Thread: Lets compare Apples to Oranges

What do you propose to do about it bigger?

Go back to keeping the 10 inch fish of course.

That could get expensive!:D

How bout this.....10 inch min, 25 fish limit, only one of which can be over 16 inches.....Yall wanna call it a "Trophy" lake, lets treat it like one.

I think this coming August will be the 2 year anniversary of the 12 inch minimum. It takes about 3 years for a crappie to reach 10 inches. Lakes run in cycles and we may be in one of those smaller fish cycles on some of the lakes.

3 years ago we went to a 12 inch min 2 of which could be under 12, yall correct me if im wrong.

It would take years and years to lose the "big fish" genes from from the entire population. This is not a quick process.

Also, fish an deer are somewhat different because most fish grow continuously throughout their lives, but deer stop growing larger at physical maturity. So in some regards, rather than worrying about preserving "lunker genes" it is more important to maximize fish longevity. That is probably the reason for the 12" limit.

However, on the flip-side it is possible that the the 12" fish could overpopulate and consume too many resources, thus limiting growth rates and the number of "lunkers" that the lake can support. Seems like I read somewhere that lakes with good bass populations will often produce larger crappie because the bass eat more middle-size crappie, freeing up food for the bigger crapie (This last statement may not be true...not sure).

The bass seem to be on the rebound at Grenada, That may be a result of all the little crappie?

I know it takes a long tome to "ruin" a lake that size, Im just saying that I think we are moving in the wrong direction thats all.