I’m certainly no expert at aging fish. I’ve done it once before in a biology class in Alaska but that was it. This is actually something pretty easy that I think anyone could do. I found a very easy way to remove the otoliths from crappie after a few attempts at doing it like you would on larger fish like salmon. The easy way is to open the under side of the head, remove the gills and the transparent case containing them will be right there, you can even see them. Crack it open like a nut and they fall out like loose teeth.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attac...-pair-4-sm.jpg
You can just about see the growth rings with the naked eye but a little magnification does make it easier. You don’t need a fancy microscope or anything to see them, a simple 5 dollar magnifying glass will do. So with 30 seconds time and a cheap magnifyinglens and you will know what age your fish are.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attac...2-1st-ring.jpg
The microscope I use for wound tract survey's goes from 20-100x so it doesn't show the whole otolith when counting rings. I plan to oder an adapter that will nock it down to 10x and hopefully open the field of view for better pictures.
The next time I collect them I’ll do a video on it so if anyone were to be interested in aging a fish, it will walk you through the process.
Otoliths are a crystal that continues to grow on itself. During the winter you get a slowed growth so these areas are more distinct and show as a line just like a growth ring in a tree. They are supposed to be much more accurate than using a scale, especially in the south where the slower growth of the winter season is much shorter. Supposedly they can produce much more information if you crank up the power and look close but for now I’m satisfied with age information.
What got my interest going on this was a thread a couple weeks ago about crappie management. Some indicated a 10” minimum limit state wide and some a 12“ to increase general size. I’ve go no problem with “Trophy” management if it works, I like big fish too, so it got me looking into it online and as usual I didn’t find much for answers. There are a lot of other variables involved here other than just age but I would think age would be a key variable. I haven’t fished alot of NC yet but I have fished enough places to see a significant difference between the quality of fish at Jordan Lake and other places.
I’ve heard of overpopulation stunting growth, quality ofhabitat is unquestionably a factor but the main question on my mind was justhow long does it take to grow fish of this size and where? The 10” measurement I’m using as a base line just because it’s a state limit and it seems like a good place to start. I’m real interested in seeing how it progresses from therein the “Slab” category.
This will not be a short term study. I’m the type of guy that likes large sample sizes and since it’s a side project it’ll get done as I can do it but any input from others is most welcome to increase sample sizes and add regional information. I’m not looking to influence crappie management, this was just started out of a lack of information to understand management. Hopefully any outcome just helps alleviate that for anyone else looking for answers.
I started with Jordan lake and really consider the beginning a good one. I brought home six fish for measurement that I will add to throughout the year. I am recording length, weight and age for this, so it will show time of year and weight for a fish’s size as well when its all said and done, which will hopefully give some indication as to quality of habitat in regards to food sources.
The six fish ranged from 10.25” to 10.75”. All weighed within a 3oz range with the 10.25” being 8oz and the rest 10-11oz. I know I should use cm and grams here but I’m keeping this easy for most to visualize. 5 fish showed to be of the same age group but one and it wasn’t the smallest fish. It was a 10.5” 10oz fish that showed to be a year younger than the rest.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attac...ppie-4-age.jpg
5 of the fish showed to be going on their third winter.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attac...ppie-2-age.jpg
One showed to be on its second (this fish fell into the middle of the size group and was not the smallest)
It’s a small start but down the road when there is 20-30fish for a size group and location and things get all graphed out, I hope there could be some worth while information. We’ll see how it goes.
