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Sardis crappie need help!! Go back to 12" rule!! Have 10 be your limit!! Have 20 be the boat limit!!! It's sad and shame on the folks in charge for not doing something before march this year. Now if the plan was to reduce the fish population by 50% then they done a good job.
I agree. The 11" rule has been a disaster, unless you're getting paid for numbers.
I'm just not seeing many short fish either. That's gonna be a real problem in the NEAR future.
To much internet. [emoji37]
Lol. Been saying this for four years , but I'm an idiot. Reap what you sow.
so where do you guys feel the 11 and under fish are going? fish spawn every year. whether a good or bad spawn. i agree with 12". dont understand the change to 11". but 1" does not change the number of fry hatched every year to a large degree i would think.
Same old same old, the 11 inch rule is not the dam nation of the Sardis crappie population. Pressure that the lake gets it needs an OUTSTANDING spawn year in year out to produce the numbers most have got used to. Folks need to make up their minds, the season before folks were whing about all the just under 12 inch fish but by the change was made it had no effect as those fish were over 12 by yhen. Be interesting to see what the new regs bring, they will be proposed in the May meeting of the commision, I plan on being there.
Part of their reasoning for lowering the length limit was because they realized they had a couple of years of bad spawns. They knew there wouldn't be a large number of 12"+ crappie for a couple of years. I feel that they were trying to appease everyone by making a larger number of fish legal to keep. In essence, they kicked the can down the road for a couple of years, gambling on good spawns to make up for it. The gamble didn't pay off. All of these lakes go through up and down cycles. Sardis has been too good for too long and is over due for a down cycle. It may take a year or two or three to come back gang busters, but it will come back!!! Good fishermen can still find good fish.
Iam just saying they should have done something before this year got started. The size needs to increase and the catch needs to decrease. That would help hands down. A lot of folks won't be back next year that will help also. I agree good fishermen catch good fish you have to adapt with whats going on. I've put out close to 60 beds this year just to keep up with high water levels.
To much water this year fish scattered before every creek channel full of fish now lot of 2' deep water
big water means good spawn to me
Hard to slaughter them with the lake fills up . Some will have to eat those crappie that have been in the freezer "three " years .
What scares me is I caught less than 10 throwbacks. Very few small fish in there too. I'm sure the majority of the guys on here that fish there often can still catch a mess when needed.
All I can say is quit bragging online about what you've caught. Between Crappie.com, Facebook,cell phones,and several top 5 articles , it's killed this lake. If yall would take on the mentality that the Arkansas duck hunters have ,we'd all be better off. If you want to know if ducks are there you have to get up and go cause they ain't telling till season is over.
There are 10 times as many people trolling these forums looking for info than ever participate. If you wear them out good for you but keep it to yourself, or at least just pm someone. Brag pics brings every yahoo from all the way in Michigan.
Very discouraging situation. I've been debating about if all the fish are gone OR they just haven't really started to spawn yet because of the colder weather. Now, I'm leaning more towards the first. Been fishing this lake 40 years and NOTHING compares to what I've seen this year. Fished 2 weeks so far and caught 20 fish. I'm giving it another week and if not turned on by then, I guess I'll search another lake.
I agree that the fishing will cycle from good to bad years, but the problem is Bad Management of the corp lakes. I know they only care about the flood control, and they've shown that to be true. With that being said, I wonder why they pad their coffers by checking everyone's fish and license only during the spawn? I guess it's all about an easy buck. They only care about the fish when they can check the most folks at a time to make money. Kinda like deer hunting at night. It's easy.
I doubt it would work, but I wonder how many names it would take on a petition to get them to change the size limit back to 12"?
I was told if we could get congress to approve raising the winter pool by 5 feet on all of the big four lakes it would create enough new hiding places to solve the issue naturally.
The biggest thing to help these lake is stop bragging and posting it on every social media site known to man.We learned our lesson with Butla a few years ago but I promise you somebody will catch some fish and post it up and the parking lots will be full.This site should be used to learn,meet new people ,not where are they biting let's all go there.But I could be wrong.
Let's start a petition.Quote:
Originally Posted by yikess
You could be wrong, but in this case, you're not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big C
I don't see no harm in posting em, long as ya don't say publicly where they were caught. If one of the regs here pm me I'm more than happy to tell em. But never publicly again. Lesson learned last year!
It's sad that's it come to this but there are so many folks that browse these forums only for fishing reports then show up wherever the fish are "on". I'll privately tell anyone of you what I've seen/caught, but nothing specific will hit a general forum. It protects us all.Quote:
Originally Posted by dmane82
It's the same with duck hunting. I hunt public 90% of the time and my wife doesn't even know where I am most of the time. My kids know better than to say names of places and I for certain don't post pics until after the season!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcounty
Met a guy from Colorado last week. Told him he should be trout fishing. Said he just did the week before and caught 30 or something like that in no time at all. I told him he wouldn't be doing that crappie fishing! :)
I've never been to any of the big four, but I can see they get pounded day after day. I would say that something needs to be done to protect the resource. I've seen first hand on a very very small scale as to what can happen if people keep pounding a lake. It's not just the internet. Everyone that fishes has a fish story if they are any good at all, and we all want to tell someone whether it's on the internet or at the coffee shop. Twice I have been told a fish story by some stranger that originated from someone I took fishing. It's pretty funny when you say "I was there when that story happened". I am thankful for what I learned here at crappie.com and don't mind sharing a technique since I basically learned to crappie fish efficiently with information learned from this board. Unfortunatley a zillion other people have learned the same things, in the same way, that I have. Crappie fishing by trolling has become the new fad around here, and there are not enough fish to go around when fished at the level we are all fishing. I would like to see some things change such as a reduction in limits or perhaps a "trolling" season with extreme restrictions on the amount of poles allowed except during this season. I am a troller first and a single poler second, but would be willing to sacrifice for the sake of the resource.
Don't beat yourselves up thinking it is just a crappie.com thing. You can do an internet search on a technique and find text and video that will tell you exactly how to fish that way, and often a good idea of a lake to start on. I just hope the fad goes on to deer hunting, or golf, or rugby, or something else, but I fear that between the end of hunting seasons till it gets a 100 degrees out, it will be crowded at the lake.
Would like to put my 2 cents in, Don't believe it makes a difference 11 or 12 or 10 or 15, I've been to Sardis about half a dozen times,haven't caught a mess of fish but one time and that was 1995 and we limited out with 14 " fish then. The only reason I can come up with is I found some fish....and found a pattern. A lot of people that fish Sardis have there favorite spots that they fish over and over and produce, I have mine in Mark Twain and I catch my limit everytime and there usually 12-13 which is a good fish for MT, but in the last year I haven't been able to catch hardly a fish in those spots. People are saying the same thing about MT as you are saying about Sardis (Too much pressure ) I don't really think you can have to much pressure, you just have to figure out where they have gone, there still there. they lay 20,000 to 80,000 eggs per fish try computing that vs how many fish in a lake, mind boggleing. I know they don't all make it but if 10% make it WOW. I went to Sardis recently caught 1 fish for three days, doe's not mean there are no fish just means something has them tight lipped are I was in the wrong area. ( Saying is 90% of the fish or in 10% of the lake )Came home from Sardis only to find out that MT is producing 1 1/2 to 2lb Fish right now, so I went and the weather went from 70's down in the 30's overnight BAD Time for me only managed 4 11' fish. Had to fish a different area, fish still there just have to find......Still love to Fish doesn't mean I'm going to catch...
Remember Bill. That would be the state of Mississippi busting your chops ! Not the C.O.E.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
If your gona try and keep people off of social media you better get to callin the outdoor channels and all the tv shows that plaster on NATIONAL TV that MS has some of the best crappie fishin in the world, and ask them to stop sayin it. I could be wrong but im pretty sure people see more from the tv than they do on this site.
Not sure about that. I hardly ever watch crappie shows. Usually all tournaments and I could care less. I like watching odd ball outdoor shows as in red fish, hogs ,ect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Erin Brewer
I can tell you, one particular person has made sure nader has been on several tv shows to promote his guide bis.
When crappie are on the beds, a jig poler will put a troller to shame. When that male is gone from the bed he is protecting, those eggs are left to predators. That's why they are putting a referee in the boat in bass tournaments. They say that if a male is gone from the nest for five minutes, fifty percent of the eggs are lost to predators. The trollers are fishing five or six months a year. They accumulate fish, over time. There are eight to ten pontoons pushing and pulling cranks on the rivers every day all summer. All three methods are catching fish. Low hatch survival, cold winters pulling the fish through the spillway, over fished, low water draw downs, I don't know but the problem will fix itself. I do agree that the twelve inch size limit on Sardis should have been left alone.
Depending on what degree of "fixing" you believe will occur, I don't think it will fix itself anywhere to the degree it needs. All you have to do is look back over the last 20 years and see how regulations have had to change to keep crappie from completely being depleted. 50 limits no size restrictions now down to 15 and 11 inches. The only constant variables are human driven. Whether its decisions on water levels, use of technology, number of boaters, pole limits, size limits, etc. Mother nature can only do so much fighting against mankind. Bottom line, sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
That's funny right there , have you ever been to Sardis??Quote:
Originally Posted by stormcloud
I think the spillway gates get waaaaaaay more than the fishermen do. We still need to change the length limit tho.
I don't agree with that. Why would all the fish hang out by the spillway given the size of the lake. The other thing is how come you never see fish flopping going thru the spillway? And if that many, I'd think you could fish right in front of the outlet and limit out constantly and those fishing the rocks would constantly be catching bunches. But either agree or disagree, its all speculation because I have not found anywhere that someone has proven this theory right or wrong. And BTW, lower lake fishing has sucked the last few years that I've seen on this site.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
Good luck with that . A petition/lawsuit got you to this rule curve ! Easter flood of 73 , I think .Concerned citizens of Grenada county .Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
Nothing wrong with the lakes. Just change how you fish---the pattern has changed nothing more. But the length limit does need to be back to 12". Also you can look at it this way (on the length limit) you people reep what you sow lol.
I've been fishing the Big 4 for Yrs.- Never catch em every time- don't expect to. Some years better some years worse. Some trips good some not. BUT- I always have a Big Time! The Fact is Crappie population s change in CYCLES. And 99% of the time they over populate. Like it or not the pressure prevents the crappie population from stunting. And that's why they catch the quality of fish they do in Sippi. JMO. Poor dead horsey.
I have been fishing Sardis since 1963 and I agreeQuote:
Originally Posted by blackfish
This is a dead horse because people wanna stick their heads in the ground and act like there isn't a problem.Everybody wants to either deny or blame it on someone else.What's wrong with saying, "well we reaped in 2013 and this is what we are left with,it'll be good again in 2017".Because that's how it is like or not.This cycle stuff is bullcrap,crappie will spawn reguardless.We should quit calling it a cycle and call it a catch up period.Cause that's what it is.
I agree about the lower lake being bad the last few years, and I don't believe all the fish hang out at the dam. I do think that the crappie follow the current when they draw the lake down so low for winter pool. The dam end is where most of the comfortable water is for the fish that time of year. The fish follow the current thinking that the water is going to fall off and leave them high and dry so being on the dam end of the lake and then following the current from the draw downs is what causes them to flee the falling water through the gates. JMO tho. No scientific proof whatsoever.Quote:
Originally Posted by 27458
You never see crappie trapped in the waterholes when they shut down the spillways for repair. Lots of other trash fish, but very few if any crappie. They seem to be more sensitive to water levels and currents. Snagging seems to prove that they go down current that time of year.
Anyway, I'm out on this dead horse. I'm gonna go fishing. I'll just turn mine back. Maybe my 4-5 fish (if I get lucky) will get to spawn. [emoji4]
If they're males, they'll see the grease. [emoji57]
I've stated my opinion, and you all know what they say about rear ends and opinions. We all got one!!! [emoji111]🏻️
By the looks of the ramp at Engineers this morning things are tending to themselves, might have been 8 trucks there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rees Guide
yep. 30 MPH winds will help the cause.