Rend 11/4/17 (and question at the end)

Went to Rend yesterday. Water temp 52-55, boat traffic moderate. Got there early and fished til about 130-200. Managed to get 10 overs and 10 unders but it took about 3.5 hours to get the last three overs. It was a long day with the wind in your face and constantly being on the trolling motor. My back is telling me I should have swapped the butt seat for the folding seat. My brain is telling me an i-pilot trolling motor is in my future. I talked to about 6 or 8 other boats and none had any good news to share and seemed surprised I scratched together what I had. Caught all overs in one spot and everywhere else I tried it was lots of dinks. Maybe it was better on other parts of the lake, I don't know the lake as well as some guys on here.

So the question to the guys that fish lakes with over and under limits, how do you tally your catch? I've counted in my head and I've also physically recounted before heading in. Fact is I'm doing good these days if I remember to put pants on or remember to put the plug in the boat!
Anyone use these?
https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Spor...+tally+counter

I never keep the 5 unders that I'm allowed at Shelbyville unless someone with me wants them. I have 20 culling rings and 10 small clips. If we decide to keep 10 overs and 5 unders, I put out 10 culling rings and 5 small clips. the culling rings go on each over that goes in the live well and the small clips go on the unders. when The cull rings and small clips are gone we know we have 10 overs and 5 unders in the livewell. We each have our own rings and clips to ensure we only catch our own limit. It's fool proof

Ya clips and rings would be fool proof. By the time I could land a fish, unhook it and put it in the cooler yesterday I was blowing into the bank or 20 yards off the place I caught it. The added step of using rings would just add to that pain in the butt. But it is definitely a do-able, accurate method that I will consider. Thanks.
There isn't a lot of meat on a 9-10 inch crappie. But weren't the limits made that way to help manage the overall population? Would it not be better to keep the unders? Or is it just a way to keep a higher creel limit without harvesting as many bigger fish? Serious question, I don't know. I just started crappie fishing a few years ago.

I have a push button counter. I never kept any on over under lake. If I did I would probably use another counter and put colored tape on it to tell difference. Wind is bad on rend. I would have found a place out wind. One day I put the boat in at four different ramps there to avoid going out in the middle and getting stuck in wind. Fished each of the spots a while and trailered to the next

I use a double pitch counter. home= overs away= unders

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Originally Posted by spec24

I use a double pitch counter. home= overs away= unders

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I guess that is what I linked in the original post. Does yours resemble that one? For $8 I guess it seems reasonable.

Was at Rene today. Haven't been there in a few months. Was shocked to see my normal novermber spots sucked. Everything was little. Took 8-10 fish to even get a 9 incher. Water is way below normal levels for this time of year.

yes just like that.

Did you try fishing the bridge with the other 87 boats bumping into each other? Thats the best pattern this time of year. We use a cheap golf counter to keep track of fish.

I use a counter I bought off amazon, may be the same one you have linked to. I took a labelmaker and made a Over and Under label, works great.
PS went to Rend yesterday and got most of a limit.

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Originally Posted by bluesfan

Ya clips and rings would be fool proof. By the time I could land a fish, unhook it and put it in the cooler yesterday I was blowing into the bank or 20 yards off the place I caught it. The added step of using rings would just add to that pain in the butt. But it is definitely a do-able, accurate method that I will consider. Thanks.
There isn't a lot of meat on a 9-10 inch crappie. But weren't the limits made that way to help manage the overall population? Would it not be better to keep the unders? Or is it just a way to keep a higher creel limit without harvesting as many bigger fish? Serious question, I don't know. I just started crappie fishing a few years ago.

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I don't know about Rend but last year at the Bo Woods habitat drop I remember the biologist in charge said something about getting the small blacks out of the lake as they were over populating.

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Originally Posted by bluesfan

Ya clips and rings would be fool proof. By the time I could land a fish, unhook it and put it in the cooler yesterday I was blowing into the bank or 20 yards off the place I caught it. The added step of using rings would just add to that pain in the butt. But it is definitely a do-able, accurate method that I will consider. Thanks.
There isn't a lot of meat on a 9-10 inch crappie. But weren't the limits made that way to help manage the overall population? Would it not be better to keep the unders? Or is it just a way to keep a higher creel limit without harvesting as many bigger fish? Serious question, I don't know. I just started crappie fishing a few years ago.

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As for lakes with over under limits—for Shelbyville anyways, yes the answer for the unders is to hopefully thin out some of the black crappie as they’re taking too long to reach maturity or the 10” mark. Anglers who don’t take the unders at Shelbyville aren’t doing the fishery any good. I? personally love to eat a 9-10” fish and prefer them over a 11” plus fish. Crispy nuggets!


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Originally Posted by crazycrappie

Was at Rene today. Haven't been there in a few months. Was shocked to see my normal novermber spots sucked. Everything was little. Took 8-10 fish to even get a 9 incher. Water is way below normal levels for this time of year.

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Yes two of my fishing buddies just got back from Rend they said two days of searching and 5 dinks for one 9-10 fish. 11.18.17 Seemed everybody was asking where"s the fish............................................

I had scheduled a day off Friday 11-17 to take a drive to Rend but cancelled when I saw the wind that was forecast. Friday seemed 10 times better than Saturday as far as weather goes. I could hardly stand to be outside yesterday in my back yard, let alone in a boat at Rend with 20+ mph gusts! I rescheduled for Wednesday. Hoping for a calmer day...