Crappie proliferation ?

So there is a 600 acre just down the road from my house here in NC. It is private and therefore doesnt get fished very often. I have access since i am a local resident. Every tuesday they open it up for a 4 hour bass tourny. Last night was the first of this year. A 3.20 crappie was caught! Of course they took it home to eat :)

My question is, how long would it take for a good population of crappie to populate a lake this size, with no stocking. Nobody fishes for them that i am aware of. I tried about 15 years ago a few times. Only caught a few in the 6-9" range. But, that tells me they have been in the lake at least that long for sure. Mostly it is a deep clear lake, however the upper reaches are river fed and have some stained water bays. What is yalls opinion on a crappie population in a situation like this?

I may need to do some longlining to test the place out.

Longline it if they are that big they have already populated rather well our local 4 acre is over swarming with them


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Well, one would certainly think so! Thats the biggest i have ever heard of coming out of there. Could be a decent population for sure. I would think that one has spawned many times over the years at least.

One quality fish doesn’t mean there are many more of the same size swimming around. Crappie are not recommended for pond stocking as they tend to overpopulate and stunt. It is not uncommon that a single fish(s) has just made it to trophy size by luck. Three pound crappie, similar to 10 pound large mouth are caught every year by a few lucky anglers. But this is the exception, not the rule. The pond would definitely be worth checking out, but I would keep my expectations of large numbers of trophy fish low due to the infrequency of fish actually maturing into these monsters.

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Originally Posted by Inkdabber

One quality fish doesn’t mean there are many more of the same size swimming around. Crappie are not recommended for pond stocking as they tend to overpopulate and stunt. It is not uncommon that a single fish(s) has just made it to trophy size by luck. Three pound crappie, similar to 10 pound large mouth are caught every year by a few lucky anglers. But this is the exception, not the rule. The pond would definitely be worth checking out, but I would keep my expectations of large numbers of trophy fish low due to the infrequency of fish actually maturing into these monsters.

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I definitely aggree! This lake produced a 10.48 spotted bass last April! Several 10+ Largemouth have been caught from it over the last 10 years as well. As for crappie, i have not seen one over 1lb ever, from it. I was actually hoping that maybe there is a good population of eater size fish in it. I havent targeted crappie there in years, and neither have many others im aware of. I guess the potential is there for a good population. However, the shad get large fast.Not sure if the food source supports a large crappie population.

If you don't try you won't ever know. May turn out good for a while or until someone see's you pulling them out or word of mouth gets around. Keep it your secret for as long as you can.:twocents Good luck! :fish it.

600 acres is close to being a lake. I would think it is large enough to handle crappie. My friend has a 15 acre lake that is 6 years old and we have gotten several nice messes of 10-13" crappie as well as some 3 -5# bass.
Just don't let any white perch get in there. Hard to prevent if other lakes have them. Wading birds will carry eggs from one body of water to another.

No other lakes really that close. It has trout, bluegill, catfish , and all species of bass. A few crappie have been in the lake for years and years. But, all i have seen caught were tiny ones, and not very many. like i mentioned tho, that was years back. I think i will go SUnday afternoon and longline for a while. See what happens anyway. There is a great shallow flat just off the river on the upper end. Lots of bass spawn back in there. Im sure the crappie will have to be in there using it now. Or at least after the 4 days of warm weather starting tomorrow.

I would think that a pond being the size of 1 sq mile would be plenty big enough to support a crappie population of some size. The only way youre gonna know is to fish it. Longlining during the spawn (another month at the most) will tell you what's there. Personally, I'd fish the upper end where the stain is if I fished it.

Based on the size of bass you described, I'd say they control the population! You will be surprised by what has been caught out of some bodies of water. 600 acres and deep water should be manageable for crappie without them taking over especially if there is a good population of bass.

I agree with turkeyfoot. The size of the bass that is being caught with the amount of catfish that is in there ant good for the crappie to survive, that might be one of the reasons you hadn't seen a lot of crappie being caught just my two cents worth


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Honey hole!

Don’t try it till I send you some orange jig heads


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Going Sunday afternoon looks like. Weather is on a warming trend. Should warm surface temps 3-4 degs at least by then. Ill report how it goes.

I also wondered how many young crappie the bass and catfish have eaten. Plenty of shad, but the stocker trout from the river and baby crappie have to be an easy meal.

Go get them I'm ready for the report!:Rofl

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Originally Posted by BigDawgg

Go get them I'm ready for the report!:Rofl

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why you laughin? i may actually catch ONE :)

Three hours of longlining yesterday, only yielded one crappie! Guess that lake is a bust for crappie, as i suspected it may be. Prob just stick to bass fishing on that one. I will resort to driving 1-2 hours for my crappie fishing as usual.

I'm still not convinced that lake doesn't hold a good crappie population. I've fished much smaller lakes that were loaded with Crappie. They are so prolific it's hard to imagine there arent plenty in there.

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Originally Posted by KHNC

why you laughin? i may actually catch ONE :)

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No one's ask you to get us a report! I'm or was waiting to see the results of an extensive search, pretty much laughing that you may have a great lake to fish that others can't. Not laughing at you! :highfive
Fish it a couple more times before you call it quits. :twocents

i was only joking with you anyway BD. Im not much of a crappie fisherman anyway. Thats a well known fact. :biggrin

I realized nobody asked for a report. just figured i would follow up about it. Maybe next time will work out a little better. Wasnt the greatest conditions for it id say.

Just wanted to post a follow up on my small private lake by the house. Turns out, its evidently full of Crappie! Saw another 3lber caught out of it recently. Also, talked to a house owner yesterday. He had just gotten back to his dock from crappie fishing with his grandkids. They had been using minnows and caught 15-20 he said. All were released. He told me they catch them all the time around the few laydown trees on the lake. I am not really a fan of casting superlight jigs around trees,nor do i really want to minnow fish. How productive is longlining as the water warms into summer? This is a fairly deep lake, usually clear. Right now it is stained as its been flooding alot. I like to LL but wasnt sure if the crappie get too deep for that in this type of lake. Just looking for general opinions on the subject is all. I realize none of you have fished this lake. :)

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Originally Posted by KHNC

Just wanted to post a follow up on my small private lake by the house. Turns out, its evidently full of Crappie! Saw another 3lber caught out of it recently. Also, talked to a house owner yesterday. He had just gotten back to his dock from crappie fishing with his grandkids. They had been using minnows and caught 15-20 he said. All were released. He told me they catch them all the time around the few laydown trees on the lake. I am not really a fan of casting superlight jigs around trees,nor do i really want to minnow fish. How productive is longlining as the water warms into summer? This is a fairly deep lake, usually clear. Right now it is stained as its been flooding alot. I like to LL but wasnt sure if the crappie get too deep for that in this type of lake. Just looking for general opinions on the subject is all. I realize none of you have fished this lake. :)

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I would say the morning may be best before they seek shade. Sounds like you may need help pulling the all in if there are that many in there lol.

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Originally Posted by micorps

I would say the morning may be best before they seek shade. Sounds like you may need help pulling the all in if there are that many in there lol.

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If you want to make a trip up my way, shoot me a text. I can get you on the lake with your boat too. Since its all setup i mean. We can give it a shot and see what happens.

Wow 10.48 spotted bass? World record 11.4 caught in ‘17 and 10.6 before that. If the lake is producing world record class fish just might be a record crappie! Good luck and keep us posted.

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Originally Posted by KHNC

If you want to make a trip up my way, shoot me a text. I can get you on the lake with your boat too. Since its all setup i mean. We can give it a shot and see what happens.

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Sounds good buddy, i have a nc license now, just need to replace the cranking strap on the trailer and then will be up. We can see how we do.

Unless you see good pictures of the weight of the crappie don't be pulled in with people saying they caught a 3 pound crappie. Have seen a lot of fish under 2 pounds called a three pounder. I would diffidently spend some time on that lake and some times it is time to put away the longline rods and single pole fish. If they are being caught on minnows you will be able to catch them on plastics and hand tied jigs. Have enjoyed reading this thread :)

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Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER

Unless you see good pictures of the weight of the crappie don't be pulled in with people saying they caught a 3 pound crappie. Have seen a lot of fish under 2 pounds called a three pounder. I would diffidently spend some time on that lake and some times it is time to put away the longline rods and single pole fish. If they are being caught on minnows you will be able to catch them on plastics and hand tied jigs. Have enjoyed reading this thread :)

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The first 3lber this year was caught in a bass tournament and weighed at the scales to verify. The second was caught two weeks ago by another tournament angler , although not on tournament day. I saw the pic, he said it was right on 3lbs. So i cant say for sure on that one, but i dont doubt it at all. Wasnt the same fish, as the first one got filleted. lol. I just need to stop thinking about bass long enough to target the crappie. Ever since that big spot was caught last year, i have spent quite a bit more time on the lake. :)

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Originally Posted by micorps

Sounds good buddy, i have a nc license now, just need to replace the cranking strap on the trailer and then will be up. We can see how we do.

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Great Tim! I am taking the family to Lake Lanier next week. Just text a few days you may be able to come and we can work it out after that. Of course, you can stay at the house when you come up.

Attachment 30577410.48 Spot

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Originally Posted by KHNC

Attachment 30577410.48 Spot

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Nice Crappie!


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You'll be carful and don't let a big fish pull you in! I will be waiting on your pictures to be posted. :biggrin

Id let a spot like that pull me in and swim around a while. Long as i could lip it before it drowns me! lol

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Originally Posted by KHNC

Attachment 30577410.48 Spot

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wowsers, thats a biggie. I appreciate it. I cant fish this weekend or next, but any weekend after so let me know when works best for you. Thank you for the offer, would be great to have some time and catch up also. That will give me time also for the cranking strap. Thank you sounds fun.

Nice black crappie. Good color [emoji41][emoji106]


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Originally Posted by micorps

wowsers, thats a biggie. I appreciate it. I cant fish this weekend or next, but any weekend after so let me know when works best for you. Thank you for the offer, would be great to have some time and catch up also. That will give me time also for the cranking strap. Thank you sounds fun.

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You got it brother. Im out the next two weekends for the kids vacation. Ill see whats happening after that tho. Ill let you know!

That there's a monster black crappie that got stretched out as a sub-8incher and before he got tossed on ice he made a grand escape! I can tell by his jaw line that's what happened!!!!!! LOL

Nice bass! [emoji1303]


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New update on this lake. I posted a new thread on it. "Local Lake Big Fish" .

Son caught a 17" monster slab yesterday.

Congrats to your son [emoji106]


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I’ve enjoyed reading this. Please keep us updated. Thanks

Without naming any lakes, there is a big fish lake in Charlotte that requires a membership to enter the gate. They hold a few bass tournaments and occasionally a monster crappie is caught. Good friend of mine set the state record there roughly around 2011ish and has caught several more around 3.5lbs.
Probably the same lake you are at. If so ita been putting out big fish since the early 2000s!