The future

All this crazy cold weather and the discussions about the spawn got me to thinking. I know....that's dangerous....but I think I am going to change my spring habits. I am not going to keep any crappie over 1.5 lbs the rest of this spring unless it is on tournament day. Just my personal decision. Either they do spawn later or they just metabolize the eggs not laid. Either scenario could have a negative result in the next 3 years. I don't know the biological answers of a crappie's spawning abilities. I do know that if there is a big late spawn with a large number of anglers waiting in the shallows, the end result won't be good. A longer drawn out spawn gives more crappie a better chance to actually spawn before being picked off by a angler.

I have never been the angler that has to have a limit in a cooler to measure my success. Way more days end with fish returned to the water alive. I am more concerned on the smaller lakes like Blackshear that see a ton of pressure. I would rather catch some big ones and snap a picture and post it. I can eat a few 10" fish and be just as happy too.

Tournaments only allow 7 fish to be weighed and I prefer not to crowd my livewell with more than 10 fish. I want those bigguns to have all the water and room they can have until they hit the scales.

Now don't read this as a bash against anyone who keeps their legal limit everyday of the year. I have NO problem with legal anglers. I do believe there are those among us that could care less about any limits set by the State. So be it, and that's all the more reason I am concerned about the future stock of genetically larger crappie being able to spawn those genetically better crappie. The past train of thought was that crappie were prolific breeders and that nature will keep everything in line. Well man has already proven it's ability to manipulate nature's abilities.

Just something to chew on when you are loading the coolers this spring.

Well said.

theysaid

Food for thought! 8-10 inchers are the most prevalent crappie spawners! So why do we take those younger, better spawners. Many 12inch plus fish will die during the spawn others will not spawn. Why do we keep the males who protect the beds from predators? Why do we throw back the trash fish as some call gar, pickerel, and many others that prey on crappie eggs. How many released fish survive and does the stress keep them from spawning? God made a beautiful, natural and perfect thing! As humans we are destructive and destroy things then try to fix it. If the protection of spawners is so important, why do we have tournaments at all during the spawn? Wouldn't it be more competitive when fish are not stacked in the creeks?

As for this years spawn, I expect to see many 12 inch plus females floating on Talquin in April. The normal stress kills these fish every year, but this year with the multiple weather problems many will not be able to lay. Some absorb these eggs, but many die. Crappie eggs need light penetration to hatch. That's why beds are in areas with sunlight from 12-15 hours a day. As the water clarity decreases it pushes the crappie shallower to spawn. This eliminates many spawning areas and crowds these areas. This keeps many from spawning. It also allows predators to have easy pickings on beds. In turn this year the spawn will be less than average. Many of the stressed crappie will turn on the newly hatched fry for food after the stressful spawn. This is why crappie and bluegill are crappies #1 natural predator. Fisherman also will catch more fish when they find them stacked in the shallows. Also the longer prespawn allows longliners to find crappie staged and hungry in open water.

Should we just step back and allow nature to do its job? Some of us can go and release what we do not need to eat, but how many do this? I know that over the last 25+ years the lakes I fish have drastically changed. Talquin, in the 90s produced much larger fish and they were more numbers. Then we had a 50 crappie per person limit and they had a scheduled drawdown. There were less crappie fishermen on the water on average, especially outside of the spring. Why is it so different now? Is one of these things the problem or a combination? I do not know the answers, just throwing topics out for discussion. I personally think you are not helping the spawn or population by releasing a 12 inch + female as this is a 5 year old fish (like a 50-60 year old human) versus a 8-10 inch 3 year old (comparable to a 20 something prime child bearing age human). When our wives or daughters are pregnant we pamper them and protect them. So, why do we even fish the spawn at all? What does the stress of being caught and their gills, slime coats and other abuse do to these pregnant females? Do they spawn after being released? Why do we keep the males who are the soldiers protecting and spraying the eggs? Female crappie on average lays 17-21,000 eggs, but they are useless it not sprayed a fertilized by the males! Then they must survive! There are a lot of questions to answer and a lot of different views, but in the end are you truly making a change? If we all respect the resource and keep only what our family can eat, then maybe we are? And please introduce me to that fat little old lady that everyone says they are giving there fish too. Or the church congregations eating all these fish, they need to start eating catfish.

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Originally Posted by crappielimits

Food for thought! 8-10 inchers are the most prevalent crappie spawners! So why do we take those younger, better spawners. Many 12inch plus fish will die during the spawn others will not spawn. Why do we keep the males who protect the beds from predators? Why do we throw back the trash fish as some call gar, pickerel, and many others that prey on crappie eggs. How many released fish survive and does the stress keep them from spawning? God made a beautiful, natural and perfect thing! As humans we are destructive and destroy things then try to fix it. If the protection of spawners is so important, why do we have tournaments at all during the spawn? Wouldn't it be more competitive when fish are not stacked in the creeks?

As for this years spawn, I expect to see many 12 inch plus females floating on Talquin in April. The normal stress kills these fish every year, but this year with the multiple weather problems many will not be able to lay. Some absorb these eggs, but many die. Crappie eggs need light penetration to hatch. That's why beds are in areas with sunlight from 12-15 hours a day. As the water clarity decreases it pushes the crappie shallower to spawn. This eliminates many spawning areas and crowds these areas. This keeps many from spawning. It also allows predators to have easy pickings on beds. In turn this year the spawn will be less than average. Many of the stressed crappie will turn on the newly hatched fry for food after the stressful spawn. This is why crappie and bluegill are crappies #1 natural predator. Fisherman also will catch more fish when they find them stacked in the shallows. Also the longer prespawn allows longliners to find crappie staged and hungry in open water.

Should we just step back and allow nature to do its job? Some of us can go and release what we do not need to eat, but how many do this? I know that over the last 25+ years the lakes I fish have drastically changed. Talquin, in the 90s produced much larger fish and they were more numbers. Then we had a 50 crappie per person limit and they had a scheduled drawdown. There were less crappie fishermen on the water on average, especially outside of the spring. Why is it so different now? Is one of these things the problem or a combination? I do not know the answers, just throwing topics out for discussion. I personally think you are not helping the spawn or population by releasing a 12 inch + female as this is a 5 year old fish (like a 50-60 year old human) versus a 8-10 inch 3 year old (comparable to a 20 something prime child bearing age human). When our wives or daughters are pregnant we pamper them and protect them. So, why do we even fish the spawn at all? What does the stress of being caught and their gills, slime coats and other abuse do to these pregnant females? Do they spawn after being released? Why do we keep the males who are the soldiers protecting and spraying the eggs? Female crappie on average lays 17-21,000 eggs, but they are useless it not sprayed a fertilized by the males! Then they must survive! There are a lot of questions to answer and a lot of different views, but in the end are you truly making a change? If we all respect the resource and keep only what our family can eat, then maybe we are? And please introduce me to that fat little old lady that everyone says they are giving there fish too. Or the church congregations eating all these fish, they need to start eating catfish.

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You couldn't say it better.

.....and then there is Sinclair.

Good words folks.

Well said gents.

With the help of CDC I think most of us are maturing in our fishing habits so that those that follow in our footsteps will have the pleasure of having a healthy population of crappie and fishing as we do.

Crappielimits

Don't know if you read my post or not from the other day,Crappie Spawn Timing. I can't put it as eloquently as you do and was just trying to get someone such as yourself to come out and give an opinion. I feel you are right on point and from what I have read and been told be people who manage fish the things you say here match nearly word for word. I have not made any decisions one way or another keep the big one release the male or just keep what I want up to the legal limit but I will make sure that the information that I have been graced with in the recent months resonates in my mind when I fish. Most fishermen are all over the place on what the status of this years spawn is and I am starting to believe for some lakes such as Oconee there might not be much of a spawn because the fish are now showing signs of no blood vessel activity around the egg sack and the males are not looking like they are fanning the bottom such signs tell me to watch out that nature may be turning off the reproductive cycle of some of the spawning candidates this go round,after all it is late in March and can a quick warm up lasting for three or four days cause this process to reverse itself I doubt it. Seems to me without the nourishment in the egg sacs the eggs are doomed to dissolve this go round so won't be a need to move shallow for some. Lately the shallow water areas are being cooled even more by the continued runoff and seepage of cold overnight leftover rain flow making that area less attractive to potential spawners. Just my thoughts, you tell me if I am too far off base with my wild beliefs or .....in just a few weeks we all will have our answer Boy I sure hope I'm wrong:fish

Quick, I would not give up on a spawn on Oconee as of yet. I would bet your April new moon that you see fish trying to spawn. As I stated earlier if the water is muddy or murky the fish will lay eggs in inches of water. I have seen them in 10-18 inches of water! Not going to say the eggs are going to make it, but they will probably still spawn. Oconee is a unique lake and the way they pull and push water on these lakes can be much worse than mother nature. I personally feel this is the reason Sinclair is so inconsistent. I hope they turn on soon. I personally would be going to the back of Richland Creek if I was there in April. I like the Eagle's nest hole! Talquin is kinda a subtropical area and most crappie spawn by April and as early as January, but I have caught males in 2 foot of water late as May! Don't give up.

Gonna be the best spawn EVER!!!!Just wait and see! The big girls will rush to docks and banks and hang their eggs(not spray)and and every thing will be fine. This is gonna happen FAST, so be ready!

I am glad to see this post come alive,thanks for bringing it up Shine.I have seen a steady decline on the lakes I fish in numbers and size and I have several friends that are seeing the same thing.I wish GA would cut the limits down on some lakes to help with this.About 2 years ago I contacted the biologist that does the studies on the middle GA lakes and he told me that the crappie fisherman need to get involved and call him and voice there opinons.He called me back after after his study on oconee and said he shocked up 116 fish with only 16 of those being 1 1/2 pound or better,thats not to good.I any of us have a concern with us we need to pick up the phone and give him a call.Get involved guys to help save the future of our fisheries.I HAVE!

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Originally Posted by quick

Crappielimits

Don't know if you read my post or not from the other day,Crappie Spawn Timing. I can't put it as eloquently as you do and was just trying to get someone such as yourself to come out and give an opinion. I feel you are right on point and from what I have read and been told be people who manage fish the things you say here match nearly word for word. I have not made any decisions one way or another keep the big one release the male or just keep what I want up to the legal limit but I will make sure that the information that I have been graced with in the recent months resonates in my mind when I fish. Most fishermen are all over the place on what the status of this years spawn is and I am starting to believe for some lakes such as Oconee there might not be much of a spawn because the fish are now showing signs of no blood vessel activity around the egg sack and the males are not looking like they are fanning the bottom such signs tell me to watch out that nature may be turning off the reproductive cycle of some of the spawning candidates this go round,after all it is late in March and can a quick warm up lasting for three or four days cause this process to reverse itself I doubt it. Seems to me without the nourishment in the egg sacs the eggs are doomed to dissolve this go round so won't be a need to move shallow for some. Lately the shallow water areas are being cooled even more by the continued runoff and seepage of cold overnight leftover rain flow making that area less attractive to potential spawners. Just my thoughts, you tell me if I am too far off base with my wild beliefs or .....in just a few weeks we all will have our answer Boy I sure hope I'm wrong:fish

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Quick,oconee does not have the population of crappie big or small that we had years ago,thats the problem.Just my opinion.

yep i have herd fishermen talk about coolers full of fish years ago at Eufaula . i had my shop in the back of a bait shop and you herd a lot of that. a 70 year old friend of mine said him and his dad caught 2 coolers full and had to go to town and buy 2 garbage cans to take the over flow home with ice on them . that is a shame and the reason you can`t catch them now like back then .herd several say you can`t catch them faster than they raise . he died last year and the year before he sold his place over there because the fish wasen`t there like they were and wasen`t worth the trip . alwayes wondered what they ment by crappie season ? thatis when they are bunched up mon the bed and hungry . i call that catching not fishing . that is the only time that bunch went to Eufaula .

All good conversation. That's the nice thing about this board. When I was young (a long time ago), I thought the bigger the cooler full, the better. With age (and I hope wisdom), I am PERFECTLY happy enjoying all our creator has given us and just getting away. Of course, I like to catch fish, but now I find myself keeping maybe 10 or 12 (plenty for a meal at my house) and letting the rest go. I think more people are fishing now (old retired farts:o) and are better at it. I would love to see the GA limit taken down to 20 fish (same as SC) and a size limit on some lakes. Still, two guys could keep 40 fish. That's plenty. Another thing that I would like to see is MUCH stricter enforcement on these guys that are selling crappie (and I know for a fact that this is happening). They should lose their fishing prviliges for LIFE as far as I'm conerned.

I started trolling in 1982, I started fishing Oconee in 1983, back then when you went to the back of a creek there would be people anchored down fishing. Trolling was new back then. Oconee was an amazing place to catch lots of big crappie. But as the years have gone by more and more people learned to troll and they learned how to target the crappie year round. Now there are a lot of people that are good at finding and catching crappie. Now almost everbody trolls or spider rigs and there are alot more people on the all the lakes. I think that kind of pressure has to effect the crappie population. Just my 2cents.

:fishCrappieman217, that's very true just like a lot of what previous replies have said ...Here is an interesting phenomena at Reel foot Lake in Tennessee the state of Tennessee allowed commercial harvesting of crappie by commercial fisherman over the years,I don't know to what frequency it occurs but it has in the past years and as time goes by they stop the practice depending upon the effects of the yields of Crappie upon the whole of Reel Foot Lake. Just thinking that they would actually fish crappie commercially went beyond my imagination...having said that Reel Foot would continue to make a come back so I'm not sure if the problem is solely tied to size limits or bag limits ..perhaps the best way to help a lake recover is to limit how often it can be fished by limiting the season to a certain time period and setting time aside for natural processes to occur. As painful as that would be it probably would yield better results to the studies that accommodate season limiting. Some measures are a band aid approach to the problem while at other times you have to cut deep depending on the severity. When I lived in Ohio there was no limit on how many Crappie you could keep and no size limit and as far as I know there still is not one there. The limiting factor in this instance was the weather after a certain time of year ..unless you would brave the ice you could not get to them ...nature provided it's on cut off and safety mechanism for protection to the fish Crappie and other species as well. Yes the bigger the fish the less time it has to live and throwing back the big ones might make you feel ok but its a little bit more complicated that that from the info I have been asking about and receiving. I don't see nearly as much fishing traffic at Oconee as I do West Point and the ones that do fish Oconee don't catch nearly the numbers they do at West Point. West Point has many times more bank fisherman than Oconee,many many more night fisherman than Oconee leads me to feel that many many more fish are taken from West Point than Oconee but West Point continues to yeild more fish per visit though I'm told the size is down there also. So I feel the problem in numbers at Oconee has more to do with something in addition that is occurring in the body of water ..maybe the Flathead Catfish or Hybrid Bass are part of the problem along with the fishermen and weather phenomena. I hope someone can actually factually state why the fishing in 1983 was so much better and never got back close to that level ..so if you take the fisherman out of the equation would it fix itself ?:twocents

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Originally Posted by Barry Dye

All good conversation. That's the nice thing about this board. When I was young (a long time ago), I thought the bigger the cooler full, the better. With age (and I hope wisdom), I am PERFECTLY happy enjoying all our creator has given us and just getting away. Of course, I like to catch fish, but now I find myself keeping maybe 10 or 12 (plenty for a meal at my house) and letting the rest go. I think more people are fishing now (old retired farts:o) and are better at it. I would love to see the GA limit taken down to 20 fish (same as SC) and a size limit on some lakes. Still, two guys could keep 40 fish. That's plenty. Another thing that I would like to see is MUCH stricter enforcement on these guys that are selling crappie (and I know for a fact that this is happening). They should lose their fishing prviliges for LIFE as far as I'm conerned.

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AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no use for these people!

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Originally Posted by Barry Dye

Another thing that I would like to see is MUCH stricter enforcement on these guys that are selling crappie (and I know for a fact that this is happening). They should lose their fishing privileges for LIFE as far as I'm concerned.

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This is part of the reason I posted the original post. Sad.....just plain darn sad. I have a few adjectives for those folks that are NKF for this site. Wish those same folks would take up catfishing and bowfishing gar. Pretty dang sure the ones buying fish from these NKF folks wouldn't know the difference in a crappie or any other fish. I keep hearing about so and so doing it. Better not let me see it, just saying.

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Originally Posted by crappieman217

Now there are a lot of people that are good at finding and catching crappie. Now almost everybody trolls or spider rigs and there are a lot more people on the all the lakes. I think that kind of pressure has to effect the crappie population. Just my 2cents.

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This is very true and another reason we should be thinking more about what we are doing. The State has for years refused to do anything proactive to manage crappie fisheries in GA. That is fact. Call it budget cuts, yadayadayadayada. Mississippi has proved it can be done and continues to do it year after year with some of the most drastic water level fluctuations in the USA.

Several statements above that I would love to quote and reply too. Just way to much at this point. Like I said, my personal decision to make a difference however little a difference it may be or if it is the right difference to make. At least it is an effort to improve what my kids hope to enjoy later down the road. Hope everyone keeps chewing on it while they are filling their coolers, selling fish, or releasing them for the next trip.

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Originally Posted by Barry Dye

Another thing that I would like to see is MUCH stricter enforcement on these guys that are selling crappie (and I know for a fact that this is happening). They should lose their fishing prviliges for LIFE as far as I'm conerned.

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I couldn't agree more with you, Barry. I know a guy that fishes AL, FL and GA lakes and he will keep any legal fish that he can, even if he has to step on it to make it legal size, and sell crappie by the pound. He is a pretty good fisherman, but to rape these lakes so he can make a profit is just not right. The part that I have an even bigger problem with is that he is teaching his son to do the same thing knowing that it aint right. I have seen the 2 of them catch a limit of 50 in the mornings and go back out and catch another limit that afternoon, then do the same thing that afternoon. If you have to sell fish to make ends meet, go get a commercial license and go for the catfish. Do the right thing and be legal about it...Raping every lake that you fish doesn't help those of us who are trying to preserve the lakes for the future any favors at all.....Courtesy and Common Sense is all it takes!!!

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Originally Posted by TnT

I couldn't agree more with you, Barry. I know a guy that fishes AL, FL and GA lakes and he will keep any legal fish that he can, even if he has to step on it to make it legal size, and sell crappie by the pound. He is a pretty good fisherman, but to rape these lakes so he can make a profit is just not right. The part that I have an even bigger problem with is that he is teaching his son to do the same thing knowing that it aint right. I have seen the 2 of them catch a limit of 50 in the mornings and go back out and catch another limit that afternoon, then do the same thing that afternoon. If you have to sell fish to make ends meet, go get a commercial license and go for the catfish. Do the right thing and be legal about it...Raping every lake that you fish doesn't help those of us who are trying to preserve the lakes for the future any favors at all.....Courtesy and Common Sense is all it takes!!!

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If you know for a fact that this guy is selling then the right thing to do is to turn him over to the lawman.

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Originally Posted by 65pontiac

If you know for a fact that this guy is selling then the right thing to do is to turn him over to the lawman.

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x2

We can run a NCIS sting on him. We will get his DNA off the crappie and video him selling them. If we are lucky maybe we can get in a shootout. Crappie Terrorist goes to jail for 3 to 5 years. Book'em Dano. LOL.

:ThumbsUp:popcorn:ThumbsUp

Good posts. I can count probly on one hand the times I have "kept" a limit in my livewell. I dont like keeping the babies.

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Originally Posted by manta1

Good posts. I can count probly on one hand the times I have "kept" a limit in my livewell. I dont like keeping the babies.

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:cheers2 I agree.

my problem is catching a limit of any size .:scratchhead

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Originally Posted by Slabby15

We can run a NCIS sting on him. We will get his DNA off the crappie and video him selling them. If we are lucky maybe we can get in a shootout. Crappie Terrorist goes to jail for 3 to 5 years. Book'em Dano. LOL.

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Their are many coming to Talquin who bring home over their allowed 50 crappie possession limit. I do not even think they realize that they are committing a felony every time they transport illegal game or fish across state lines. A local man I know is in big heat about buying illegal fish, he was on the school board and has lost his seat. He is just praying to stay out of jail! The fines are ridiculous when the Feds intervene. They can take your truck and/or boat it is not a laughing matter. Yes they did a big sting on this group of fishermen selling and found who was purchasing them. They have over 3 years of evidence and pictures. I know for a fact that some are being watched at my home lake. If they are found breaking the law, then I hope they get them.

3 years of evidence.................that's gonna leave a mark........I hope. Let us know when this hits the courts and how it turns out. I am guessing it is going to be in a Florida court. If so, Florida don't play when it comes to game/fish laws, especially when the offenders are from out of State.

Tomorrow starts my 1.5 and less program. I feel like Papasage in a way, as I probably won't even have to count the fish I catch to worry about a limit. Blackshear is the target lake for tomorrow. I bought a new BnM rear reel seat rod at the Sports Center for a REALLY good price. Gonna give it a work out tomorrow. If that don't work out as planned, then the BnM ProStaff rods will hit the HiTeks and minnows will be attached to some TOP SECRET baits and dangled in front of some confused deeper fish. I won't harm the slime coat on any fish by measuring them. Really hoping the whites are up for the game.

I hope to see a lot of those genetically better crappie going back to add to the future trips to Blackshear.

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Originally Posted by crappielimits

Food for thought! 8-10 inchers are the most prevalent crappie spawners! So why do we take those younger, better spawners. Many 12inch plus fish will die during the spawn others will not spawn. Why do we keep the males who protect the beds from predators? Why do we throw back the trash fish as some call gar, pickerel, and many others that prey on crappie eggs. How many released fish survive and does the stress keep them from spawning? God made a beautiful, natural and perfect thing! As humans we are destructive and destroy things then try to fix it. If the protection of spawners is so important, why do we have tournaments at all during the spawn? Wouldn't it be more competitive when fish are not stacked in the creeks?

As for this years spawn, I expect to see many 12 inch plus females floating on Talquin in April. The normal stress kills these fish every year, but this year with the multiple weather problems many will not be able to lay. Some absorb these eggs, but many die. Crappie eggs need light penetration to hatch. That's why beds are in areas with sunlight from 12-15 hours a day. As the water clarity decreases it pushes the crappie shallower to spawn. This eliminates many spawning areas and crowds these areas. This keeps many from spawning. It also allows predators to have easy pickings on beds. In turn this year the spawn will be less than average. Many of the stressed crappie will turn on the newly hatched fry for food after the stressful spawn. This is why crappie and bluegill are crappies #1 natural predator. Fisherman also will catch more fish when they find them stacked in the shallows. Also the longer prespawn allows longliners to find crappie staged and hungry in open water.

Should we just step back and allow nature to do its job? Some of us can go and release what we do not need to eat, but how many do this? I know that over the last 25+ years the lakes I fish have drastically changed. Talquin, in the 90s produced much larger fish and they were more numbers. Then we had a 50 crappie per person limit and they had a scheduled drawdown. There were less crappie fishermen on the water on average, especially outside of the spring. Why is it so different now? Is one of these things the problem or a combination? I do not know the answers, just throwing topics out for discussion. I personally think you are not helping the spawn or population by releasing a 12 inch + female as this is a 5 year old fish (like a 50-60 year old human) versus a 8-10 inch 3 year old (comparable to a 20 something prime child bearing age human). When our wives or daughters are pregnant we pamper them and protect them. So, why do we even fish the spawn at all? What does the stress of being caught and their gills, slime coats and other abuse do to these pregnant females? Do they spawn after being released? Why do we keep the males who are the soldiers protecting and spraying the eggs? Female crappie on average lays 17-21,000 eggs, but they are useless it not sprayed a fertilized by the males! Then they must survive! There are a lot of questions to answer and a lot of different views, but in the end are you truly making a change? If we all respect the resource and keep only what our family can eat, then maybe we are? And please introduce me to that fat little old lady that everyone says they are giving there fish too. Or the church congregations eating all these fish, they need to start eating catfish.

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Glad you replied. I enjoy a constructive discussion, and you make some valid points. That is a lot more that I will be thinking about too.

The FWC has caught a few that I know of, but this does not seem to worry those that make a habit of needing to make money. God gave us the crappie in Talquin to enjoy, eat and look to the future experiences. Those that are meat fishermen are greedy. I might catch a limit once in 30 days and my personal preference is 12+ size. Most all of us that are not meat fishermen use this rule. Many times I have seen these same fishermen meet someone fishing the lake for the first time, or an older couple that did not do very good, you didn't have to suggest to them to give their catch of the day to them:highfivethey as true a sportsman, gave them away. I am proud to call them true fishermen.

We could go on and on with this frustration, but if one quits, there are others that will take their place. All we can do is count on the FWC to do their job. Wouldn't hurt if when a meat fisherman get's greedy and stealing from all of us and the future generations, we mention this fact to greedy fishermen :deadhorse. I know the biologist have told me at Crescent that 10" are the spawners, I don't think they take into account the amount of meat fishermen taking so many.

My :twocents.

If I made some meat fishermen mad, so be it you greedy wantabe excuse of a fisherman. Instead of sharing the resource, they want their share and other fishermen's share. I agree with TNT's and Shine Runner posts, right on point.

Chuck

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Originally Posted by Shine Runner

3 years of evidence.................that's gonna leave a mark........I hope. Let us know when this hits the courts and how it turns out. .

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After guilty plea deals of felonies:

All defendants were sentenced to terms of three years probation and received fines as follows: Buyer1- $50,000; Buyer2- $25,000; Fishermen1 - $5000; and Fishermen2 - $5000.

At least they were saved from the jail time as they had families. The initial charges carried a maximum of 5 years prison per charge and ranged from 52 counts to 19 counts depending on the person. From what I understand there were as many as 48 fishermen involved who sold fish. This case lasted over a year for these guys. I removed the names as I am only reporting the incident for awareness and to show that the agencies are trying. Not to gossip!

Any reference to a news show or newspaper article?

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Using Social Media to Crack Big Cases - News - LawOfficer.com

Just a little info! They are trying hard in Florida! Now if Ga would step up!

Great post!
What I have done is set myself a personal 10 inch size limit. If it doesn't go over 10 then she goes back in the water. What bothers me is when I am at Oconee or somewhere and you got people stacked up under the bridges on the banks tossing a jig and reeling in little dinks as big as your hand or less on every cast and throwing them into their bucket or cooler. First of all I personally do not want to go to the trouble to fool with a 6 inch fish. Time you cut its head off you might have 2 bites and then you have all the tiny bones to deal with. Got to remember, the little fish will be our big fish in a few years.
I just sat down and done some math too. Now I know some of you have bigger familys than I do but here is some food for thought. When my wife and I fry crappie we usually fry 4 filets. Its just me and her, no children yet. We usually fry them for a meal every 2 weeks sometimes. Each fish produces 2 filets. So 2 fish provides us some fish to eat with our slaw and hush puppies, and baked beans. If we need 2 fish every 2 weeks that means I only need to keep 52 fish per year. Figure in a family fish fry a few months and I figure 75 fish is plenty for me per year. Then there is the person and his buddy keeping 60 at least every other week. Either they eat fish every day or its sitting in the freezer getting freezer burned and going to waste.
I like your post a lot shinerunner. Just remember that just a few fishermen changing tactics like shinerunner mentioned can make a huge difference in the future of a crappie population. If just one person spared 2 healthy fish during the spawn and brought home 28 fish instead of 30 or 10 instead of 12 and each fish layed eggs and maybe 1000 of the eggs/fry survived to grow up, thats 2000 fish to catch later down the road. Times 2000 fish by just 10 fishermen releasing 2 fish instead of keeping them and well... Thats 20,000.
Personally I think the biggest help would be for the state to impose a 10inch size limit. Thats just my opinion. Would cut down on a lot of the little ones being kept that are future slabs.

I have a 9 in limit on my boat, but thinking of kicking it up to 10 in. I usually shoot for a limit of fish but lately have been happier with fewer but BIGGER fish. Catching big crappie gets to be addictive...I wish we could get at least one lake in Ga to have a 10 in limit like Talquin. We eat fish at least once a week sometimes twice, but its just the spousal unit and me, so it don't take much to keep us in fish...but then not only do I catch crappie, bream and catfish, but go down to Dads and fish the Gulf (Speckled Trout is my second fish addiction) alot as well which keeps the freezer full.

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Originally Posted by Dutch

I have a 9 in limit on my boat, but thinking of kicking it up to 10 in. I usually shoot for a limit of fish but lately have been happier with fewer but BIGGER fish. Catching big crappie gets to be addictive...I wish we could get at least one lake in Ga to have a 10 in limit like Talquin. We eat fish at least once a week sometimes twice, but its just the spousal unit and me, so it don't take much to keep us in fish...but then not only do I catch crappie, bream and catfish, but go down to Dads and fish the Gulf (Speckled Trout is my second fish addiction) alot as well which keeps the freezer full.

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Quality not quantity:biggrin. I can only eat so many. I have more meat to eat with 12" rather than 10". Oh forgot, I have been told by many that 10" taste better than a 12" :juggle

20 fish= 40 fillets if you keep em bog enough to fillet. 40 fillets would feed 20 people or more. I know we can eat more than 2 fillets a piece but really. Good topic and great posts by all

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Originally Posted by crappielimits

Their are many coming to Talquin who bring home over their allowed 50 crappie possession limit. I do not even think they realize that they are committing a felony every time they transport illegal game or fish across state lines. A local man I know is in big heat about buying illegal fish, he was on the school board and has lost his seat. He is just praying to stay out of jail! The fines are ridiculous when the Feds intervene. They can take your truck and/or boat it is not a laughing matter. Yes they did a big sting on this group of fishermen selling and found who was purchasing them. They have over 3 years of evidence and pictures. I know for a fact that some are being watched at my home lake. If they are found breaking the law, then I hope they get them.

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Yep, and one of those guys owns property next to mine and was in the process of building a house until the FEDS put a halt to his plans. Looking to buy it real cheap here pretty soon.:popcorn

So on talquin 25 per person per day has a ceiling of 50 fish total?so if a feller stays a week, lucks up and catches his limit every day, he is breaking the law to go home with them?

Ps ive never kept a limit in that lake. 15-20 bought all ive done in a day there but good grief they were good fish