small crappie in Kincaid....the reason....

I emailed the district fishery biologist in Kentucky and asked if we could place structure in the lake to enhance our fishing experience and also asked why the crappie and bluegill are so small..below is the response. very interesting...
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Ms. Stoeckel,

As district fishery biologist who covers Kincaid, I'll be glad to help answer your questions. First, thanks for checking with us before placement of any fish attractors. We don't mind you placing structure in the lake for fish, but please be aware of the following: structures should be placed so as to not be a navigational hazard for boats and motors (place out of reach of an outboard motor lower unit); also, remember cutting any trees or brush from our buffer zone (50 feet (level) from the water line at pool) is prohibited---landowners with adjacent lots may cut brush only if it is less than 2 inches in diameter. (KDFWR owns this 50-ft buffer all around the lake.)

As for the fish population: Kincaid has a TREMENDOUS largemouth bass population (large number of big fish)---probably best acre for acre lake in the state. 'Bass' is the target species for management there. Normally, in small impoundments this size, we would try to remove the gizzard shad; this would improve the bluegill and crappie populations. With shad present, bass eat them instead of eating the bluegill and small crappie---this allows the bluegill and crappie to "stunt" and grow slowly. With shad present, bass eat more shad, and, seem to grow quite well there (water quality and watershed size are the major factors here also). There is nothing else we can do to make the massive numbers of bluegill and crappie grow---no habitat programs, feeding programs, or even regulations. Right now, the bass population is so good, (and has been for years), that we do not want to do anything to change this. We sample Kincaid twice a year for bass population data (length frequency, catch per unit effort, recruitment and age and growth). We sample once a year there for bluegill population data. The size limit on channel cats was done at many state-owned lakes like Kincaid around the state--to allow a little better growth before harvest. (Catfish are not density-dependent on bass like the bluegill and crappie are.) Small bluegill/crappie will probably always be a factor in this lake.

I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me/us with any questions. My assistant dist. biologist, Jeff Crosby, covers the northern part of our district which includes Kincaid.

Thanks,
Kerry Prather
Central Fishery District Biologist

Bass are more important in the eyes of most fishermen, as you can see. Too bad that they only worry about bass in EVERY lake. :(

As for Kincaid, sounds like you either need to adopt bass fishing or try another lake. This is a problem for a lot of the small lakes in the state, and they are telling you the truth in that they can't do much about it. More panfish means less food for individuals, which leads to smaller size.

thanks for the reply. it's a bummer cuz we have property on kincaid...but we still enjoy it. we plan to investigate the fishing on the Licking river this year.

kincaid is great for families. the kids can catch little fish left and right all day long!

Yeah, always a good idea to take a kid fishing. I can remember the fishing trips I went on with my family as a kid. Catching small bluegill out of a farm pond with a cane pole led me to this point, and it is probably the most passionate thing I do. I just hope your kids also don't get addicted to buying FISHING GEAR ALSO, like I am. Geez, I'm broke. :D

Stocking a few Flathead catfish in there will thin out the bluegill and small crappie pretty quick.