4 Pound Crappie in Lake Harney?

Surfing and look what I found..............

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This 6,000-acre lake straddles the Volusia-Seminole County line north of State Road 46 between the little towns of Mims and Geneva. It has the reputation for consistently yielding "slabs" of 1 1/2 to 2 pounds.

Several years ago state biologists running population surveys with an electro-shocking boat on Lake Harney scooped up a 4-pound black crappie that had been stunned to the surface. Had it been taken on hook-and-line gear it would have set a state record. The fish was revived and released.

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Gezzz..................and I for one thought any new state record would come out of Crescent :yikes

Hmmmm.......ok.............4 pounder or bust boys! Could you imagine a new state record coming out of one of our local lakes?

THAT would be a grand catch there! And she's still out there....................somewhere :)

That is awesome....Same thing happened at Talquin about 4 years ago....They are out there, we just gotta find 'em!!!:cheers2

Back 12 or so years ago pappy and I fished harney quite a bit..... We never weighed or measured anything..... But by comparison of what I know now those were some BIG fish.... I'm positive they were in the 17" range..... And 14/15" were common catches. We fished it a few years and the big ones got harder and harder to find.... Wasn't even worth the trip. Over the last few years It seems like it has rekindled itself.... But after seeing last Saturday's boat ramp it may not last long! Not wanting to start a rant but I would support a slot or 12" minimum.

I dont think you will see much if anything done. Personally feel that a slot of say 10" -13" with 20 limit and 1 over slot per day might have a very slight chance of raising an eyebrow of the FWC. That said I really do not think you can hurt a fishery on the river system. Yea the big girls might become fewer in numbers as seen, but who is to say it is not just a cycle. Now the landlocked lakes, if not enough acreage, especially around all the snowbird headquarters in Lakeland, yes I imagine a hurting could be put on em. Till any legislation is passed all we can do is hope it may come full circle, but they better have their ducks in a row as heavily as Crappie reproduce. Could swing way bad with stunted fish real quick. Some places now are begging people to keep bass and they are not near as prolific as Crappie. Till then as long as someone is within the laws and only taking what they can consume, I will congratulate em on a great days fishing. Now the guys out there passing off fish to other boats and people at docks to keep fishing, that is just wrong. You can keep fishing and throw em back, everything ain't gotta go to a table. And if ya are gonna pass em off, still should not be able to take over a limit even if they went to someone else. There is my 2cents and remember Speckanator started it!

And back to Stu's post, I bet there are 4 pounders in many of the lakes around here. Just gotta find the few and make em bite. Just like 10lb to 15lb bass. They are there just gotta find em and make em bite.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

There is my 2cents and remember Speckanator started it!

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Sorry !

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Originally Posted by Speckanator

Sorry !

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Ain't no need in that, I was pokin fun at ya.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

Ain't no need in that, I was pokin fun at ya.

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oh Yea...I know:cheers2 I shouldn't have added that cause I know how sensitive that subject is.....You betcha come Saturday I won't be throwing back any monsters til after weigh-in anyway!:Rofl I got Mr. Red Fish himself in my boat.....and he says..."I need beer money"....so the pressures on for a good run!

Well written & explained Mike. Thanks for your thoughts - many, many of us
agree whole-heartly with you on this subject.
One problem we presently have regarding fish and harvest numbers - is between
FWC & Florida Dept of Tourisam.........The latter being a heavy hammer on what
FWC can and can't do................Got to keep the "God Almighty" buck flowing into
Florida economy....(that is another tuff subject to keep down without puking)

SSHHHHHHH........LOL

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

I dont think you will see much if anything done. Personally feel that a slot of say 10" -13" with 20 limit and 1 over slot per day might have a very slight chance of raising an eyebrow of the FWC. That said I really do not think you can hurt a fishery on the river system. Yea the big girls might become fewer in numbers as seen, but who is to say it is not just a cycle. Now the landlocked lakes, if not enough acreage, especially around all the snowbird headquarters in Lakeland, yes I imagine a hurting could be put on em. Till any legislation is passed all we can do is hope it may come full circle, but they better have their ducks in a row as heavily as Crappie reproduce. Could swing way bad with stunted fish real quick. Some places now are begging people to keep bass and they are not near as prolific as Crappie. Till then as long as someone is within the laws and only taking what they can consume, I will congratulate em on a great days fishing. Now the guys out there passing off fish to other boats and people at docks to keep fishing, that is just wrong. You can keep fishing and throw em back, everything ain't gotta go to a table. And if ya are gonna pass em off, still should not be able to take over a limit even if they went to someone else. There is my 2cents and remember Speckanator started it!

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On the part about not hurting a river system fishery, I wonder if flathead cats dine on crappie? It's probably reasonable to believe they do since they certainly devour bream. Not about a crappie rebound, but according to the Georgia DNR redbreast sunfish on the Satilla River did rebound after an electrofishing program that lasted from 2007 thru 2014. They removed 47,497 invasive flathead catfish totaling 91,906 pounds. Flathead average size has declined while redbreast population has rebounded. Just wondering if this could apply to river crappie??? We have plenty of flatheads up here in the Panhandle rivers...not sure about down state.

I caught and cleaned a pile of flatheads in Louisiana. Yes I have found crappie in them. If it swims by and he can choke it down it will. Found turtles, birds, bullheads, frogs, bream, bass, crawfish amoung other not so sure things half digested. They are eating machines.

The tourism buck is a difficult argument to win when talking to beaureau (sp) types that have any authority. I agree with a smaller bag and maybe a larger minimum to raise the size of available "trophy" size fish. The catch it and gotta eat it line of thought has always bothered me. TN had a bag of 15 and a 10" minimum. Grenada has a 12" minimum. I never had a hard time keeping fish in my freezer or my close friends that were deserving with a few now and then. When they got fish I did not, and when I decided to release fish I didn't let a guest keep his limit and mine. What we are discussing are management tools and we need to judge them against their efficiancy. If it don't work we need to move to plan B. We are more effective with our current technology and left unchecked I believe we will see a decline at some point. The snowbird factor I have brought up in the past is another source of aggravation and lack of control by FWC. I believe big fish roam the waters of most lakes and rivers, the large Bass are proof. Even with the pressure of the tourneys and new technology a double digit fish still makes it to a weigh in now and then. I have fished for years for a 3lb to adorn my wall, but never got closer than 2lb 9 1/2oz. And that was a toad! Maybe one day, but for now the pressure is off. I prefer to have a fishery on which to teach my grandchildren on and leave to them while I share the days on the water with the friends and loved ones I choose to make memories with.

Well said Skeet, really appreciate your thoughts.............
Thanks for sharing.

Flat heads and Blues both eat crappie. I have found a 11 1/2 crappie in a 15 pound Blue from Talquin. The illegal introduction of flatheads to Talquin has helped hurt the crappie and redbreast size and numbers. Though, humans still are the most destructive. I have 5 lakes I fish within 60 miles of me. Of those, Talquin gets the most publicity. Though, two of the other lakes produce more 2 pound fish and all 4 others produce more fish. I know Talquin well enough that I can catch a limit most days too. I keep good records in my fishing logs and size of crappie have went down ever since the drawdown, but numbers and size have progressively fell since 2005 at Talquin. The multiple January/ February tournaments and the March/April attacks of spawning grounds were hard on the lake. Now with the 40-60 boat days in November/December the last 4-5 years, average size and catch rate have really fell the last 3 years. For years in the winter months you would only have a handful of crappie boats on the lake. Those boats had 1/3 of the equipment and technology we do now. Not to mention there wasn't Internet or social media spreading the word of a hot bite to the fair weather fishermen. With a surface area of 8800-9200 acres and only 6000 fish able acres, how much fishing pressure can it take? What is the median that keeps all stakeholders happy? Do we do length or creel changes? Do we do number of pole regulations? What about night fishing? Should we consider a closed spawning season? Who are the stakeholders and how will they be effected financially?

Definitely enforcement could be better and do we have resources to enforce any changes? Is freshwater or crappie a priority in Florida? Does the state think they have a good or great crappie fishery?

I would definitely support a shut down during the spawn. I really try and not keep any heavy egg laden females once they start showing real good. And as far as enforcing any new or existing laws. I have been checked 1 time in 4 years and all they wanted to see was liscense and boat documents. Never asked to open livewell or even ask about fish. The most I see them doing around here is patrolling the marinas no wake zone and the first half mile of manatee barrier on Monroe. Even reported the boats flying thru the manatee zones on the north shore of Monroe and saw no added patrols. The manatee zone at Blue Springs is patrolled at the park only and only mid day. Early morning people scream thru without abandon. Simply put we need more officers for enforcement of current laws in place not more laws. If you see something report it. I have FWC on a speed dial in my phone and have used it 2 times. Dont think anything was done due to response time but at least they have #'s to watch for in future. Have to remember that at least in this area, the best bite coincides with the hunting seasons when the same patrol officers have to watch the management areas.

When it comes to freshwater fishing - it seems the state is more interested in
preserving the growth rate of bass population. Everywhere is catch and release
of bass. Saltwater fishing is number 1 tourisam "calling" with bass close behind.
Crappie are not high on charts ....

Florida to me is extremely pressured by tourist that come each year for the
3 -4 months of spawn - fill coolers and return North -

I DID NOT ATTEND - HEAR SAY ONLY
Was told that a Crappie tournament was out of Hatchineha last weekend with
some of the following rules - 5:30am start time, noon weigh in- unlimited number of poles, baits, live or artifical - 6 FISH COULD BE WEIGHED IN DEAD OR ALIVE.
Was told that most entries were in pontoon boats - 18 - 20 - people had coolers,
upon coolers on boats full, dumping them out, picking out the bigger fish and rest
being put back in coolers to take home. You wonder how many had fished all night
kept fish on ice and brought to weighin next day.
Again, supposedly this tournament will run twice a month from November thru
March. Some new bait shop in Dundee, along with someone out of Hoppies
Marina repair is promoting..........

Again i have seen Okeechobee at Kissimmee river bridge north lined with pontoon
boats both sides of river for half mile lit up at night - 25 fish per person, 8-10
people on board hauling them in.
Have never seen an FWC person at launch sites at night to check these boats as
they come in...............

This has always been a tough subject for myself................my selfish side says (based on a TV program I watched in the past concerning another states regulations) is a daily 10 fish limit / min 12 inches. Anywhere in the state.

My reasonable side says in today's world and economy I cant fault and even understand why a fisherman would want to keep fish for personal consumption. Some return for the time, money, and effort spent in the pursuit, plus the love of eating fresh fish itself. Not a thing in the world wrong with that.

However I am also a believer in human nature, and that being in most cases we do more harm than good to the environment around us. That would include the folks that simply take the resource for granted and make their own rules.

Im not sure how much the FWC can combat human nature. After all fishermen must outnumber them by the thousands. With that being my belief I still feel there is more that can be done.

The first thing I would start with is trying to set an example. Continue preaching the benefits of catch, record, release. I want to see more visual indicators around lakes, ramps, and associated business locations (bait shops / larger sports stores) stating the benefits of keeping only what you can use, and releasing the rest for future stock, as well as the repercussions if you don't follow the rules laid in place and the resulting loss or suspension of your license / fishing privileges at least. If they sell fishing licenses, require a poster board, large and in clear sight.

Crappie tournaments need to set an example by requiring live catches, weighed, and to be released back into the home waters from which they came. This would require alot more efforts on behalf of their organizers I'm sure (holding tanks of some type, man hours and effort for the goal of healthy releases.) Especially those tournaments with fields of 30,40,60-80 boats, with well knowing anglers fishing. How can a field of that size not cause a hurting on a population?

Maybe its time for the state to adopt a limit on poles / lines used during fishing as another way to curb the catch rate. (As much as I wouldn't like it myself maybe it would be best for the long term of the sport)

We all love the pursuit, we all want the slabs, and I'm sure we all want it to continue forever long as we may live or have the energy / health to continue to do so.

I do realize there are alot more factors involved than a simple fisherman myself can begin to understand............so I do my best to concentrate on what I feel I am responsible to act / do. At least I can control that aspect of it if nothing else.

I agree with what you say about setting an example Stu. I have long been a fan of doing our best to set and example. We are who the public sees and are therefore ambassadors of our sport. Every time we step out of the truck at a ramp or bait shop or store for drinks or what have you, people see us as the guys that are organized fishermen. Most of us having this conversation are already moving in the right direction. The thing I think we have to work on is getting the ideas across to John Q. Public without having to listen to a tirade of what who's rights are or duck gunfire. As with anything we just need to keep it in the open and moving in the right direction. If we stay on the same page, right or wrong, we will figure it out and make some difference, however small. A first step will have been taken.

Y'all got this backwards...just don't be a good enough angler to notice the difference, that's what I do!!

I'm just kidding of course, I follow the laws, and then apply my own additional restrictions (size/quantity).

That said, there is always room for improvement when examining the fisheries. While I would love to catch a monster slab, I still get excited over every dink.

Hey Stu..... Did the article say what part of the lake they saw the 4 pounder in.... Maybe she has some chubby relatives.

go on a BLIND date :Rofl

I remember when I first started crappie fishing (Harney) we only used two poles each/w/minnows only ....
Till I met up with you guys .............................

Minnows??? What they fer? Sure dont miss tending to them things.

I don't have any problem with people as long as they obey the laws. But i have a neighbor that gave my parents 5 year old fish from their freezer. I don't understand why people would keep more than they can eat in a year.

I have plenty in the freezer this year and don't plan on keeping anymore.

Talking about it and being examples does help me throw them back.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

Minnows??? What they fer? Sure dont miss tending to them things.

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Learned a lot fishin with Speckanator.......

Hopefully ya paid attention this time. Last time ya just added more poles and bigger bobbers.:biggrin:Rofl:Rofl:yikes:biggrin:cheers2