Peculiar, Self Imposed Crappie Limits

Any of you guys have any peculiar, self imposed limits when you're catching crappie to keep for your own family ? On the majority of the Arkansas waters I fish we're "allowed by law" to harvest up to 30, which is awesome ! However, I never have kept that many. Partly because I don't usually catch 30 good en's that I would want to keep, but I have on occasion. When I am keeping fish, I set myself a few parameters: Minimum of 10 fish. Maximum of 15 fish. I don't keep fish under 10". I don't keep fish over 2 pounds.

With that being said, I have kept both types of fish that I "claim" to not keep. I have also kept fewer than 10 fish on occasion, (7 good en's being the fewest). I've kept 9" fish. I've kept 2+ pound fish. To stay within my parameters I have a couple of things I do. First of course is catch fish. I put anything and everything over 10" in the livewell to begin, and I just fish. If and after I've got 15 in the livewell, I begin my culling process as I add another fish. I begin by releasing anything I have over 2lbs, (after snapping a picture of course). If or once, I don't have anything over 2lbs in the livewell, then I cull the smallest fish I have. This is just by (eyeball method). I never put a shorter than 10" fish in the cooler early. If and when I keep a short fish, (assuming it's legal to do so) it's later after I already have "some" fish but not yet my 10 fish minimum.

I didn't have any legit reason to come up with this, other than, I have a family of 5 and we can eat 20-30 filets in one sitting so I package and freeze my filets accordingly and this limit fits the bill. Prior to coming up with rule for myself, it made meal planning a little tricky, this seems to make it easier. As far as my 10" minimum and 2 lb max.... That's just the size fish I prefer for table fare.

*Disclaimer* I'm only sharing for the purpose of sharing. I have ZERO, NADA, ZILCH issue or complaints with folks keeping whatever their state limit allows. Whether it's 30 8" fish, or 30 state record fish, this is not a thread condemning anything that's legal.

So, do any of you guy have any peculiar self imposed limits ?

I strive to keep my fish alive ...

Simply because I release them if my day consists of less than 5 legal fish (regardless of size) ...

Rickie

Here's my parameters.. No more than 25 and only keep 9.5-10.5 inchers in the fall.. Reason being, I clean them old school with fillet knife. I just can't get all the rib meat with an electric. The rib meat is my favorite part!! I don't want to clean anymore than 25 at once. I only keep them in the fall once the water drops below 55. They just taste better than in the spring when reproduction is on their mind. 9.5-10.5 are my preferred size for eating. We catch plenty over 10.5 but I like to put that gene pool back in the water and let someone else try to catch them.

Only set rule I have is 10'' min even where there is no length limits . I only jig fish and mostly verticle jig brush , stumps , and stakebeds . Try to keep limits every trip and usually give them all away to those I fish with or old folks and neighbors . As long as spider riggers and yoyos are used in a lake I refuse to release legal fish for them to catch . Would like to release them all some trips if it would help and was not lots of folks trying to catch them every way possiable that will not release them. Even more so the big ones but with folks dragging 8 or more poles with double minnow rigs or yoyo fishing to fill freezers, don't seem like it would do much good to let them go.

I keep a minimum of 7 fish and max of 25(limit), unless another person is with me who also wants fish, and mostly 10"-12" fish with a few over 12" for grilling and blackening. Won't keep under 10" unless hooked deep and will die, under 8" and Osprey food if hooked deep.

On KY Lake we have a 10" min. and 30 fish limit. I usually throw them back and don't if I don't have 5 or more. I think 10" is a good min. I have tried to clean fish under 10" at Reelfoot and personally I think they are too small to mess with.

I like to catch at least one fish per outing....only keep what I have room for in the freezer...never more than what we can eat over a 2 night meal...I like this thread.Thanks.

I never keep fish unless my freezer is low or I have promised someone some fillets, OR I am with a client. My family doesn't eat a lot of fish, so a few Spring catches will last me all year. If I am keeping fish, then I dont discriminate too much on size. If not, then I am after the bigguns and I dont care too much about numbers. I am normally just looking for a few thumpers to photo and release.

I only keep fish over 11 inches and never over 15...I fill 2 freezers when the water is still cold before the Spawns. Then I catch and release the rest of the year,...unless I want a fresh batch in the Late Fall.
Trophy Fish go back into the lake,....I figure if they managed to survive that long, I feel they deserve to try and live longer....I'm not gonna be the reason that they died!
I also give back to my lake, we have dropped cover in it for the last 10 years and pick up trash a couple times a year!

I am a fish eater. I don't keep the small ones very much unless they are hurt. My Wife don't like fooling with small whole fish just fillets. But if he is big enough to fillet and make a good sandwich he is in trouble. I very seldom catch a limit but do keep and eat what I catch.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by scrat

But if he is big enough to fillet and make a good sandwich he is in trouble.

---

That's great stuff right there ! Ha ! "He is in trouble" !! You should have that made into a bumper sticker !

It depends on the lake and fish population for me. For instance if im fishing a lake that i think is overpopulated or the biologist say it is, then I keep everything I catch to fill my limit. In my smaller reservoirs where crappie populations are high and will over populate if not kept in check, I keep a limit if i can catch em while throwing the bigger fish back. Now when fishing lakes that have the proper management and the population is where it needs to be I like my Keepers 10-14 inches and usually keep to 15-20 ish. My family and friends really enjoy eating fish, doing big cookouts, and fellowshipping. We even do a couple of church fish fries every year. So There is never fish in my freezer from one year to the next. We eat em all no matter how many fish I have in my freezer. Im not greedy in my opinion and I do not keep my fish, just so someone else wont catch em. I keep my fish because I love them and need them.

I let the state set my limits. I have so many request from people who don't fish for some fish. I let who ever fishes with me have first shot at the catch then I look at my needs. I have a fish fry for my bible study and usually three for family a year. My freezer never has more than a fish fry in advance. I find pleasure in taking others (especially kids) fishing and giving to those who are not able to fish.

I eat what I catch. So, why am I fat?

First of all, great thread. This is how we educate one another on why we do what we do.
Second, I have a collection of some of what has already been said. I feel kinda out of place because I feel we are so darn good at what we do that it takes us no time at all to gather enough fish for a fry. I have seen and had folks with me that just gather fish for the sake of gathering fish. I have stated before that we have better technology than ever before. That in mind we can find em and stack better than ever before. I feel this is a finite resource that we need to protect whenever possible. I have 4 granddaughters and I want them to be able to teach their kids what I'm showing them now. We can already say that we remember when........
I mostly realize that this is my opinion and not that of anyone else or the majority. There are many times that I will release fish for several trips because I have some in the frozer. I have also taken a limit to benefit others because it is our job to take care of others. Neighbors, elderly, and others who use them to feed others en mass that are no longer able to do for themselves. Seldom, if ever, have I given more than I would have taken in a regular trip between me and whoever was in the boat. The look on the face of the person that runs a senior center that feeds folks for $4 a meal at most and turns no one away for lack of funds when I showed up with a limit of solid fish that will provide for those that cannot do for themselves. That is a payment worth more than hard currency. As you can tell, this is one of my weak spots.
As to large fish, I don't believe we can grow large fish from small fish genetics. Biologists have never directly addressed this and that bothers me, sidestepping the question is all I've ever gotten when asked of someone in a position to know the real facts. I have taken a few fish of real size in the past but now I release any of more than 13" and seldom keep more than my Queen and I can eat in a meal or two. I package them in 4 or 5 filet packs cuz that's about all we can eat at a sitting.
Mostly I realize that everyone's needs are different and I can not change things on my own. All I can do is state my opinion and hope that the ideas appeal to some and maybe change the way they think just a little. All of us have the rights dictated by the state as to how much we can keep, and following that is all i can hope for. We have all read of those caught harvesting everything that they catch and this hurts the fishery. I hope that what I do helps balance things somewhat.
All that said, lets go fishin---I hear they're biting. What you do with them is on you........Skeet.

I always leave my options open...I do whatever I feel like that day. Keep no fish,keep some fish,keep a limit (if I catch that many). No rules. I generally try to have some idea of what the population consist of in a lake by researching the creel surveys and the fisheries studies. If I go to a lake and I know that roughly 75 percent of the fish are 10" or less and I get into a year class of decent 9" fish and they are legal and I want some I will keep them. My overall preference is sort of a slot limit. I like fish in the 10 to 13 inch range the best. I think they taste better,and the bigger fish have larger bones in the lateral line and I have to cut them out or my wife complains. The general consensus now on most waters with some pollution is eat the small fish,the larger fish have accumulated more toxins. In general I try to harvest based on what the body of water needs to remain healthy or to improve the fishery. I have no interest in damaging a fishery. If biologist say they want some small fish removed of any species I'm their man. I can make a meal of most anything in the wild....country boy can survive.

I fish Sardis a lot, just once I would like to know what a limit looks and feel like.

I really don't have a set plan other than not exceed what the state says in the regulations if I chose to keep fish.
some spots I never keep fish
others I might keep a couple ..say 6 or so ....
and on a rare occasion in I keep a bunch ...say over 15 ....
I fillet them old school and prefer fish about 11 inches to fillet for eating
mind ya if we go and you want them then we might load up
I think in my case it depends on where and what my objective is on that trip and what water body I am visiting ....

I keep 6 to 10. My wife and I both love Crappie. I like 10" or better, depending on which lake I fish. Some of the TN. state lakes do not have 11/12" fish on average. Many days, I catch and release.

I only keep what I "need". My last few trips have been 100% catch and release. NJ allows 10 fish over 8" a man per day. 4-6 fish would probably be my average take home when I feel like a fish dinner.

I keep just a nuff to eat. One or two good trips will do my fine. I also keep a few for friends. But for my self 40 or 50 good fish will do it all year. But I also keep some other kinds of fish too. "Catfish blue gills and sait water fish as well ".

glad some care lots that just have to keep all,then gripe its not as good as it was

Depends on who i'm fishing with or for. I do a lot of donating fish to help organizations and church's benefits, so i'll keep plenty for them, never exceeding my daily limit. I keep some for myself and my kids. They fish my freezer like they have a rod in their hand. I catch a lot but i fish a lot of diffrent lakes.

Been fun to see the different viewpoints. Mostly, I've caught and released. If I keep any, it's usually a handful for my wife and I for dinner.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by riptide

Been fun to see the different viewpoints.

---

Absolutely.

Being from Ill. when I make my annual trip to Miss. we keep some fish. Very seldom do we keep a limit[not good enough to catch a limit] but what I can say is 10 fish from down there is like keeping 30 fish up here. Much thicker than ours so it doesn't take as many to fill my personal needs. I never break the rules as far as limits and as said rarely keep that much. I just love to spider rig and enjoy those monsters down there. I am going to wade next year while I we are there and I hope not to become a take home meal for an alligator while doing that .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jigflip

glad some care lots that just have to keep all,then gripe its not as good as it was

---

Some lakes have too many fish and this slows growth . Depends where you fish . We have high numbers but really sucks if you turn your big fish loose only to see spider riggers and yoyo fishermen hauling out coolers full .

Nimrod is correct. Nothing wrong with keeping them. Some lakes need it.

It's good to see that others practice catch and release as well. I have personally never seen it here. I get lots of dirty looks from people when I toss a good fish back, and have even been cussed out for it! Crappie has always been considered a table fish around here, and there are still lots of people who fish to feed their family. I have no problem with that. The problem, I think, is that there are a LOT more people chasing Crappie as a sport fish now, but with the same "keep everything that is legal" mentality. A little bit of conservation is in order to protect the resource. I fish mostly for fun, and cleaning a cooler full fish after a long day is NOT my idea of fun! Just my two cents.

There days that I fish just to fish and then there are days that I fish to eat. When I put water in the live well it is game on. I will keep legal crappie, bluegill,stripe and blue cat. I keep an aerator in my live well and my fish stay healthy in case I have to give them back. I have a family of 6 and also like to feed my Mother and Brother so I keep a few small bags in the freezer to balance the cook as needed. I just prefer fresh fish. I have started the ritual of releasing the biggest crappie as a gift to another fisherman and a contribution to the gene pool. Cant remember who this came from but it came from here. Three years ago I watched our local hole by the house on the Elk get fished out and I keep that in mind when I take fish.

I have a self imposed limit of 10 inches unless it was hooked deep and will die then I will keep it. Never culled big ones but since I am still looking for my 1st 2 lber I haven't caught a real big one. I keep enough for a mess if I catch enough that is. For example one day I kept 10 inches and up then culled down to 10.

If I have 5 or less they get released, also anything over 1 1/2 gets thrown back. My favorite eaters are 10-11". I will say if I ever catch one over 3lbs it's going on the wall.