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All right Anglers, Please take the time to voice your concerns, complaints, dis-likes, and suggestions
you think needs to be addressed on Weiss Lake ? As a local resident, business operator, and die
hard Crappie Angler, I want our Weiss Lake Community, Elected Officials, and Alabama Power to be
on track to help make Weiss Lake the best it can be. Your comments, good or bad, will be sincerely
appreciated. Please let us hear from all you.
Regards and Good Fishing, POP :fish :dono :fish
As an out of stater I used to go to Weiss on a regular basis but I think it has really gone down the last couple of years. I think you should reduce the daily limit to 15 and see what happens in 4-5yrs. Our home lake is now what Weiss used to be and headed in a direction that might be better. we've had 15 long as I can remember. The quality is getting borderline off the charts. these fish are fatter every year and so many short fish which is good for the future.
Right,reduce the daily limit to 15 or 20 ,, We love Weiss lake and are out of staters to .20 good Crappie a day is all we keep 11" at that . 3to4 yrs see what happens .Hey in 5 days thats 100 Crappie .....Quote:
Originally Posted by tenncrappie
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1...D550/ry%3D400/
Probably wouldn't hurt to keep the stocking programs up.
Reduce the limit to 15. Increase the length from 10" to 12". Reduce the stocking of stripe bass and try to get them out of the lake. Can the elected officals work a deal with the state/fed dnr to try and reduce the number of fish eating birds that winter there. Also, get a full time game warden for the lake. I've seen several boats putting hand size crappie in the live well this year.
i have not fished Weiss yet but do fish Guntersville, if you reduce the limit to 15 or 20 and let the 10 inchers and some of the super slabs go it would be a big help, i have seen so many keep way to many and brag about it, i have heard stories that some people have two or three freezers full and still want more, start practicing selective harvest and the lake will get back to what it was
Reducing the limit to 15 sounds good . Striped Bass have not been stocked in the lake since the late 80's. I have fished Weiss lake all of my life i live in the area. The problem is the number of fish took out of the lake. Almost everyday you fish the lake you see boats keeping small fish and lots of them the lake will never be the same until you get enough Game Wardens to enforce the limit and size limit. Weiss lake sells more out of state fishing license than every other lake in Alabama combined. Simple numbers
We have got to get wardens on our lake! Folks are limiting out and dropping them off and coming back for more and also keeping small ones! No one is enforcing the law and people know it! I would like to see length and limits changed but believe we need to start with just enforcing laws and see what happens? Its not the folks out of state that are hurting weiss it's the locals that know the lake and wipe the spawning grounds out with over limits! Crappie must spawn to keep a lake producing and must be left alone until they are big enough to spawn before being harvested. Weiss is my home lake and I would love for my kids to enjoy it in the future as much as I have enjoyed it.
i have to agree with tenncrappie, reducing the limit would be a start
It is everybody i see plenty of out of state boats keeping small fish not just the locals.Quote:
Originally Posted by MePreach
Great comments so far, keep'em coming.
i think it all boils down to how to combat the fishing pressure. with a name like crappie capitol, you have certain expectations and with that also comes the heavy pressure, thus the high liscense sales for this lake. with today's fishing gear and electronics and all the things fishermen have at their disposal, a good fishery can be decimated in a hurry.crappie angling has become more popular in the last few years too, and there are some pretty darn good anglers out there .so size and more stringent limit restrictions are a good way to start. just my opinion
Weiss needs a Game Warden like we have on Neely Henry. He has checked me three times in three weeks. He has a crappie style aluminum boat with no markings and looks about 16 yrs. old.
I am also an out of stater. I will be heading down there in just a couple of weeks and it with be the 4th consecutive year. My buddies and I started coming down there because of the "Crappie Capitol" title and because of the 30 fish limit. I am all for lowering the limit a bit, but I think 15 is a bit much. We have some lakes here in Illinois that have 15 fish limits. Why would I want to drive 9 hours to Alabama when I can catch those numbers here in my own back yard? Granted, they are not quite the quality of fish in Weiss, but you see my point. I think 20 or 25 would be a fair number and it wouldn't discourage fishing-tourism from other states as I believe a 15 fish limit would. I would probably not come back if they changed it to 15, not when I could go to Reelfoot or Kentucky lake, which are MUCH closer. A full time game warden would be a GREAT improvement! Granted, no one likes to get hassled when they are fishing, but I would rather be hassled a bit, knowing that people are not keeping short fish. Also I think that if the "Capitol" title is going to continue, the stocking programs are going to be a MUST. These are just my opinions, coming from an out- of-stater. I hope this helps.
Also, the two crappie I am holding in my Avatar, came from Weiss Lake!!!!! :fish
I agree with adjusting the limits- 15 is good compromise & stay with the 10" size - everyone knows that there is some cheating going on throughout the season- more wardens would help. I would like to hear the opinons of the guys that make their living on the lake- I respect their abilities to find fish & would respect their viewpoints- Terry Whaley, Darrell Baker & others.
After reading these post and mine included....I would like to say that Weiss is still a Awesome Lake to fish! the spotted bass fishing is second to none and catfishing is excellent and limits of quality crappie can still be caught on Weiss! I believe the fix is quite simple to the problems on Weiss.....Be a good sportsman and do what is right! Pick up your trash, keep only what you plan on cleaning, educate those around you and our KIDS to do what is right, smile and speak when spoken too or be the first to say Hi instead of frowning, and last but not least....when there is fifty of us fisherman longlining in one place Turn the other way when you pee Rofl
I dont think anything will do much good until you take some pressure off of it. The lake has been worn-out since the 1990's ! Maybe higher out of state fees and less tournaments, not just crappie but bass also. There are atleast three bass tourn a week & dont know how many crappie tourn. When you pull in a slough & there are 40 guides and another 30 - 40 boats in one small area, it's crazy.
Weiss lake should quit pimping the lake out.Find some more industries besides crappie fishing.Increase the size limit,lower the limit of fish,start bass fishing,in force the laws...
Have fished Weiss my whole life,have seen the good times and the bad.If you want to improve this place ,just my opinion,lower the limits to 15 and raise the length to 12 and put in a state park camp ground or a county one where people that want to camp, tent or RV would like to go.Has anyone drove around and checked out the family owned camp grounds down there?I would not bathe my dogs in most bath houses they have much less stay there.Would love to see a Crappie.com get together down there,like they have in other states,but where?I travel every year to these get togethers in Ky.,Tenn.,Ms.and have been to Ark. for one .All have nice facilitys, and are packed.And Pop's I know you have a very nice motel.Not trying to take away from you ,but some people like to sit around a campfire at night and have a good time.
I agree with all of the above posts but we are all overlooking the major cause the Crappie population is declining. This is a common problem in all lakes and streams. Overharvesting Female Crappie before they are able to Spawn and flutuating water levels prior to and after spawn. Ive fished the Coosa for years upstream from Weiss and the water level flutations are critical factor in a sucessful Spawning Run upstream. Crappie in my opinion is the most sought after fish in Weiss and upper Coosa. The Striper and Catfish are also decreasing in numbers. Ga. has no size limit on Crappie and i have seen many people keeping 8-9 in. fish. The stocking program helped 2-3 yrs after it began but the word got out that Weiss is back and then the pressure began. We are now seeing the same thing beginning to happen at Guntersville. I dont know the solutation but if all fisherman were aware of all these combined conditions they might think Twice before they toss them in the livewell! Just saying. Bottonbumper
i think size limits as well as creel limits should be set and then they need to be renforced.look at it like this,folks who deer hunt and want to harvest that big buck,have a better chance, if where they hunt is managed(let the small ones walk)in this case little ones swim.
I have personally fished with 3 different guides the past 4 years and between the guide and myself we used 7 to 8
rods at any one time between the two of us on all 3 trips with different guides.
Maybe enforcing the locals to follow the same rules us out of towners have to follow would be a good start to some iomprovements.
I agree with lowering the creel limit. I think it would have a similar effect as lowering the fishing pressure (reducing the total number of fish being harvested). I also think releasing the bigger females would help. Those bigger females (say 13" and larger) are the best stocking program you could have. I rarely keep anything over 12" for that reason. I think the 10 and 11 inchers are much better eating than the larger fish anyway. I used to fish primarily for bass, and always found pleasure in catching a nice Largemouth, and then releasing that big girl to live and fight another day, and produce offspring for the future.... Just my two cents....
I too have seen some local boats with way too many poles out for the number of people in the boat. I've seen some throw fish in the cooler that were no where near the size limit either. I realize the guides need to make a living too but when you think about it, people hire the guides to get their limits and then take what the guide showed them to continue their success for the remainder of the trip. If you lower the limit to 15 per day, your number of visitors will drop significantly. People will not travel from any great distance for 15 fish, they can do that anywhere. Kentucky Lake has dropped theirs and they are seeing the effect on business. Stocking programs are good for everyone as long as the stripers dont get them first. I think the fish are still there but the species has changed and the old way of catching them has also changed. The guides dont seem to have any problems catching them.
Selective harvest but most people are greedy and want to brag about how many they catch and carry home
Just some food for thought (My opinion)
1) You can have the best genetic's, food plot's etc. for deer. But they'll never reach their full potential without the most important part of becoming a trophy buck. AGE!
2) Yearling or 1st year of breeding status for doe's, usually have only one fawn. Older doe's generally have twins and even triplett's. There again, age plays an important part.
3)Searches on the internet vary, but seemed to be consistent that older female crappie layed significantly more eggs. Some examples that I found were that a 10"crappie would lay 10000, where a 14" would layed up to 200000. This was probably the most extreme that I found. Still I think you'll find generally the same results showing that the older larger layed the most.
4)If you left all the female crappie in the lake for 1 to 2 years till they reached 12", just think how many more tens of thousands of eggs would be laid rather than filleted. Again age is part of the formula.
5)Females are only present for a short period of time at the nest. It's the males that has the responsibility to see the yearling's reach the age to where they can survive on their on. Catching the males off the spawning grounds plays a big part in the spawns success or failure to a point.
6) Nothing you come up with will work without enforcement. The lake has got to be patrolled and everyone kept in check.
7) Wild one here! Make it illegal to catch and release striper's on Weiss. Donate all the meat to the food banks at the very least!!!:biggrin
Weiss has had down years, even 20 years ago fishing got tough certain years, she will come back. and this may be the year. The economy is the biggest problem with folks traveling, maybe a bounty on stripers and a week open season on those birds. I still think weiss will be good this year,:fish
Slot limit may work?keep fish 10to 13 inch range anything over 13 throw back this will produce bigger brude fish.I know this works with other species..
I totally agree,increase out of state liscense fees..(double or triple)....lower creel limit to 15-20,and increase minimum size to 11 -12".Honestly,if a few of the out of staters would fish in their own state,many of us would be happy,not many would admit that on here,but that is the feeling of many of us (that aren't guides,merchants,or elected officials).One more thing,ENFORCE WHATEVER REGULATIONS THAT ARE IN PLACE...MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF THE ONES THAT DO NOT ADHERE TO THE LAW..stick a few of the with about 500 bux per short fish...if that wouldn't make a man think twice...I don't know what would
I to have seen guides fishing with 6 rods per person. I asked one guide I passed by if he was aware of the 3 pole limit, and he said " They wont mess with me", that being said, I really don't agree with the law. If you have a limit of fish you can catch, what difference does it make how many poles you use to get them ?
Enforcement of the present laws would help out alot.......we were out yesterday on wheeler and saw several boats keeping small fish. when the fish is small and the fisherman don't put it on the measureing board,,,he is not too worried about getting caught.
We as fishermen need to police ourselves also,,,,,keep what you need and release the rest. I love battered & fried just like everyone else,,but when the frezzer is full,,,,let them swim and make more!!!
I share my time between my home lake, Lake Guntersville, and Weiss Lake. I will not disagree with anyone regarding the need to give serious thought to lowering the daily limits, or perhaps increasing the slot size, but I have to really strongly agree with what has been said about enforcing the rules that Weiss already has in place. In 15 years fishing on Weiss, I have been checked a grand total of twice. I do not mind being stopped and checked because I know I am not doing anything wrong. Let's face it, if you can't abide by the slot and creel limits, fish with only three rods per person in the boat, and keep your throw cushion and life jackets accessible, you have issues.
My other big gripe is the lack of good, decent, clean accommodations. I don't profess to have visited every campground at Weiss. I have no doubt there are many who work hard to maintain their facilities and provide good service. That being said, I have been to quite a number of the campgrounds that are more readily accessible to the Leesburg/Centre areas, and I would not bathe a hog in most of the bathroom facilities. The campground sites are in extremely poor condition, water and power service in insufficient, and many of the campers that are there look like the have not been moved in a decade. I won't even get started on how badly the Coosa Corner store has gone down hill in the last five years. That place used to be great for all our food, drink, bait, tackle, etc. needs. Now you go in there and will be lucky to find a cold drink and a pack of crackers that isn't out of date.
If you are going to ask people to come spend their time and money in any town or community, especially in the current economy, it should not be too much to ask that they be supplied with accommodations and facilities that are worth it.
I apologize if I have said anything to offend anyone.
Need to get with Weiss Lake Improvment about reducing the limit. They know the folks with Alabama Game and Fish that could start the process.
Just an outsider's opinion because I have only fished there once. If the regulations are not enforced, the limit might as well be 1. We have very liberal limits here in GA, and yet they are abused regularly. I would imagine the DNR in AL has had budget set backs the same as here in GA. We have seeen less DNR patroling on the lakes and the woods. Even in FL where the fines are higher than surrounding states, the over harvesting continues. Regardless of how we feel as concerned anglers about law changes, the largest impact will be from what we do as individuals. Let the larger females go to reproduce the quality genetics, keep fewer fish all together, and report the boat numbers to the DNR of those we see over harvesting or other violations. A camera and a cell phone would be a good start. Similar to what can be done to skii boats that get to close. Most of us concerned anglers are already more than likely being more mindfull of what we do. I hope the impact on Weiss improves the fishing. I hope we can do the same over here. Sorry for the long post.....
i think everyone that places structure into the lake and has placed structure into the should have to provide all of us the gps coordinates. i think that would make it much better for the rest of us that has to work real jobs all the time.
I have been a guide on Weiss Lake for many years and have worked hard to help inprove the lake in every way possible. I DO NOT FISH with more rods than the law allows and I DO NOT KEEP SHORT FISH. Anyone that has ever fished with me will tell you the same thing. I have seen guides fish with more than 3 rods but I have also many more with out of state regeristration doing the same thing. I average about 200 days a year on the water and have only been checked 3 times (ever). I have seen people bring limits in and drop them off at a fish cleaning station and go back out fishing.
The only cure for our problem is enforcement of the law. If this is done the Limit of 30 fish will work, but until this happens a limit of any number is only in vane because the ones that are breaking the law will keep anything they catch.
Ijust want to say AMEN! to what BamaMike931 posted earlier....I agree totally with EVERYTHING he said there....especially about the coosa corner......that place was a fisherman's paradise at one time (when it was Leesburg Citgo)...I wish that they would either cook or get the heck out of the kitchen and let somebody else run the place........and I also give him a big +1 on the facilities issues
The Leesburg Citgo (aka Cossa Corner) was a great place @ one time, but the previous owner passed away a few years ago & the store has not been the same. They have built a very nice boat launch @ the end of the road beside it tho. I look for Leesburg to improve conditions since it has gone wet. When I used to guide, it was always an issue because alot of ppl like to have a cold beer when their fishing, in a dry county it's a violation of the prohibition law & the boat owner (guide) is responsable for alcohol on the boat. More than once I have had to tell ppl to take coolers back to their truck because I didn't want to go to jail.Quote:
Originally Posted by BVdockshooter
I have seen local people and guides i know using more than three rods. Last year i was checked by the game warden and i chewed him out about the locals using to many rods and he told me they know what his boat looks like and put them up when they see him. I told him to get in my boat and lets go get them he just laughed. Change the limit to 15 i saw a couple of post that said people would not come with a 15 fish limit that's a good thing. Last but not least i am tired of hearing about Striper eating all of the Crappie the University of Auburn did a study a few years ago on just that and found the number was so small it was not a issue. There has not been a Striper stocked in Weiss Lake sense the late 80's people better stop complaining about the Striper's at least there is something to catch.