When to holler, calf rope.

I've been watching the show at the Darbonne for quite a while now. The shad are in the deep water of the channel, the crappie are concentrated in there gorgeing themselves, and the folks are wearing them out. For miles up and down the channel there are more boats then I've ever seen. Hundreds of boats. Been living on the lake all my life and I've never seen it like this. One thing is the popularity of crappie fishing is (I'd say) at an all time high. I'm proud of that and I'm double proud of the success folks are having.

But I must admit I'm a little concerned about the impact long term on the lake. I find myself wishing for lower limits or slots or something. Idk. I see others who feel the same. Course aint anything I can do so I get out there when I can.

Just wondering your opinion, is there need for concern?

I agree completely! Some people will catch limits daily and just do not know when to stop. It's great to catch fish but at some point it just becomes greedy and the fish population will be impacted. I believe this is what happened to Poverty Point when it was good it was great but now a good mess of perch isn't quite as common. It takes a while for a fishery to rebound from hundreds of fisherman pulling 20-50 fish out daily.

I don't see the need to keep more than 20

I've never fished either of those places but I don't keep sac a lait under 10 inches.

I am willing to go for a MLL but I absolutely hate slots. I also favor a limit of 30 fish 10" or longer.

50-25-50 back and forth...WP are really vulnerable these days cooped up in the channels and I have a theory. With this winter lingering on and on and then a glimpse of warmer temps, it may have concentrated the pre spawn feeding frenzy plus and more importantly compacting the "water comfort zone" into a tight area. This has been one of the 10 coldest winters over the last 120 years. I think that most all of the fish are concentrated in one tight thermo zone. In salt water areas where there is a deep hole this happens. After a very cold spell those specs and reds end up on the bottom and folks "parlay" on the situation. If it stays cold long enough a fish kill will happen in those areas. I think this run is a result of the cold LONG winter and the effect it has had on ALL the fish. Past winters had warm spells throughout and the fish stayed scattered. Not this year. The extended cold temps put a majority of the fish right where people are catching them. Normal but as Bill Dance says, keep what you can use and......SLIP

My keepers depend on what my freezer looks like. The last 2 days I kept 20 each day which was every one I caught. Now that I have a decent mess frozen I'll start throwing more back and be more selective.

FreeBird, I thought the same thing while looking at the fleet today. But from what I've read, crappie are one of the most prolific fish species and can quickly overpopulate a body of water. If you notice on D'Arbonne, the boats are clustered in very specific spots. And they are in the same places every day. You could probably fit all of the white perch fisherpeople that were on the lake today in a very small lake. That leaves a lot of water that is never even fished. Overfishing might impact Poverty Point, but D'Arbonne is six times larger and I doubt if it has much effect. JMHO.

Know of, BUT not ABOUT, d'Bone.
But any time I see the word "lake" and think over fishing, I get very concerned about fish populations though.
But I'm just a river/bayou guy who thinks more on the overpopulation side of the topic. I think the Ichthyology lab ruined me.
Is it muddy water?

Wow now. I was there today from 445 til 500 only caught 55 between me and my wife. I hear you on the size limit but I do not live on the lake and are only allowed to fish weekends. I witnessed the crowd experience every time I hung a fish some arse hole was squeezing down me. I would like to see a smaller creek limit on the lake. In my opinion I think there is more boats than people actually catching. Matter of fact out of the boats around us today only about three or four of us where catching. It is still fishing. Not catching.

Been meaning to get up to D-Bone, heard good things about it. Several articles have been written and regulations are being studied in La. now, articles in Feb. issue of La. Sportsman Magazine (mainly dealing with bass regulations), but the principle is the same. Fishing, esp. crappie fishing is cyclical. Mother Nature usually finds a way to keep fish reproducing. Every crappie out there has a set life span, whether he is taken by a fisherman or eaten by a gar or succumbs to some parasite, his time is finite. Me personally, I'd like to turn him into a golden brown filet….that said, Basin crappie that I chase are usually smaller than what you find in Poverty Point or D-Bone, different environments. I hope one day to join that fleet of boats at D-Bone you talked about and maybe get me a Big Un. Congrats on a great fishery up there, I understand why you would want to protect it….BC

Unlike Poverty Point I think that Darbonne is pretty well protected in 2 ways. Wind and Structure. There are thousands of acres of flats from 4'-10' that basically don't get fished to the point of being "overfished" or even "pressured". The structure is extensive and the wind drives most folks off the lake. We've seen the big fan come on in the spring and stay on for 2 months. When those WP go in to spawn they have so much habitat available that it looks to be a perfect environment for them as well as cats, bass, and bream. The lake's been there since 63 and it's had it's up's and downs but overall it looks like its holding up pretty well over the years.

I've always heard "This too shall pass"

With warmer temps coming this will fix itself...

If they want lower limits that's fine. I just don't like 25, why not 30? Even number sounds much better :juggle On a normal day most won't catch that many anyway.

One thing i might also be in favor of is charging to launch a boat.

The lake commission could take that money and reinvest it back into the lake. Fix the lights under the bridges, repave access roads and parking lots and so on...

The 25 fish creel on darbonne last year could be contributing to the abundance of fish being caught there this year. I know that will stir up a can of worms. IMO there are too many ramps and not enough game wardens on darbonne to successfully enforce a creel limit. Once again, look at the length and creel limits in Mississippi and how it's impacted their fisheries. Look at Arkansas creel limits and see how it has impacted their creel limits. I love fishing darbonne and poverty. I'm personally in favor of a length limit of 10". This is just my opinion and along with $2 you could probably get you a coke.

What you saw GETDANET is what I see almost every time I go to LOP. Tons of boats but most fishermen not catching much of anything worth mentioning. I've come back to the bank 11 times this year with at least 2 people's limits (you are required by law to keep any you catch at that time of year) and only 1 time did I see someone at the launch with more than 5 or 6 fish in their box and that was just one person. Just because there are lots of boats doesn't mean they're all catching limits. These are warm, fertile waters in Louisiana, and the fish grow fast and reproduce faster. Environmental conditions like weeds/high temps., floods, droughts, will have a far greater impact than fishermen. Let folks enjoy themselves while they can and be happy for them------99% of people won't catch many fish all that often! I'm thinking many of you guys that worry about over-fishing are the ones that know what they're doing and have no need to worry. I also think Poverty Point was doomed to go downhill after a few years of good fishing just like every other new lake. Heck, it doesn't even have a watershed! The fertility is dropping in that lake as we speak. Enjoy it while it lasts.
JMO,
JBJ

Game wardens were out today on D'Arbonne. I think that's the first time I've seen them there but have been checked many times on Poverty Point.

:hesaid

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Originally Posted by BoarBuster

I am willing to go for a MLL but I absolutely hate slots. I also favor a limit of 30 fish 10" or longer.

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Originally Posted by 20watt

I've always heard "This too shall pass"

With warmer temps coming this will fix itself...

If they want lower limits that's fine. I just don't like 25, why not 30? Even number sounds much better :juggle On a normal day most won't catch that many anyway.

One thing i might also be in favor of is charging to launch a boat.

The lake commission could take that money and reinvest it back into the lake. Fix the lights under the bridges, repave access roads and parking lots and so on...

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:hesaid

Hey Free bird.....I'll just come up now and scare the fish off...problem solved.

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Originally Posted by fishervet

Hey Free bird.....I'll just come up now and scare the fish off...problem solved.

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Lol

It's not really a problem for me. Just concerning, that's all. Yesterday I saw several boats with youngsters fishing and they were catching fish. That really excites me. Love to see fathers with sons/daughters fishing and catching. Also talked with one lady with her husband. She was so excited because that was the first crappie she had ever caught and she had already caught 10. I rarely fish alone and normally with a kid or someone who has never or hardly ever crappie fished before. I like turning folks onto the sport and seeing them have a good time.

Im not an alarmist by nature. I've watched the lake all my life. Normally there will be a few folks fishing M-Thur, more on Fri, and a lot on Sat and Sun. It's wall to wall boats 7 days a week. I don't know if this is going to hurt or help the lake. I do appreciate the responses to this post as I greatly value all of your opinions.

Vet, you know you are welcome anytime you get a chance to come this way. fb

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Originally Posted by free bird

It's not really a problem for me. Just concerning, that's all. Yesterday I saw several boats with youngsters fishing and they were catching fish. That really excites me. Love to see fathers with sons/daughters fishing and catching. Also talked with one lady with her husband. She was so excited because that was the first crappie she had ever caught and she had already caught 10. I rarely fish alone and normally with a kid or someone who has never or hardly ever crappie fished before. I like turning folks onto the sport and seeing them have a good time.

Im not an alarmist by nature. I've watched the lake all my life. Normally there will be a few folks fishing M-Thur, more on Fri, and a lot on Sat and Sun. It's wall to wall boats 7 days a week. I don't know if this is going to hurt or help the lake. I do appreciate the responses to this post as I greatly value all of your opinions.

Vet, you know you are welcome anytime you get a chance to come this way. fb

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will do...don't worry ...mother nature will take care of the fish AND the greedy..
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Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel the limits are set based on what the fisheries can handle. I would assume the authorities would adjust if it became necessary. At least I hope so. Don't they do periodic checks on fish populations.

:deadhorse:deadhorse:deadhorse

Vet can you please save those horses. We gonna have to put a limit on how many horses shadow can beat.

On it

Freebird I sort of feel your pain!!!! I was Present at a D'Arbonne Lake Com meeting Last spring before the limit was changed back to 50. Wildlife and Fisheries was making a presentation Report on the Bass in the lake. They had sampled bass and Crappie populations. It left me scratching my head???? the report was the Bones fish Populations was the highest of 10 lakes sampled in the monroe dist. --- Fish and Game was against the lowering the limit to 25 to begain with. That is the way I found out the average Depth is 4 feet at pool stage. Why I was scratching my head was, Fisher Vet sindrone of not catching after the spawn, Two years with probally 30 to 40 trips each year before the fish hit the channels might have resulted in 20 Crappie total for both years. if it wasn't for Catfish and some Big Redears Bro and I was ready to give up on the Bone. The Frotilla is the best enfourcement of the no Wake zones that the Bass chasers seem to Ignore.. During Bass tourneys Game wardens are always present... The reason for The strong fish Populations is the abundance of shad in the lake. Most of the public Ramps have limited parking, With nothing between Stow Creek and the Dam on the west side of the lake. Parking is the Biggest Problem of all

You're right FOL, to me parking is a big problem with people having to park on the shoulders of the road it creates a hazard for everyone...

As far as the no wake stuff the biggest offenders i saw Saturday were all crappie fishermen. I think us crappie fishermen could us a lesson in civility as much as anyone :juggle

if i cant fillet them...i dont keep them..and i never keep over 15

15....never caught 15.....'d be happy with 1.....

I can tell you more Sacaulait or killed by Pelicans and Comorants than all the fisherman put together almost half the fish we catch at Poverty Point have scars and injuries from the birds but Sacaulait ( white perch) will rebound quickly if not kept in check by us, you can't catch them out of Henderson fast enough to get them to grow up and there is no Lake that gets more pressure when the bite is on that Henderson my 2 cents after watching this for over 40 years starting with Toledo Bend at the age of 5. I have yet to see fish caught on any Lake that could match the numbers of fish caught when I was a kid at Toledo Bend and that Lake is still going strong. I fear the fish size will decrease with the new rules imposed on Toledo but time will tell. I know the bass regulations didn't pan out and I was against that from the beginning and now I hear talk of all the size limits being lifted. I can remember a 15 bass limit at one time and we sure had plenty of fish back then I haven't seen any improvement in the years since we went to a 10 fish limit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm just saying we are over regulated and over taxed wake up and smell the coffee and quit over analyzing everything, good enforcement is more important than the size of the limit itself.

It is just my opinion but I sometimes think that there are two reason for some of these off the wall laws. One is to justify the jobs of some of the people that do the research to support them. Two is to find another way to separate you and your money. It like they all work under this one rule. "If its not broken then lets fix it." Then of course all rules and rule changes must be written in such a way that the average fisherman/fisherwoman needs to have a lawyer in the boat inorder to stay legal.

OME ON VET ---- jOIN THE FLOTILLA

If you guys would post some D'Arbonne info when the catchin' begins and not when it ends, I might come deplete your population of crappie as much as I could! :)
Really, though, I would like to try the lake one day just for something new. I am particularly glad that Bluethunder posted a pic of his boat with that slab on the shiner award site. Now I'll know whose boat to tie up to if I go to Pov. Point. Surely there's another 3 pounder in there!

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Originally Posted by Fish on Line

OME ON VET ---- jOIN THE FLOTILLA

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Love to. Thought you'd never ask. Lol

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Originally Posted by crappiecatcher06

I can tell you more Sacaulait or killed by Pelicans and Comorants than all the fisherman put together almost half the fish we catch at Poverty Point have scars and injuries from the birds but Sacaulait ( white perch) will rebound quickly if not kept in check by us, you can't catch them out of Henderson fast enough to get them to grow up and there is no Lake that gets more pressure when the bite is on that Henderson my 2 cents after watching this for over 40 years starting with Toledo Bend at the age of 5. I have yet to see fish caught on any Lake that could match the numbers of fish caught when I was a kid at Toledo Bend and that Lake is still going strong. I fear the fish size will decrease with the new rules imposed on Toledo but time will tell. I know the bass regulations didn't pan out and I was against that from the beginning and now I hear talk of all the size limits being lifted. I can remember a 15 bass limit at one time and we sure had plenty of fish back then I haven't seen any improvement in the years since we went to a 10 fish limit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm just saying we are over regulated and over taxed wake up and smell the coffee and quit over analyzing everything, good enforcement is more important than the size of the limit itself.

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add nets to your list IMO