouldn't it be more competitive when fish are not stacked in the creeks?

As for this years spawn, I expect to see many 12 inch plus females floating on Talquin in April. The normal stress kills these fish every year, but this year with the multiple weather problems many will not be able to lay. Some absorb these eggs, but many die. Crappie eggs need light penetration to hatch. That's why beds are in areas with sunlight from 12-15 hours a day. As the water clarity decreases it pushes the crappie shallower to spawn. This eliminates many spawning areas and crowds these areas. This keeps many from spawning. It also allows predators to have easy pickings on beds. In turn this year the spawn will be less than average. Many of the stressed crappie will turn on the newly hatched fry for food after the stressful spawn. This is why crappie and bluegill are crappies #1 natural predator. Fisherman also will catch more fish when they find them stacked in the shallows. Also the longer prespawn allows longliners to find crappie staged and hungry in open water.

Should we just step back and allow nature to do its job? Some of us can go and release what we do not need to eat, but how many do this? I know that over the last 25+ years the lakes I fish have drastically changed. Talquin, in the 90s produced much larger fish and they were more numbers. Then we had a 50 crappie per person limit and they had a scheduled drawdown. There were less crappie fishermen on the water on average, especially outside of the spring. Why is it so different now? Is one of these things the problem or a combination? I do not know the answers, just throwing topics out for discussion. I personally think you are not helping the spawn or population by releasing a 12 inch + female as this is a 5 year old fish (like a 50-60 year old human) versus a 8-10 inch 3 year old (comparable to a 20 something prime child bearing age human). When our wives or daughters are pregnant we pamper them and protect them. So, why do we even fish the spawn at all? What does the stress of being caught and their gills, slime coats and other abuse do to these pregnant females? Do they spawn after being released? Why do we keep the males who are the soldiers protecting and spraying the eggs? Female crappie on average lays 17-21,000 eggs, but they are useless it not sprayed a fertilized by the males! Then they must survive! There are a lot of questions to answer and a lot of different views, but in the end are you truly making a change? If we all respect the resource and keep only what our family can eat, then maybe we are? And please introduce me to that fat little old lady that everyone says they are giving there fish too. Or the church congregations eating all these fish, they need to start eating catfish.

Originally Posted by crappielimits

Food for thought! 8-10 inchers are the most prevalent crappie spawners! So why do we take those younger, better spawners. Many 12inch plus fish will die during the spawn others will not spawn. Why do we keep the males who protect the beds from predators? Why do we throw back the trash fish as some call gar, pickerel, and many others that prey on crappie eggs. How many released fish survive and does the stress keep them from spawning? God made a beautiful, natural and perfect thing! As humans we are destructive and destroy things then try to fix it. If the protection of spawners is so important, why do we have tournaments at all during the spawn? Wouldn't it be more competitive when fish are not stacked in the creeks?

As for this years spawn, I expect to see many 12 inch plus females floating on Talquin in April. The normal stress kills these fish every year, but this year with the multiple weather problems many will not be able to lay. Some absorb these eggs, but many die. Crappie eggs need light penetration to hatch. That's why beds are in areas with sunlight from 12-15 hours a day. As the water clarity decreases it pushes the crappie shallower to spawn. This eliminates many spawning areas and crowds these areas. This keeps many from spawning. It also allows predators to have easy pickings on beds. In turn this year the spawn will be less than average. Many of the stressed crappie will turn on the newly hatched fry for food after the stressful spawn. This is why crappie and bluegill are crappies #1 natural predator. Fisherman also will catch more fish when they find them stacked in the shallows. Also the longer prespawn allows longliners to find crappie staged and hungry in open water.

Should we just step back and allow nature to do its job? Some of us can go and release what we do not need to eat, but how many do this? I know that over the last 25+ years the lakes I fish have drastically changed. Talquin, in the 90s produced much larger fish and they were more numbers. Then we had a 50 crappie per person limit and they had a scheduled drawdown. There were less crappie fishermen on the water on average, especially outside of the spring. Why is it so different now? Is one of these things the problem or a combination? I do not know the answers, just throwing topics out for discussion. I personally think you are not helping the spawn or population by releasing a 12 inch + female as this is a 5 year old fish (like a 50-60 year old human) versus a 8-10 inch 3 year old (comparable to a 20 something prime child bearing age human). When our wives or daughters are pregnant we pamper them and protect them. So, why do we even fish the spawn at all? What does the stress of being caught and their gills, slime coats and other abuse do to these pregnant females? Do they spawn after being released? Why do we keep the males who are the soldiers protecting and spraying the eggs? Female crappie on average lays 17-21,000 eggs, but they are useless it not sprayed a fertilized by the males! Then they must survive! There are a lot of questions to answer and a lot of different views, but in the end are you truly making a change? If we all respect the resource and keep only what our family can eat, then maybe we are? And please introduce me to that fat little old lady that everyone says they are giving there fish too. Or the church congregations eating all these fish, they need to start eating catfish.

You couldn't say it better.

.....and then there is Sinclair.

Good words folks.

Well said gents.

With the help of CDC I think most of us are maturing in our fishing habits so that those that follow in our footsteps will have the pleasure of having a healthy population of crappie and fishing as we do.

Crappielimits

Don't know if you read my post or not from the other day,Crappie Spawn Timing. I can't put it as eloquently as you do and was just trying to get someone such as yourself to come out and give an opinion. I feel you are right on point and from what I have read and been told be people who manage fish the things you say here match nearly word for word. I have not made any decisions one way or another keep the big one release the male or just keep what I want up to the legal limit but I will make sure that the information that I have been graced with in the recent months resonates in my mind when I fish. Most fishermen are all over the place on what the status of this years spawn is and I am starting to believe for some lakes such as Oconee there might not be much of a spawn because the fish are now showing signs of no blood vessel activity around the egg sack and the males are not looking like they are fanning the bottom such signs tell me to watch out that nature may be turning off the reproductive cycle of some of the spawning candidates this go round,after all it is late in March and can a quick warm up lasting for three or four days cause this process to reverse itself I doubt it. Seems to me without the nourishment in the egg sacs the eggs are doomed to dissolve this go round so won't be a need to move shallow for some. Lately the shallow water areas are being cooled even more by the continued runoff and seepage of cold overnight leftover rain flow making that area less attractive to potential spawners. Just my thoughts, you tell me if I am too far off base with my wild beliefs or .....in just a few weeks we all will have our answer Boy I sure hope I'm wrong

Quick, I would not give up on a spawn on Oconee as of yet. I would bet your April new moon that you see fish trying to spawn. As I stated earlier if the water is muddy or murky the fish will lay eggs in inches of water. I have seen them in 10-18 inches of water! Not going to say the eggs are going to make it, but they will probably still spawn. Oconee is a unique lake and the way they pull and push water on these lakes can be much worse than mother nature. I personally feel this is the reason Sinclair is so inconsistent. I hope they turn on soon. I personally would be going to the back of Richland Creek if I was there in April. I like the Eagle's nest hole! Talquin is kinda a subtropical area and most crappie spawn by April and as early as January, but I have caught males in 2 foot of water late as May! Don't give up.