Thread: Listen up .... FYI

I joined CDC back in 2014 and distinctly remember some members on here raising cane about all of the spider rigging! Now I can see some of the same members raising cane about pole restrictions!! I was the same way, but I can't handle 8 poles, I'm lucky to manage 4!! too many missed fish!

What I want to know is the data behind raising the size limit on Taylorsville to 10" ... since the last few 9-10" fish I've caught from there were thin. When cleaned, they virtually had no stomachs to speak of ... and actually their egg sacs were larger than their stomachs, and they were only about a half inch long.

I remember the days when you could read a newspaper through most of the Crappie at Taylorsville, and you rarely caught a keeper ... even with a 9" size limit. And since the creel limit is 15/day on this lake, and has been forever, how is the population being reduced to the point where the size limit would help ??

Is the new 20 fish limit being enacted due to lobbying from a certain group or from research indicating that it is needed? I fish Nolin, Barren and Rough and the population of keeper size crappie seem to be doing quite well and have been for several years now. I subscribe to the " If its' not broke, dont' fix it" camp. If anything it seems a 10" size limit would be enacted.

Originally Posted by Tsnell

I joined CDC back in 2014 and distinctly remember some members on here raising cane about all of the spider rigging! Now I can see some of the same members raising cane about pole restrictions!! I was the same way, but I can't handle 8 poles, I'm lucky to manage 4!! too many missed fish!

I will admit, as I have on the forum before and in person of members and other friends, that I was one of those "haters" and felt compelled to say so. I grew up fishing with my grandfather on Eddy Creek over 35 years ago. We put out structure from Christmas trees to blow downs and we fished them the way that everyone did at that time, with a single pole in your hand and a jig. No minners were ever in the boat!
So, fast forward to the past 10 years when I moved home, I went right back to putting in some structure, locating structure, and using either a single pole or two polling. The spider rigging was already in full effect here on the twin lakes, and I felt that it wasn't fishing but more like running a combine! In 2015, my water time got reduced, and I had been drifting with two poles in my hands for years when the fish were scattered, and I took up the spider rigging. Got all rigged up with some homemade holders, and 6 rods. Worked off midnights that morning, came home and tried to take a nap, but tossed and turned and just got up and headed to the lake.
About 3 hours later, and ready to pull my hair out, I had 15 keepers in the boat and stressed out to the max!! But man, what a rush, it was fun as *&$%!!!!! So, I started paying more attention to my electronics, the fish, the patterns, and as of right now today, I will say that I have become a better fisherman due to several factors that involve spider rigging and the technique involved.
The biggest challenge was to become open minded and allow myself to experience another technique or option in catching my favorite fish. As I stated above, this venture into trolling began to open my mind to explore the what and why crappie do these things. I began to notice trends, and paid more attention to the smaller details and gathered even more information for my logs than what I had done in years past. Collecting lake levels, current, water clarity and in relationship to weather, fronts, water temperature, and how they would respond to jig colors, depths, speed, and what they were doing in that bay or area vs another bay or area.
Taking my new technique and adapting it to my ways of fishing has led others to doing it the same way as well. You can still fish with your style while spider rigging and enjoy the rewards, you don't have to follow suit with everyone else, don't be afraid to venture outside of the box....... And that is my last point, and where I felt and where many others are at right now. Yes, our fishery and the crappie themselves are in habit and habitat changing mode as we speak. Where the he said/she said comes in is where people don't want to change, and would like to blame the new aspects that are currently doing well or are more consistent than the others. Folks expect to pull up on that favorite brushpile or stakebed, and load the boat, and its just not that way anymore. Sometimes it can be, but 20 to 30 years ago, you could camp out a piece of structure and load the boat, but those days are much fewer and farther between. Adapting, or remove one's self from their comfort zone is hard to do, and I was there myself. I admit, I was one of those people, but because I chose to change and try something different, thinking outside of the box, it has made me a better fisherman, a more consistent fisherman, and a all around better sportsman. Don't get me wrong, I love to single pole, and still do, but don't knock other techniques until you have the knowledge and experienced for yourself, you might be glad you did...........

Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

What I want to know is the data behind raising the size limit on Taylorsville to 10" ... since the last few 9-10" fish I've caught from there were thin. When cleaned, they virtually had no stomachs to speak of ... and actually their egg sacs were larger than their stomachs, and they were only about a half inch long.

I remember the days when you could read a newspaper through most of the Crappie at Taylorsville, and you rarely caught a keeper ... even with a 9" size limit. And since the creel limit is 15/day on this lake, and has been forever, how is the population being reduced to the point where the size limit would help ??

I am not the biologist in charge of taylorsville and in fact I've never been there. However, looking at their annual reports and talking with their biologist, I see that the growth of crappie has improved recently with white crappie reaching 10.4 inches on average and black crappie reaching 10 inches somewhere between age 3 and 4. The rule of thumb (obviously its more complicated) is to set the limit at the size of the fish at age 3.

This is also the result of the 2016 angler attitude survey which indicated that 62% of the anglers were dissatisfied with the current size limits. Of those 62%, 85% would prefer a 10 "limit. So it was a win win. Biologists and a majority of anglers wanted the 10" limit.

The growth will be monitored as the years go by to make sure those fish arent stacking up below the size limit.

Originally Posted by tubejig

Is the new 20 fish limit being enacted due to lobbying from a certain group or from research indicating that it is needed? I fish Nolin, Barren and Rough and the population of keeper size crappie seem to be doing quite well and have been for several years now. I subscribe to the " If its' not broke, dont' fix it" camp. If anything it seems a 10" size limit would be enacted.

This was in response to several angler attitude surveys conducted on our reservoirs over the years. It also has the effect of simplifying our regs. In many lakes it wont change very much because most people dont harvest the current limit, but in lakes with very heavy harvest it will have an effect.

As for size limits, the chief determining factors are growth rates. These get evaluated periodically in most of our large reservoirs. The other factor is angler support, which is why all of our creel surveys include a question about whether anglers like our current regulations. I too am a big proponent of not trying to fix things which arent broken.

I like the 20 fish limit for GRL.

Originally Posted by 1187mg

I like the 20 fish limit for GRL.

Don't hurt my feelings, either, but I wonder why it didn't get a 10" size limit