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I've been catching some small(6-7") female crappies that appear to have eggs and getting ready to spawn. Is this an indication of stunting, or perhaps an increased growth rate, or is there something else it might be? I'm sure these were eggs, and not just full stomachs.
I bet Jackb has an answer!
He has an answer for everything!
Not unusual, especially if they are black crappie.
I do have an answer; the fish are stunted. I moved here in 1983 and have fished Smithville a ton. For years all we heard was the 8 or 8 1/2 in crappie were a "Great year class" I think that's crap. The lake has been giving up tons of crappie which, by ratio, have been small, thin, scrawny fish. Yet they continue to charge tremendous fees to launch/park. Where does the money go??? Certainly not to better the fishery. Also don't want to hear about the thousands of dollars WASTED on the "habitat program". What else are the biologists going to say other than "We're seeing shad everywhere" and "should be a good year for crappie"? I SHOULD win powerball; doesn't mean I'm gonna. If they told the TRUTH about this sewer, the parking lots would be empty and their fees would dry up. And we can't have that now, can we?
I used to go to Smithville occasionally and pay the high parking fee and not catch squat. Since they raised the fees even higher I quit going and don't plan to go anymore.
If you're going to rant you should get your facts straight; 1) The Missouri Dept of Conservation manages the fish and has been working at improving habitat. COR and Clay County have play an important role during the habitat days as well. 2) Clay County Parks collects ALL the ramp and park fees.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackb
Have you even helped during a "Habitat Day"? The habitat is paying off "BIG TIME" for the crappie and bass fishermen. My fishing buddy and I have fished in a number of tournaments at Smithville and have done well, but we don't fish the W bridge. Maybe that's your problem.
The fish aren't even close to being stunted.
Thank you for the correct info, I appreciate you laying out the facts.
Crappie I caught years ago averaged a bit bigger but the same is true of every new reservoir I have had the privilege to fish. That includes Norton, Clinton, Truman, and Smithville.
I think Smithville has a forage fish habitat problem. There is an amazing lack of vegetarian and I don't see a lot of insects.
I would be interested in my argument taken apart by someone who actually knows what they are talking about :-)
I spent 12 years planting vegetation in the lake. Our goal was to establish a seed bank that would eventually populate the lake. The biggest problem is all the common carp rooting around in any vegetation that gets established. The black crappie are stunted, the whites grow well. I hope we got enough plants in the water to create those seed banks and in the future we'll see more vegetation establishment. The most desired plant in my opinion that we planted is eel grass. This grows fairly deep and isn't very visible except on a depth finder. I have people tell me every year they are pulling it up in different parts of the lake, so hopefully we got enough in there. We are exploring some changes to hopefully thin the black crappie out so they'll grow better. There are actually about 4-5x (used to only be 1%) more legal blacks than in the past which I take as a sign the vegetation is expanding but it's still a small percentage. Black crappie are much more dependent on aquatic insects than white crappie. The shad population is critical to good white crappie growth and it can be highly variable. The water level management plan we have with the Corps is geared to benefit the shad spawn most years, but when the lake gets 4 feet high the Corps must release water when they can to maintain flood protection. The shad population is much better now than it was in the 90's. Blacks prefer clearer water than whites so move up lake if you're only catching small blacks and you should find more white crappie. I no longer manage the lake but the folks in St. Joe are working hard to keep improving the fishery.
Do we have oxygen levels for the last two years?6
The Corps of Engineers does water testing monthly from April through October. They would have temperature and oxygen profiles. Oxygen levels have not been an issue at the lake. The only time I saw dead fish due to low oxygen is on trotlines fished below the thermocline (about 12-14 feet). Fish will venture below the thermocline for a short period of time to feed but if they can't go back above it they will die quickly due to lack of oxygen below the thermocline which is normal. Thermoclines develop in the summer and winter. You should always fish shallower than the thermocline in summer and winter.
I had found the 2014 data but the current may not be published.
http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/Portal...Q%20poster.pdf
They only measure to 7 meters but it looks like in July the thermocouple was around 4 meters. That seems pretty shallow and contradicts what I read in fishing reports?
The depth of the thermocline varies with water clarity. Some years it's 17', others its' 10'. They take measurements at several spots on the lake.Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfhnd
Here is the 2016 data
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...ramHrDpOoBnMIg
I'm actually just getting back into fishing after taking a couple years off due to the bad fishing. Been fishing Smithville my entire life and 2015-2016 was the first year I've ever been skunked. Might be overpopulated or maybe the zebra mussel is really hurting the growth. Might want to throw on a bigger hook if you're jigging.
MOfishmgr: Would you recommend eel grass in a new ~2 acre pond? If so do you mind telling me the source of the eel grass? Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by MOfishmgr
We got ours out of the gasconade river in Bell Chute. There may be some private sources too. New ponds need to age a little. There's usually not anything but clay soil on the bottom. The pond will need some time for the organic material to build up on the bottom. But eel grass would be my plant of choice in a pond.
Thank you Sir! The pond has a couple small areas where the original top soil was not disturbed so perhaps it would do OK there. Might be awhile before I can get the wife on a long excursion the Gasconade with a boat. In the meantime I have some arrowhead, burhead, and spikerush for the banks.