Sooner Crappie Troubles Getting Worse

[aserioushunter]

Myself and a friend have been fishing Sooner for years, through the zebra mussels and now white perch. The white perch numbers are exploding. We catch very few crappie any more and alot less hybrids. Shad populations have been down since the zebras. We caught our first ones about 4 years ago, and Monday we caught 125+(Fished 7-2, caught perch, 1 little saugeye, 3 hybrids, 2 drum), last Sat 60+. When we talk to fishermen on Sooner we make sure that they know to not release them. My friend went with a guide and they were just releasing them. Most on Sat had crappie fry, and Mon had shad fry, and they are voracious. They are small but good eating. I know that things will come to equilibrium at some point, but the crappie will be hurting for awhile.

Fish them like hybrids. Look for surfacing early and then they sink right on the bottom 2 ft in 25-35 ft of water, look for what looks like shad balls on bottom or a 2 ft band above bottom. We caught them on 1/8th to 1 oz slab spoons within 2 ft of bottom. Sabiki rigs also work great. Jig heads with worms. When fishing we will always have a rod out just to catch them. So if you go to Sooner catch all you can.

[Achiro]

what part of the lake? Sounds like an idea for a decent morning of fishing for my kids.

[aserioushunter]

We have been finding them between crappie point and south to dripping springs. Sent you a pm.

[aserioushunter]

Went and dropped another 80+ Sun morning. Also caught about a 15 lb drum on 6 lb test. Added a crappie jig about the spoon and caught as many on it as the spoon.

[Bobo Greybeard]

I don't mean to sound like an idiot but could someone please post a picture of a white perch. I think I have seen them at Sahoma but not for sure.

Thanks,

Bobo

[dennishoddy]

I work at the power plant on sooner. The white perch and especially the zebra mussels have cost us many millions of dollars in upgrades, and damage to equipment. We are working with biologists to try and find a way to eliminate the mussels. There may be some hope on the horizon. Back in the day we had to clean our condensers twice a year, and after the mussel explosion, it was twice a day. I fish regularly at the discharge in the winter and the intake in the summer. At the intake, its almost impossible to get a bait to the bottom for blue cat before the white perch strip it. The blue cats always have a full belly, and its zebra mussels that they are feeding on. With each mussel capable of producing 50,000 offspring a year, its impossible to keep up. If your fishing sooner, be sure to clean your engine and boat before going to another lake, and keep or kill every white perch you catch. The crawdads need to eat too. The white perch main diet from what I'm reading is white bass eggs and fry.They have few predators as their fins don't retract. Don't ask me how I know. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_perch

[Eufaula boy]

dennis I know a guy that fishes Sooner for strickly Crappie and Saugeye. You ought to see the stringers, he trolls crankbaits for them. Only uses two colors too, pretty amazing. In wide open lakes with not much structure trolling is a great technique. EB

[dennishoddy]

There is some monster bass in it too. :D
we catch the occasional saugeye at the discharge. Id like to learn more about how and where to fish for them in the open waters. Trolling would be a good way.