Paducah Sun

Anyone else read the outdoor section today. The article was saying that the crappie population should be good this spring but the surveys are showing a lack of smaller crappie due to a bad spawn in 2005-2006 because of these surveys the biologist are predicting a decline in the crappie numbers and will be noticable in 2008 and getting worse in the following years. Another interesting fact in the article there is a 74% mortality rate in crappie.

How many of you believe this?

How many would be willing to support a reduced limit if it would help,.. let's say cut the limit by 10

cut it to 15 would'nt make me mad!

SORRY I should have stated the article was about KY and Barkley lakes.

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Originally Posted by ted

cut it to 15 would'nt make me mad!

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Why is that... It would help the numbers later in years so our children can catch them like we do now!!!!!!

yep i agree with any limit reduction

Hey Guys,

A friend of mine is one of the biologists working West Kentucky. We spoke a few weeks ago about this. A big part of their study is the fall netting survey. Which has shown less productive years the past few. However there are variables such as weather, water levels, and seasonal crappie movements. So maybe, just maybe there is some room for error. I know year before last the big push of shallow crappie was more in late November and December. The water was fairly warm up into mid November.

I guess time will tell huh. And I agree with you all. A fifteen or twenty fish limit wouldn't hurt my feelings either. 15 slabs are more then enough for a good meal.

Old Guide

I can say as an out-of-stater, I'd support a lesser limit. I don't want to come down there and clean the place out. Just catch some slabs, take lots of pictures, and save some slabs for a decent fish fry for the family back home!

I feel the same way. I really don't care if I keep them or not even though they sure do taste good. I just want a chance to catch some 2 pounders. Even though we have 2 pounders here I don't think as many as down South. If I had to put them back would not bother me at all. I don't have any on my walls and not planning on it. Just to tussle with a big fish is good enough for me.

due to the increase in domination numbers ... of Black Crappie :confused: that is the reason for the "prediction" ?? Anglers (and even the KDFWR) have not really got the differences pegged, just yet. Ky Lake/Barkley Lake are way too big to decline to the point of having to reduce the creel. There's probably thousands of Slabs, that die of old age, and never see a hook/bait. They still spawn, just like the 2yo & 3yo ones .... so, even with a bad spawn year, that only removes one year class from the mix.
Remember ... this years spawned Crappie will be "slabs" in less than 4yrs. And what about the 2004-2005 spawners ... they'll still be spawning, this year -- and their offspring, from 2004-2005, will be "slabs" next year.

Greenwing ... 74% mortality of WHAT ?? fry ? young of the year ? All of the Crappie over 4yrs old ? All Crappie taken home ?? :p
Seriously though ..... 26% of a spawning females brood, could be 3 to 5 thousand "survivors" :eek: and that's just from ONE fish. If only 26% of them survive to spawn (in 2-3yrs) ... that's 800-1300 MORE fish. ;)

The dynamics and makeup of those lakes are changing, as are the dominant Crappie species .... I think we (they) need to wait a couple more years, before casting any dire predictions. Give the local and visiting anglers a chance to adjust their methods & timing, and then weigh the results (and make their predictions).

Nonetheless ... if the limit were decreased, it would still take them a few years to see the results. I'll go along with whatever "limits" are placed. I've lived with a 15/day limit on Taylorsville, since day one ... and T-ville is NO Ky/Barkley lake :D I'm also faced with a decrease in creel at Watts Bar ... now a 15/day limit. Don't bother me none .... and it may just make it easier for me to say "I caught my limit, today" :p ............ cp :cool:

They may be right but I have cought a ton of small crappie last fall and this winter. If we need to lower the limit so be it. But I have cought more small crappie this season than I can ever remember.

I remember last year around this time reading on the Mississippi board talking about the same thing and it was getting pretty heated by only a couple of people. I know the lakes in Mississippi are not as big as Kentucky lake but what does everyone think? Would it even be possible to hurt the fisheries on these lakes. I'm sure most have a limit on them and they should be monitored. Not trying to start anything but just curious.

Yes, the 15 limit at Taylorsville is all right with me.
I go a lot and don't want to clean that many anyway.
I think a minimum size might help better though.
I won't keep them under 10" anyway, but letting the smaller
ones grow a little will also help in larger spawns.

I read the artical this morning and I was shocked. I Have caught mostly small fish. I haven't counted the throw backs but I have kept only 1 out of 4 fish. These were white crappie with almost no blacks. Last year on KY. It was the exact opposite, almost no throw backs and almost no whites. This is the same area and time of year. I have been wondering where all of the blacks are.

I wouldn't be against a limit of 20 fish cause rarely do me and my partner limit out anyway but why not do this. Just close the back 2 or 3 hundred yards of every other bay or every 3rd bay or whatever where nobody can get to them and let 'em do their thing in peace? Just for a month or so. Rotate which bays are closed each year so we all share in sacrificing our favorites bays. I think this would ensure a more steady population in off spawning years than any creel limit reduction.
Mark

Rister was the guy's name, he was saying 74 out of 100 legal size crappie would be caught. I dont know if this is true or not just repeating what I read.

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Originally Posted by Greenwing

Rister was the guy's name, he was saying 74 out of 100 legal size crappie would be caught. I dont know if this is true or not just repeating what I read.

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he's the KDFWR head Biologist. Again, though ... I think the droughts of years back, and the Zebra Mussel invasion, all helping to produce clearer waters in KY Lake ... have given rise to the dominance of the Black Crappie, and the decline of numbers for the White Crappie. I would think this has had a greater impact, than any "overharvesting". And, with the clearer water, the White Crappie will spawn deeper than normal. Obviously, with the small fish showing up, they have been spawning. Black Crappie will spawn 2-3weeks earlier than White Crappie, around the time when water temps are stable at 55-58deg. And they don't utilize the same spawning habitat.
KDFWR was so concerned about the flip flop of specie domination, that they did the tagging study. They posted the results and weekly progress of their movements. From reading the study, I gathered that the KDFWR guys were about as clueless as the resident anglers, as far as how much different the fish can be. Their habits, habitat choices, water temp choices, water clarity choices, depth range, movement timing, and how soon they come shallow & how long they stay shallow ... are significantly different.

Here's the Paducah Sun article : http://www.redorbit.com/news/science...urce=r_science

I think Paul is being cautiously pessimistic, about the upcoming years. There's been lean years, before ... and the lakes are still top producers, in quantity & quality. We just had to wait thru a couple of lean seasons, until the population could re-adjust. We may have to do the same, in the next few years. And, all anglers (local and non-res) will have to make some adjustments in their timing and methods ... to take advantage of the dominance takeover, by the Black Crappie. If nothing else, that should help take the pressure off the declining population of White Crappie.
Nonetheless ... creel/size limit changes are the easiest and quickest methods of "fixing" things, and they're the cheapest (to KDFWR) to implement. And, if that's what is necessary to help keep those lakes at prime production levels ... I don't think most sportsmen/women should have a problem with it.

........ cp :cool:

i believe size limit and slot size would be a bigger benifit then number of catch keep. has proven better in past!!!!! and a 15 fish lmit would not bother a local fisherman which is more likely the haverest 20 time more then the occassional fisherman that comes and get his occassional limit then is not seen till next year!!!

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Originally Posted by GatorBait

i believe size limit and slot size would be a bigger benifit then number of catch keep. has proven better in past!!!!! and a 15 fish lmit would not bother a local fisherman which is more likely the haverest 20 time more then the occassional fisherman that comes and get his occassional limit then is not seen till next year!!!

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Ditto! Keep 10" to 12" and slot 12" to 15" with a 15 fish limit a couple of years and there would be some trophies. I hate seeing people say they took out 300 fish in a week and most of the in the 13 to 14 inch range. That really hurts the population.

We have a lake here (Rend) that only allows 10 of your 25 fish to be over 10" the remaining must be 10 or less. Thought it was kind of odd the first time I fished there but it seems to work as the lake has a healthy crappie population and its pretty easy (most times) to get your 10 over 10". We were fishing one day last year for a fish fry and my wife and I caught our 50 fish 20 that were over 10" ranged from 12.75 to 15.5 and our 30 under 10 inches were 9.5 to 9.9999 inches. It sure was tough throwing back 12 inch fish but I guess it makes sure you keep a supply of mature fish to spawn.

I am by no means a biologist or did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night but this seems to work there.