Raise the length size to 11” or 12” and cut limit to 15

The small lakes are getting hammered as the large lakes n rivers. Want be long all you will catch are dinks. I know some lakes are already regulated in limits which is great. Technology is wearing the crappie out. Some small lakes I fished this summer I was catching limits and throwing back I can’t find any crappie over 8” now and smaller and those are very limited. Cut the size limit and count maybe it will survive.

Just me venting Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.


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I talked to one of the local game and fish biologists a few years back . He tagged a bunch of fish on Dardanelle . Took him fishing and he said he felt like we were going into a down cycle cause about everything we caught was big, no small Crappie. Well, when the survey was done over 1/2 the big Crappie tags were turned in the first year . That was before livescope . I suggested lowering limits and putting a 12 '' min size limit . He told me because Black Crappie grew slower they could not do it . I asked some folks why could it not be like Bass that have lengths according to species ? Have 10'' on Black Crappie and 12'' on White Crappie . Guess they must think Crappie fishermen not as smart as Bass fishermen? I for one would like to see AGFC petitioned to lower limit to 15 with 12'' min length on Dardanelle Lake . The local fishermen got limit on Blue Mtn lowered. I figure if we could petition AGFC and get it changed Dardanelle could be a world class Crappie fishery .

Covid had a lot more folks the last couple of years. Jobs shut down and some people working less than a full schedule. That put a lot of pressure on fish that wasn't there before

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Covid had a lot more folks the last couple of years. Jobs shut down and some people working less than a full schedule. That put a lot of pressure on fish that wasn't there before

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The same effect has happened to deer and deer hunting. I hunt Zone 12, biggest deer zone in the state with historically the highest deer counts, seen the same 6-7 deer all season since September. The pressure is real on our natural resources, but I fear the AGFC is just looking at the $$$$ and not the management of the resources .

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Originally Posted by Lkconwayguru

The same effect has happened to deer and deer hunting. I hunt Zone 12, biggest deer zone in the state with historically the highest deer counts, seen the same 6-7 deer all season since September. The pressure is real on our natural resources, but I fear the AGFC is just looking at the $$$$ and not the management of the resources .

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Well AGFC liberalized limits in CWD zones . Zone 11 a few years ago you had to draw a permit to get a Doe with a gun . Now you can get 3 does and 2 bucks (buttons don't count against buck limit ), go to a WMA and get a 4th Doe. They want them wiped out .I think local hunters already seeing lower numbers in parts of zone 11. Question them about pressure on fish and answer will be they want people to catch fish . If you think we need a change let your area bilogists know. The folks at Blue Mtn got the Crappie limit lowered back down to 20 from 30 state limit a few years ago.

This is exactly what I said in my article. I said that smaller lakes can be over fished to an extended that they cannot recover without some help.

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Originally Posted by homboy66

This is exactly what I said in my article. I said that smaller lakes can be over fished to an extended that they cannot recover without some help.

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Without reduced limits and minimum lengths some lakes will never recover from all the fishing pressure.:fish

Crappie overpopulate rapidly.
Bigger chance that you don't see as many bigguns is the lake has more than it can support. You have to take some out. How about raising the limit to 30 but you cannot cull any? Gotta keep the first 30. Have no limit on smaller than 6 inches or so.

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Originally Posted by Gomer Snerd

Crappie overpopulate rapidly.
Bigger chance that you don't see as many bigguns is the lake has more than it can support. You have to take some out. How about raising the limit to 30 but you cannot cull any? Gotta keep the first 30. Have no limit on smaller than 6 inches or so.

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Not all lakes are the same . Dardanelle could be a trophy Crappie lake. Dardanelle has plenty of Threadfin Shad most years and real fast growth rates . Was told by biologists takes 2 years to grow a 10'' Crappie .
Nimrod used to be a lake where you had to some years catch 100 to keep a limit of 20 keepers . A 10'' length limit hurt things years ago and was pulled . These days pressure so bad numbers way down with 30 limit. Blue Mtn got limit lowered to 20 from 30 . Good thing cause it has been hammered.

Game and Fish are going to have to raise the length to 11 or 12. At least try it on some lakes and see what happens. Live scope will hurt in long run if they don’t do something

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Originally Posted by Hogg 68

Game and Fish are going to have to raise the length to 11 or 12. At least try it on some lakes and see what happens. Live scope will hurt in long run if they don’t do something

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A lake in Louisiana changed regulations to only keep 7 over 12'' this year. New Regulations on Crappie in Effect on Bayou D’Arbonne Lake | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Louisiana has a very liberal limit of 50 fish on most lakes and rivers, Darbonne still has the 50 fish limit with the new rule. I fish there about as much as I fish SE Arkansas. That lake has quite a bit of pressure.
I'm in agreement of some of the lakes in Arkansas need to be restricted on length and limits. Not in the Quachita river system in south AR, I fish it a lot and never see over 5 boats a day crappie fishing. Our fish in the river seems to move around a lot, high water etc...

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Originally Posted by atgill

Louisiana has a very liberal limit of 50 fish on most lakes and rivers, Darbonne still has the 50 fish limit with the new rule. I fish there about as much as I fish SE Arkansas. That lake has quite a bit of pressure.
I'm in agreement of some of the lakes in Arkansas need to be restricted on length and limits. Not in the Quachita river system in south AR, I fish it a lot and never see over 5 boats a day crappie fishing. Our fish in the river seems to move around a lot, high water etc...

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Regulations need set on each waterbody .

MS big 4 went to 12" 15 limit. I haven't fished them since.
I fish the tail waters where there isn't a size limit.

My dad is 82 years old and when I take him, he especially likes the smaller "scraper" size crappie. Not dinks, but the ones just about the size of a bluegill. I'll attest to the fact that a plate full of them fried up is really tasty. I, personally, don't keep big slabs. I take pictures and turn them loose. Dad & I keep scrapers. My friend P.R. took Dad last Fall and the big ones went up front in the livewell under P.R. and the scrapers went in the back livewell under Dad. Also, I cannot tell you honestly when the last time I kept a limit of 30 crappie.......I just don't need that many.

I have no problem backing the limit off, but I would not like to see a minimum length put into effect.

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Without reduced limits and minimum lengths some lakes will never recover from all the fishing pressure.:fish

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But if ya caint beat em,join em , huh Nimrod ?

Length Limits are up to the Fishermen, G&F can't inforce.. If you catch a 9 in Crappy on a 10 Inch limit and it dies What do you do if you release it your breaking the la if you kept it breaking the Law ,length Limits don't work, My 2Cents..

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Originally Posted by Pirogue

But if ya caint beat em,join em , huh Nimrod ?

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I don't see any need not sharing a limit with friends , neighbors and old folks. If they reduce limits it is for us all. If you see boats all around you ever day loading livewells, not much incentive to catch and release everything . One small lake we were fin clipping our fish releasing them . We caught a few for awhile marked but then, next year never caught a marked fish we released. Dardanelle had a tagging program by AGFC and over half the tags turned in first year .