Promote lures (I make) to locals eager for lures that work...or keep them a secret?

I have a few designs that anglers locally have seen me catch fish after fish (schoolies obviously). Few fish from a boat like I do and don't realize that location, presentation and lures used are paramount and not just the lures used.

The lake is fairly small - about a mile and a half long, three quarters of a mile wide and has seasonal changes that locate and relocate crappie. Summer turned out to be a weed pattern that choked off 1/3 of the lake, including shore fishing. A boat and sonar were needed to find deeper water, weed edges and patches - major crappie locations many yards away from any bank.

But having anchored, sometimes in the middle of nowhere and catching 20 or so fish in a school, seemed to shore anglers like a was using a magic lure, especially if I repeated the catch consecutive days.

Granted, getting away from the bank was key, but in spring there are no weeds and fish can be caught using the right lure or live bait. Being that the lake is not large and that many shore anglers keep everything, makes me wonder if my lures were revealed might be detrimental to the fish population even though the lake has a huge population of less than legal size crappie.

An angler I gave some lures to and showed how to use them a few weeks ago, immediately caught over 40 pan fish from his kayak and wants to buy more when I saw him a few days ago. Until he found me after the first meeting, he found a similar design on line that worked just as well though more expensive. But still, if he can do great and the word spreads to other boater anglers about design coupled with presentation (a key factor), how soon will it be until increased fishing pressure has an affect on the fishery - C&R or not?

If longline trolling hasn't fished out our Southern lakes. A single pole lure and bank fisherman won't for sure. Sounds like it may need some fish removed anyway. Which can only better the average size. I fish two lakes that on any given day 1000s of fish are caught. As people catch more fish they will release more of the smaller ones.

If the fish are monitored by your DNR....such as quantity of fish, size of fish, how many good size fish compared to small fish, etc........they will step in and change creel limits, or size regs in order to maintain decent fishing. Our conservation department take a yearly census of fish to determine the overall health and they will change size or creel limits to help.

It wont have any affect....all my life new lures and presentation methods have come out that catch fish and we have not run out yet. Creel limits and min length limits will keep everything in check.

There are a lot more factors to catching fish then just having a great lure. The best lure out there isn't going to catch anything if you can't get it in front of the fish. The lure seems to be a small percentage of success. Knowing the habits of the fish you are after is a major part.

Spoon
There are a few other things that people don't think about....if you continue to add pressure to a smaller lake you can really effect it!
Even though Crappie reproduce in great numbers, a bad spawn due to weather or other factors can hurt a year’s class of fish, a couple bad years, and things can start to drop off….if you are losing a lot of fish to the fryer, and dead fish from fishermen, plus bad spawns, the Crappie fishery can suffer….Evan though a Crappie can produce ALOT of eggs, most DNR's agree that only 3% will reach legal size in a good year.
If you are trying to grow a healthy population of larger fish and a nice Crappie fishery, a few key ideas need to be shared and followed, so you don’t have a lot of floaters, or damage the population on heavily pressured lakes or areas!

Proper Catch and release….if you are out for fun and not looking to get a mess for the fryer, and you are going to release crappie that you catch, there are a few things to keep in mind.
*Just as with a Bass, DO NOT hold the fish horizontal by the jaw…Don’t torque the bottom jaw down at any time, you can injure, dislocate, and even break the fishes jaw.
If you are taking pictures, you can hold the fish by the bottom lip and let him dangle straight down, or hold them by the lip and support the belly, to hold it horizontal.
*Make sure your hands are wet, if you are going to grab or hold the fish by the body….the protective slim coat on the fish is its defense against parasites, disease, etc. Also try not to let it flop around on the boat, use absorbent gloves, towels, etc, to hold them….removal of the slime coat is just taking chances with the fish’s survival.
* If a fish is deep or gut hooked, don’t just rip it out. If you can’t get it out with hemostats or needle-nose, try the procedure of going through the gill plates, pay attention to not damage the gills. If all else fails then cut the line as close to the hook as possible and hopefully Mother Nature will “Find A Way”!

One Point I want to make…if you are continually gut hooking a crappie, then IMHO you are using way to small of a hook, and your technique needs some work!
I can't remember the last time I have had a gut hooked fish….I use a 1/0 Sickle Hook jig head for swimbaits and when they are really feeding, I use a #1 sickle jig head for the swimbaits in cold temps. The hook is either in the corner of the mouth or roof of the mouth 99.9% of the time. Other guys use different size lures or hooks with the same success rates, so ask questions if you are having problems or if you need more info! When a Crappie is in BIG BOY FEEDING MODE, it is going to inhale a small bait and hook…there are times when a Crappie is feeding small, but those are normally in COLD WATER periods.
Using microscopic hooks/jigs/lures meant for Bluegill etc, is just asking for problems if you are going to C&R Crappie.
Now, if you are just catching fish for the table….NO ISSUES!
Ice fishing is a whole different technique…Crappie at this time are looking for that small meal they don’t have to work for, and most are going home to the fryer anyway. But still if you catch small fish or C&R, the same precautions apply…and don’t just throw them down on the ice and then try to throw them back in later.
The small fish you put back in, are going to be your next year’s keepers, so take care of your resource!

So to make a long story short....yes you can effect your fishery, by increasing pressure!

Our Conservation Dept (DNR) never surveys any body of water and always go by the general reg.s for different species. Angler license money does not go towards protecting fish and in fact I got checked for the only the second time in my entire life three weeks ago! I've seen NYSDEC officers only four times in my entire life. One of those times you'll get a kick out of:
About five years ago two officers borrowed a boat that's usually rented to anglers and it was dead in the water a half mile away from the launch area. They were loaned a trolling motor and battery from the rental guy but didn't take any oars. The uncharged battery went dead and we offered to tow them. It would have been priceless to see them paddling with cupped hands.

I reported an angler who showed pictures of four dead out-of-season bass he bragged he caught in a local lake. After reporting the obvious crime to a DEC officer and the Facebook page url, I called to see what happened. No prosecution! Something about plausible deniability.

INTIMIDATOR,

I don't keep fish....any fish.

99% of my fish are lip hooked and needle nose pliers are used if my finger can't push the jig head hook free. Never use a #8 jig hook - usually 4 or 6.

I'm not too concerned with slime coat for the amount of time (15 seconds or less) it takes to release the fish.

I can't teach the general population everything you mentioned and if I did, they would tell me to ... you know.

Most likely, few anglers that fish from the bank will be interested in using my lures so the secret is safe; presentation and location are everything and boater anglers that follow that principle are few. Those that do I would think, don't keep fish and in fact most are bass anglers - the most common type of angler that fishes from a boat.

Fish that have been caught frequently bite lures again. Very few caught show any evidence of that any place I fish, so I guess fishing pressure is negligible. I've only seen a few dead fish on any lake and most weren't angler related deaths (pickerel teeth marks, eyes pecked out from cormorants).

I'll just tell my friend not to spread the news to shoreline anglers - just in case - but that if he knows of a few C&R anglers - fine but always keeping in mind, the smaller the water the more protection needed.

{I don't keep fish....any fish.} Hey Spoon, there is nothing wrong if you keep a few Crappie, especially if you do other things to help the fishery!

{99% of my fish are lip hooked and needle nose pliers are used if my finger can't push the jig head hook free. Never use a #8 jig hook - usually 4 or 6.} Good, others need to realize what they are doing wrong if they are killing fish!

{I'm not too concerned with slime coat for the amount of time (15 seconds or less) it takes to release the fish.} Poor reasoning, it only takes a second with dry hands to effect/affect a fishes slime coat...that slime coat is the only thing that protects it from the junk we put in the water or bacteria, etc.

{I can't teach the general population everything you mentioned and if I did, they would tell me to ... you know.} we do it nicely here, if fishermen don't teach others, who will!

{Most likely, few anglers that fish from the bank will be interested in using my lures so the secret is safe; presentation and location are everything and boater anglers that follow that principle are few. Those that do I would think, don't keep fish and in fact most are bass anglers - the most common type of angler that fishes from a boat.} Northern Bass fishermen are less likely to keep Bass compared to Southern Bass Fishermen...this is due to the Abundance of Bass in the Southern fisheries....The Southern Florida strain, spawns better and grows larger and faster. Northern strain grow slower and are less plentiful, they also take forever to get trophy size...Lake Erie and the GL fisheries have a viable Smallmouth Population which can sustain keeping Smallmouth.
SOME OF THE BEST FISHERMEN I HAVE EVER KNOWN, ARE BANK FISHERMEN! A GOOD bank fisherman, has to know the entire lake, and where he can catch fish during each pattern...all without electronics.
Bank fishing is just not a bobber and minnow crowd, most "bankers" know how to jig under a bobber, swim a swimbait, curly tail, etc. Some of the worst fishermen I know fish from a boat!:):):)

{Fish that have been caught frequently bite lures again. Very few caught show any evidence of that any place I fish, so I guess fishing pressure is negligible. I've only seen a few dead fish on any lake and most weren't angler related deaths (pickerel teeth marks, eyes pecked out from cormorants).} Fish, like animals can remember negative experiences, they can relate colors that cause them harm...Normally research has shown that caught fish, may not feed for up to 10 days after being caught, those that have suffered damage, may not eat for longer periods.

{I'll just tell my friend not to spread the news to shoreline anglers - just in case - but that if he knows of a few C&R anglers - fine but always keeping in mind, the smaller the water the more protection needed.} As I said before, there are good shore anglers and bad boat anglers and vice versa...ALL WATERS NEED PROTECTION! That's why limits were put on all the BIG CRAPPIE LAKES ALSO...just ask some of the BIG 3 anglers, what over fishing was doing! We just have to be responsible anglers!

Good Fishing!