4 extra day of High Rock Madness 4-14 - 4-17

Today concludes my 1 week of spring crappie fishing/freezer stocking. Fishing has been getting better and better with each day. Its a bit muddy but the fish dont mind. Fished 5 different creeks and have caught fish in all. Some creeks the size class is definitely better than others.

Over the last 4 days i have released virtually every egg busting female and have kept the larger males. Out of the 100+ kept, i think i can count on 2 hands the fish ive caught under 8 inches. Very solid class of fish.

Everything has been caught shallow on docks/laydowns or shallow pockets.

Crazy to see the lake fluctuation over the last several days. Sunday-Monday she was down 2+ feet. Tuesday morning in just 12 hours later i could barely make it under the bridge at tamarac. Currently a bit above full pond.

The key has been doing lots of running and gunning. Once you catch one off a dock, you would probably catch 10+ more in the same area. Ive learned a lot more about HR over the last few days trying some new locations.

Good luck to those fishing over the weekend. Catching some spawned out females, but i think the best is yet to come over the next week.
Surface water temp 72-74 before i left today.

PeteAttachment 339612Attachment 339613Attachment 339614Attachment 339615Attachment 339616Attachment 339617Attachment 339618

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Great report thank you

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Awesome job as always!

Awesome report. That sure does look tasty. Looking forward to hopefully sometime over Easter getting out there and catching some. Thanks

Easy stocking! That’s 1 month of nice filets!!!


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Great report Pete. Thanks!

GREAT REPORT


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Excellent report. Thank you for sharing


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Very nice


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I don’t know if my opinion is the majority but I think since the limits were relaxed on High Rock the quality of crappie has improved so much. For a couple of years I couldn’t find one that was 8 inches. It might catch up with the population and go the other way but for now I think they have gotten this one right. Great catches and great report. Also now I’m hungry at work looking at those slab fillets.

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Originally Posted by Tarheelfshn

I don’t know if my opinion is the majority but I think since the limits were relaxed on High Rock the quality of crappie has improved so much. For a couple of years I couldn’t find one that was 8 inches. It might catch up with the population and go the other way but for now I think they have gotten this one right. Great catches and great report. Also now I’m hungry at work looking at those slab fillets.

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There have been some good shad years the last few years. The threadfins have recovered from the colder winters. I've felt for years that most people keep as many crappie as they catch anyways. I've seen plenty of full 5 gallon buckets leaving the lake. It might have made a little difference but, to me, the decree in pressure on the fish when HR had a couple of bad years and the recovery of the smaller threadfin population is what really made the difference. I know those making the rules will take credit for them. I just wonder what will happen when it goes the other way? Just my penny.

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Originally Posted by sundance

There have been some good shad years the last few years. The threadfins have recovered from the colder winters. I've felt for years that most people keep as many crappie as they catch anyways. I've seen plenty of full 5 gallon buckets leaving the lake. It might have made a little difference but, to me, the decree in pressure on the fish when HR had a couple of bad years and the recovery of the smaller threadfin population is what really made the difference. I know those making the rules will take credit for them. I just wonder what will happen when it goes the other way? Just my penny.

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You are probably right. I’m only there a couple of times a year and only see a snapshot of the big picture. I don’t want to open up a debate and hijack this awesome post. I’m just thrilled that some local lakes are on an upswing. I fish a lot from kayak and it seems like none of the smaller reservoirs care about crappie populations at all and some of them are overpopulated. I don’t think wide open regulations are the answer and I also think the people that keep everything still will and responsible anglers are going to keep only what they need and protect the resource. I guess I didn’t consider the forage base but when I caught thousands of 7 inch crappie with dime sized eyes my mind jumps to overpopulation but the overpopulation could be in response to natural cycles and not driven solely numbers harvested. Thanks for the food for thought Sundance and thanks again Pete for the great report I can’t wait to get on the water this week. Again I am just happy that people are posting good reports this year.


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Sounds like an awesome stretch of fishing for sure. It's amazing how we all tend to fall back on our usual spots and normally approach those spots exactly the same way every time we go.
I know what you mean when you say conditions make you stray from the usual approach and when mixing up approach and tactics seems to be the hot ticket.
Very nice report and pics. Thanks for sharing your recent days on High Rock and your fishing success with the rest of us.

Way to go Pete! Glad you had good trips and caught fish.
Those fried fish look really good! Thanks for sharing.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheelfshn

You are probably right. I’m only there a couple of times a year and only see a snapshot of the big picture. I don’t want to open up a debate and hijack this awesome post. I’m just thrilled that some local lakes are on an upswing. I fish a lot from kayak and it seems like none of the smaller reservoirs care about crappie populations at all and some of them are overpopulated. I don’t think wide open regulations are the answer and I also think the people that keep everything still will and responsible anglers are going to keep only what they need and protect the resource. I guess I didn’t consider the forage base but when I caught thousands of 7 inch crappie with dime sized eyes my mind jumps to overpopulation but the overpopulation could be in response to natural cycles and not driven solely numbers harvested. Thanks for the food for thought Sundance and thanks again Pete for the great report I can’t wait to get on the water this week. Again I am just happy that people are posting good reports this year.


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Hopefully, I’m not propagating the debate. For what it’s worth, I have been thinking the same as you Tarheelfshn. I understand Sundance’s point and that may be correct. I too am just happy that the sizes have bumped up, no matter the cause.

Tight lines to all.


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