Kentucky & Barkley Future

Just got back from the Murray boat show and listened to the fisheries biologists data on crappie in KY & Barkley. Basically to sum it up.....we have had some terrible spawns and the crappie are on a MAJOR downswing. However, the bass and the bluegill fishing is getting better and better. Also, like most of you already know the black crappie have pretty much taken over the lakes so if you are taking a vacation to crappie fish during the spawn you might want to be looking more around late March than early April. Crappie are prolific spawners and they will come back as soon as we get a year w/ normal weather and water levels...but even then we have a few years before we get to enjoy the benefits. He said all we can really do to help is put more cover in the lake.

Did they say why the bluegill fishing was getting better and better?

Bass and bluegill are getting better because of all the vegetation coming back in the lake.

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Originally Posted by caseydrew

Bass and bluegill are getting better because of all the vegetation coming back in the lake.

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I thought the grass would help the bass but did not know about the gills. I keep saying that I need to get down there and "harvest" some on those great gill/crackers that you ky/barkley guys are catchin. Thanks for the info!

Haven't been fishing much lately but when I have my catch has contradicted this report. Usually catch good numbers, hardly catch a black any more.

same here speck
also catching more small crappie than i ever have in all my days of fishing ky lake

I still stick alot of white crappie and some black mixed in. After the water went down last yr. we whacked them. I caught alot of small ones in 08' also.

Last year I was there the 3rd week of April, we mostly caught blacks. In the whole week of fishing I bet we didn't catch more than 20 short fish.

The black crappie and white crappie tend to hang out in different areas. If you are catching mainly whites then you probably aren't fishing the areas the blacks are concentrated in. They have been doing these studies for years and I trust Paul Rister's judgement and analysis of the data. He seems to take his job very seriously and is extremely informative when speaking. The crappie fishing is currently on a down swing on KY, but there are still plenty to catch.......the highest populations are in Big Sandy though and I hate driving all the way down there when my cabin is on Blood. I can catch 3 times the fish in Big Sandy as Blood and I know Blood MUCH better.

There is another thing to do to help the population. Not only continue to add cover, but do not go with the 10 inch limit, make a personal 11 inch limit. That will leave more fish to spawn. Also when you catch those big, belly about to bust open females in the spring, take a picture and throw them back and let them spawn. If everyone would do this the crappie population would increase 25% in 1 year.

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Originally Posted by caseydrew

The black crappie and white crappie tend to hang out in different areas. If you are catching mainly whites then you probably aren't fishing the areas the blacks are concentrated in. They have been doing these studies for years and I trust Paul Rister's judgement and analysis of the data. He seems to take his job very seriously and is extremely informative when speaking. The crappie fishing is currently on a down swing on KY, but there are still plenty to catch.......the highest populations are in Big Sandy though and I hate driving all the way down there when my cabin is on Blood. I can catch 3 times the fish in Big Sandy as Blood and I know Blood MUCH better.

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Was catching mostly blacks until about 2 years ago, outnumbered whites 3 to 1. Since then it has reversed, fishing same spots. Sometimes I will catch a limit and not one black.

Weird deal man???? Wish I had an answer, but I'd say if you are catching limits I wouldn't worry about the crappie report and keep whacking em! White or black they all taste great and are a blast to catch.

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Originally Posted by sls

There is another thing to do to help the population. Not only continue to add cover, but do not go with the 10 inch limit, make a personal 11 inch limit. That will leave more fish to spawn. Also when you catch those big, belly about to bust open females in the spring, take a picture and throw them back and let them spawn. If everyone would do this the crappie population would increase 25% in 1 year.

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I agree with catch and release the large females. I dont always do it with crappie like I should, but I never keep female Redear with eggs and seldom keep the ones without.