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Dec 30th, 2023
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 Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: JakeMcD]
#15044356
04/12/24 02:20 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 8
unclefudd
Green Horn
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Green Horn
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 8 |
Like some of the other posts above I have been Crappie fishing for years (and years). The size of the Crappie during the spring spawn this year are smaller than ever before. If I catch a big egg full female during the spawn back she goes. The bull Crappie taste the same. With live scan fishermen target the largest fish in the brush which are usually female. There are enough videos and pictures on the net to support this fact. You don't see many pictures with a limit of Crappie containing 10 and 11 inch fish.
With continued use of live scan we may need to implement a Lake Grenada type rule where only so many Crappie can be over X inches long. I have a replica of my three pound Crappie hanging on my wall. Unless we reduce the removal of the large female egg laying machines from our lakes that opportunity for a three pound Crappie may not exist.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15044384
04/12/24 03:02 PM
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 764
split cane rod
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 764 |
I have a little bit of a perspective on this. I don’t crappie fish all the time, but this year and last, I have been trying to focus more on catching them I fish from a kayak, so I’m not all over the lakes searching out your brush piles.
I have a Garmin graph (not livescope) on my kayak, and it’s the best thing I ever did. Before the rain, for example, I caught crappie till it was ridiculous on a submerged bridge while there were 5 boats around - some with livescope - One guy with TWO livescopes on his boat - and guys were going nuts at the crappie I was catching.
Some of those fish were 15”! I gave them all away to the other folks, but even I was amazed at the fish I was catching, while the two boats with livescope were hardly catching any! I think it was partly that I wasn’t anchored, and I would rock my kayak back-and-forth, giving the jig a little motion.
So, just because someone has livescope doesn’t mean they are draining the lake!
JR
Split Cane Rod
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: Mckinneycrappiecatcher]
#15045682
04/14/24 01:57 AM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 40,575
WAWI
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 40,575 |
FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE A LIVESCOPE . I ONCE SAID I WOULD NEVER OWN ONE (NEVER SAY NEVER) I HAVE LIVED ON A LAKE SINCE 1990. IN THIS LAKE I HAVE ESTABLISHED OVER A HUNDRED BRUSH PILES. I STOPPED THIS PRACTICE 3YRS AGO SINCE THE LOCATIONS BECAME SO OVER FISHED DUE TO SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ONCE COULD NOT CATCH A FISH IN A BARREL .MAGICALLY SINCE SPOTLIGHTING.CAME ON THE SCENE.THEY ARE ACCOMPLISHED ANGLER. IM SURE MOST OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO ENHANCE THE HABITAT FOR FISH (OF COURSE THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN EFFORT AND WORK) IT AMAZES ME THAT YOUNG FOLKS JUST DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF COMMON SENSE.. IT SEEMS TO ME IT WOULDN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU ARE TAKING A 100% MORE OF SOMETHING AWAY THAN WHAT WAS ONCE THE NORM THAT IT WOULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT, NOT TO MENTION THE CULLING THAT IS TAKING PLACE. NOW TO MY POINT! SINCE THE ADVANCED POPULARITY OF "SPOTLIGHTING" THE QUALITY OF CRAPPIE HAS DECLINED EVER SO SLOWLY. ONLY THOSE WHO COULD CATCH FISH PRE "SPOTLIGHTING" WOULD BE ASTUTE TO THE CHANGE. UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE DEALING WITH THE GENERATION THAT IS FROM THE "PARTICIPATION TROPHY GENERATION". YEP, I'M AN OLD MAN (75), I'VE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO EXPERIENCE THE POSITIVE EFFECTS AND THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS THAT TECHNOL0GY CAN HAVE ON FISHING AND HUNTING. THAT'S CALLED WISDOM. MOST ON THESE SITES WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO EXPERIENCE THE PAST 75 YRS. EVEN THE PRO BASS FISHERMEN ARE BEGINNING TO QUESTION THE USE OF LIVE SCOPE .MOST OF THEM MAKE MONEY OFF OF SPONSORING THE COMPANIES WHO MANUFACTURE THE UNITS..OBVIOUSLY, THOSE WHO ARE MAKING MONEY WITH THESE PRODUCTS AND THOSE THAT CANT CATCH FISH WITHOUT THE TECHNOLOGY WILL ATTACK THIS POST. BE VERY CAREFUL TO NOT DESTROY THE SPORT THAT YOU CLAIM TO LOVE. LETS NOT DESTROY WHAT WE WISH FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. ONE LASTSTORY. A COUPLE YRS AGO WHILE FISHING ON MY PIER WITH MY DOWN SYNDROME GRANDSON , I NOTICED THAT I BEGAN TO SEE CRAPPIE FLOATING UNDER MY PIER. I LOOKED A COUPLE PIERS DOWN WIND AND NOTICE 2 MEN CULLING FISH FROM AN ICE CHEST. AFTER A WHILE THEY CAME BACK TO MY PIER AND AFTER TALKING TO THEM I DISCOVERED THAT THEY WEREN'T CULLING BECAUSE OF LIMIT. (50 LIMIT IN LA) THEY WERE CULLING FOR SIZE. MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANT OT CLEAN 50 CRAPPIE. THINK ABOUT THAT Why are you yelling Livescope can’t make a bad fisherman into a crappie killing machine overnight. I don’t need livescope to stack the boat. Most of the time once you catch the first 10-15 fish off a brush pile they stop biting anyway. I can down scan a pile that looks like a Christmas tree on the graph with fish and once you catch the active fish they quit. Simple as that. I’ve caught limits from the boat and the bank. Even with livescope, 90% of fisherman won’t even come close to a limit. Even then I’m not sure how much difference it really makes. You still have to know the pattern and presentation that’s going to work. I don’t think people should be wasting fish, but I still don’t think fisherman are gonna put fish at risk because most people just simply don’t have the knowledge and the type of attention to detail it takes to catch a limit every single time. I may have been the worst crappie fisherman in the world. I wouldn't even try other than when they went to the banks. Now I regularly load the boat with big ones. It has made me a damn genius the last few years lol
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15047793
04/16/24 02:57 PM
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Joined: Nov 2021
Posts: 1
No Body
Green Horn
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Green Horn
Joined: Nov 2021
Posts: 1 |
I believe that any crappie can grow to 3lbs. some make it some dont. To me, that tells me that a sow female is just a good catch, therefore its thrown in the livewell. I just dont believe that a 3lb crappie is good genetics. They all have the same genetics. Its how they are raised, the water they are in, the predators, the overall fish health, the prolifics of breeding.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: WAWI]
#15047822
04/16/24 03:41 PM
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,177
chrisc/striper express guide service
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,177 |
I’ve been saying it for years and I feel we really need to do something about it. Limits are huge.
To me it seems simple because of the advances in sonar like SI and livescope for example The fishing has changed tremendously. There are more people are able to find and locate some fish and catch them. Populations of people have grown as well especially here in Texas. With high school/college bass teams fishing popularity has grown and technology and advancements in the sport but yet limits remain the same.
1.anglers know and see more with sonar
2. Online knowledge boomed w internet
3. People population has skyrocketed
4. Limits same forever
No brainer I’d call it
Good luck getting a change I’ve been a guide for 30 years and they won’t listen to me
Lake Texoma Striper Guide Chris Carey  
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15047844
04/16/24 04:01 PM
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,434
Slewfoot
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,434 |
TPWD doesn't care about crappie. If a lake gets overfished, people will stop going and the population will recover. That was their statement a couple of years ago anyhow. Long live the ditch pickle! 
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15048498
04/17/24 03:34 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 12,450
JIM SR.
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 12,450 |
Fish til theyre all gone. then quit,... 
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15048541
04/17/24 05:32 AM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5,603
Mckinneycrappiecatcher
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5,603 |
Crappie aren’t going to be over harvested. It’s just not going to happen. All the anecdotal evidence is well and good but the limits are designed so fish can spawn several times before they are harvested, so the fish are protected. Head north to Oklahoma, it doesn’t even have a length limit and I’ve personally seen the size and numbers of fish they have in a lot of their lakes. My anecdotal evidence is I was loading the boat without livescope, have continued to load the boat without it several years after it came out, and I’ll continue to load the boat with fish for many years because there are more than enough of them to go around. Heck, I’ve caught more than enough fishing from the bank. There just isn’t a shortage of them and the limits are designed to allow them to reproduce before they’re kept.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15049263
04/17/24 07:47 PM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,697
Ken Gaby
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,697 |
Back in the early 60s, the theory by TPW biologists was, you can't over fish the bass population in one of these big lakes. I know because my Dad was a Game Warden and he talked to the biologist often and I listened in. Limit then was 15, no size limit. Then 10, then 5 and all kinds of size limits. Crappie are different spawners than bass or sure. But as stated above, everything happening in the past few years has only made catching easier not harder and way more people on the water.
So the theory now is we can't over fish the crappie population. At least until we do.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15051632
04/20/24 01:29 AM
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 236
Crappie Ford Man
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 236 |
I still experience (and talk to many others) my share of days where I just can't find and/or catch crappie (even equipped with FFS). I'm not the best fisherman, but I'm also not terrible. Even when there are good days, rarely do I bring home more than 15. It's just hard for me to imagine being able to over fish the crappie population. These lakes here in North Texas are just so loaded with habitat; there's so many places for those fish to go. Also, in contrast to public opinion, I really don't usually encounter very many crappie fishermen out there (I fish Lavon mostly). I see more people targeting catfish, sand bass and black bass.
Last edited by Crappie Ford Man; 04/20/24 01:30 AM.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: Slewfoot]
#15051990
04/20/24 02:55 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,299
Jig Man
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,299 |
TPWD doesn't care about crappie. If a lake gets overfished, people will stop going and the population will recover. That was their statement a couple of years ago anyhow. Long live the ditch pickle! And I have been known to keep one in the livewell, just in case its a slow day and YaYa is fish hungry...
Life is Good..<><
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: 9094]
#15052717
04/21/24 04:33 AM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,877
Grainraiser
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,877 |
White crappie are so prolific that TPWD no longer stocks them. They say if a lake has even a remnant population they will repopulate the lake entirely when. Conditions improve. This may explain why I catch more black crappie than whites. This never use to be the case.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: Grainraiser]
#15053237
04/21/24 07:57 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5,603
Mckinneycrappiecatcher
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5,603 |
White crappie are so prolific that TPWD no longer stocks them. They say if a lake has even a remnant population they will repopulate the lake entirely when. Conditions improve. This may explain why I catch more black crappie than whites. This never use to be the case. White crappie are more prolific, but it’s all relative. They both breed like rabbits and some lakes the pH and water clarity favors one species over the other. I don’t think either are really stocked in any substantial numbers and to be honest I doubt they even needed to be stocked in the first place. I do know some lakes like lavon have had a major black crappie boom here in the last probably 6-8 years, but I doubt that has anything to do with the stocking.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15054160
04/22/24 09:23 PM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 86
CDS
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 86 |
I bought some crappie from a fish farm a few years back to stock my pond. The owner of the fish farm told me that white crappie are natural to lakes and rivers. He said black crappie are not natural and only come from fish farms. The black crappie that are in the lakes and rivers escaped from stock ponds when they flooded; or are descendants of crappie that escaped from stock ponds. That is why there are not as many black crappie as there are white crappie. I have no idea if that is factual, but that is what he told me.
I come from the water.
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Re: Are crappie in danger of over harvest ?
[Re: catdub]
#15054220
04/22/24 10:13 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,299
Jig Man
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 8,299 |
All you have to do is go into TPWD.com and run a search on stocking to find out what lakes were stocked with what species and when. You might be surprised
Life is Good..<><
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