Thread: Sardis Meeting Summary

Shoot. I wish I had enough confidence in my setup to be able to definitively state that the lack of fish in my live well must in fact point to a decline in the total aggregate population of any given lake. As well I wish I too could spend enough time on the water to base my reputation on the claim that a certain fishing style is wholly to blame for the rapid decline of the fish which should be on the end of my pole. I say ban retirement! That should take some pressure off the stock. While were at it, we must put Donnie out of business for the sake of our future breed stock of crappie. His gnats are far to effective and are resulting in a rapid depletion of our local populations!

there will be plenty of fish, when every fisherman alive today is 6 foot under the ground. just fish the way you like, and be helpful to everyone fishing, from the bank or in a boat. and be thankful that everyone, doesn't like to fish the same way. because it would really get crowded don't you think.

Originally Posted by bird down

First off If you troll all you have to do is find the wad of boats to find the fish. Then with 2 people in the front you can cover 28 ft of water at different depths with 20 different colors if you choose. Find the depth and color and then start whacking them.

i beg to differ..............i have trolled grenada and sardis with my son for what seemed like miles............and never got a bite. sometimes you catch them that easily, but most of the time, its more involved than dropping 6 or 8 poles in the water and start hauling in fish. there are plenty of times that grenada, sardis, and enid have made me want to cry, lol.

thanks, stan. and, regardless of what people think about mo fishermen, we like speck! when my dad fished with me regularly for crappie, he always said that they should close crappie season during the spawn, for a month and a half or so, and he firmly believed that. personally, i think that our worst enemy as crappie fishermen is the rule curve.......the low water conditions we have had for years in the spring. if they would study the rule curve, which will prolly never happen, and raise the lake level 5-7 feet in the spring, it will go a long way in keeping a healthy crappie population. first, there wouldnt be as many crappy swallowed by the spillway, and, second, they will not be concentrated in a puddle where they cant escape being caught........just my 2 cents worth. and, by the way, if laws, length limits and creel limits are obeyed, everyne should fish in ways that they enjoy.

Gawd, I'm worse at riggin than I thought! 7 trips to Nader and I still haven't "whacked em"

I am from Mississippi and anybody who cuts your tires because you are from out of state is a lop-eared, dumb butt, jack ass!!! That is just plain stupid and I hate that happened at all from the state I am proud to call my home. I am guessing the crappie in Missouri rarely get over 12 inches there or something that has caused the flood of fisherman here. I think we are in for a long stretch of 10-12 inch fish on the big 4 unless the corp allows the water level to stay higher. I can tell you right now buddy boy, if the water level hits the 254 mark or higher at Sardis during the spawn, there will be a large survival rate. I have been there several times this winter and the grass is well over head high in places where the water never got up to last year. 15 fish over 10 inches will be a short fishing trip if any survived the crankbait pullers and the trollers from the summer and the fall. We will see, I can't wait myself to feel the thump or watch the floater turn up sideways or something like that.

dhdr24 - I'm with you on that. I love it when they get a little water in Sardis and Butla during the spawn. It definitely doesn't happen right every year, it's a fine line between having too little or too much - even though too much is great for the fish. Makes you appreciate the good ones when you get them.

And I'm really with you on the first part. It is embarrassing to to see how some people act towards out of staters. Unfortunately, the bad people get a lot more attention for their actions, even though the other 99.9% of us know how to get along with each other and act like adults. I will say this though, whatever state I am fishing in I tend to use the busier ramps. It just makes me uncomfortable to use an isolated ramp, whatever lake it's on. If you're coming from out of state, this is probably solid advice for you

Thanks dhdr24. Actually there's some good crappie in Missouri. IF there is a lake near you. Wappapello in Southeast MO has good size generally. 2 pounders are not uncommon. It's only problem is, it's a small lake, 8600 acres and its just about the only game in town. Truman Lake is huge and gives up generous amounts of fish in the 12-15 inch range. However I can drive to Sardis in half the time it takes to get to Truman.
The problem with Southeast Missouri is the lack of places to fish. Besides Wappapello, you can drive to Reelfoot or Mississippi.