Are there any crappie left in Sooner?

Ran over yesterday afternoon because it's the closest lake to me and I needed to get the boat in the water. Ran around a bit, caught a few largemouth bass and a small striper. Found a few brushpiles that looked real good at a good depth but nothing on them. I've been told it was once a really good crappie lake but I wonder if there are any left in the lake???

On another note, I found a cove that was just loaded with fish but have no idea what they were. I tried everything big and small from spoons to spinner baits, jigs to rattletraps and never even got a bump. Thought about throwing a net but ran out of time. Some of the school had pockets of larger fish. Hopefully the video shows up. Any ideas what I'm looking at?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kYdgJK5Zuc

That's either 1 of 2 things in Sooner. It's either large schools of shad, which I doubt or schools of white perch. The latter is probably right. There are millions of white perch in Sooner.

The white perch have no predators to keep them in check.

If you see something that looks like a crappie dont get excited, its a drum. :( Lake is full of em.

Fishers is right. I've caught dozens of drum out there, some over 10 lbs. There are some saugeye in there.

I fished Sooner a lot about 15 years ago, could usually catch limits anchoring up on the tunnels going under the highways in an evening after work, Back then the crappie were so skinny even a 14" crappie would have a hard time weighing 1lb.

The biologists list white perch as an aquatic problem right along with zebra mussels, which sooner is also full of, and tell you not to release them back into the lake. They also say white perch feed on fish eggs and will go into a nest and wipe out the entire nest of eggs. I understand they have been releasing a lot of walleye into the lake to try to control the white perch population. I would guess they caused the crappie decline over the years. Used to love fishing sooner but it has definitely changed over the years.

Back when I worked at the power plant, there were some brush piles in the discharge area that held a lot of crappie, but as the years went by, fewer and fewer were caught. It could have been the brush piles deteriorated, or the combo of zebra mussles, and white perch. The hybrids and black bass looked like they were starving with sunken bellies, but the stripers always looked healthy.
I guess a person is going to learn white perch fishing and fish for them like they do up around the Great Lakes. No limit, so if they are aggressive feeders, a live well full of them should produce plenty of fillets.

They tell me a small 1/32nd or 1/64th ounce jig with a piece of minnow or worm on it will kill them and they are getting big in sooner. They also say they are some of the best eating fish there is don't know never tried them but I know a lot of people who have. Be a good place to take kids so they could catch a bunch.

Anyone know if they're good eating?? I would assume that it would be akin to a small sand/white bass. Same family.

Actually they are perch and yes they are great to eat from what I'm told from guys that are die hard crappie fisherman. Said they fillet them and throw them in the deep fryer.

I hear Yankees like em! :dono

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Originally Posted by TimY

Actually they are perch and yes they are great to eat from what I'm told from guys that are die hard crappie fisherman. Said they fillet them and throw them in the deep fryer.

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White perch = Morone americana, White bass = Morone chrysops, Striped bass = Morone saxatilis all family Moronidae

Yellow pearch = Perca flavescens , European perch = Perca fluviatilis, Walleye = Sander vitreus ; all family Percidae

Different family, so not a true perch. Then again, Dad always called sunfish (bluegill, redear, etc.) by the name of perch... Hearing that reference for 20 years cost me when I got into fisheries class in college, and guess what, I still call them perch! To each their own.

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Originally Posted by IkenI

I hear Yankees like em! :dono

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You mean the same folks that eat noodles in their chili??!?!?!?! Say it ain't so!

I have a subscription to the infisherman magazine. Last months issue talked about folks going after white perch and how tasty they are.

Dang been callin them perch for over 50 years. Ain't changing now.

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Originally Posted by TimY

Dang been callin them perch for over 50 years. Ain't changing now.

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Black bass are actually from the sunfish family and we call them bass, so go figure! Lol.

Men I am new to Ok. and have been wanting to go to Sooner.. That is all I fish for is CRAPPIE , do they allow spider rigging ?

mikeg

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Originally Posted by mikeg

Men I am new to Ok. and have been wanting to go to Sooner.. That is all I fish for is CRAPPIE , do they allow spider rigging ?

mikeg

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Yes they do. There are special regs on sand bass/hybrids/stripers, but state regulations are followed for crappie.

If you find any crappie let me know. Not even wondering where or how, just if there are any worth fishing for.

Friends I have that still fish Sooner says the crappie are thin and poor. Don't know where you live but I would drive 25 more miles to Kaw.

Rumor has it these things have them thinned down. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...68913cce84.jpg


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There's a healthy population of blues in the lake. Every one I've ever caught out of there had a belly full of zebra mussles.

I usually do drive the extra to get to Kaw but with the water fluctuations it would be nice to know I could still catch a few somewhere else.