noticed in a few online platforms, groups are starting to tag larger crappie and let them go. some are offering prizes when crappie are caught again, with a recording of size and weight.. seems like competitive anglers are starting to view crappie more as a sport now, as in bass fishing. They are already catching tagged fish a day or two later.. which is kind of surprizing.
I think this is a good thing to tag and let the big fish go, and hope it catches on.

i tag the ones i ketch with a hole punch in the anal fin...i did ketch one again the day after i ketched it so it now has 2 holes

fixin' to let this one go after hole punchin' the anal fin / see it???...15.25" x 2.15 lbs

I think it's a good thing and I hope it catches on!!

While I think this is a good idea, there should be clear guidance in the tagging process. Examples being the size of the hole, location, minimum fish length, etc. I would hate to see these tags have short term or long term harm to the fish. Obviously speaking about public water, not private lakes or ponds. Just my 2 cents.

It’s the same tags they hav use in crappie in MS for years. As for the health of the fish it’s got a much better chance for survival being tagged and released than boxed and filleted. Hopefully this will make people think of these huge crappie more as a trophy to be enjoyed by others than a fish sandwich!! My take anyhow.

Yep you watch, those guys will cause some new regulation like a limit on Crappie you can keep over so many inches. If they do that I want all this side view,underwater camera crapola stopped in Tournaments.

Your take? Two people can enjoy a crappie sandwich. And your theory is to catch and release so others can catch and release the same fish? or would it be to create a larger number of large crappie around so your Tournaments can look cooler? That is the mutual enjoyment? The plan being mostly to benefit tournament fisherman. There is no shortage of Crappie. If you want to help the overall crappie population regulate the new electronics. No other gadget ever imperiled more fish.

I believe the tagging initiative is geared toward learning more about the fish. How far they travel, how fast they grow, etc. The more the state biologist knows and understands the fish the better. I'm fairly confident that tagging has nothing to do with helping tournaments or tournament fishing. Regarding regulating electronics, I've read quotes from multiple biologists that they've had little to no impact. They may be different on the bodies of water you fish, but the point is, tagging some of these fish and learning more about them is only positive.

Sure and the electronics have no effect. That is laughable when you consider how much easier they have made it to find and catch crappie. And to target the bigger fish. As for the tagging initiative we already have a pretty good idea how these fish live out their lives. I am sure hooking them, wearing them out, putting a hole in a fin, releasing them and catching them again has to be a positive. However if you don't believe bass and crappie tournament people try to get laws passed that benefit tournaments you are sadly mistaken.

Sorry, I guess I should have been a little more clear. It doesn't appear to have an impact on populations.

https://www.agfc.com/en/news/2022/02/23/angler-survey-study-shows-no-impact-from-live-sonar/

I don't doubt that they are easier to catch and potentially find with fwd facing sonar, but I don't have it and have only seen it in person a few times, so I can't attest to that. I don't begrudge people that have it and consider it just another tool

I have no idea if bass/crappie tournament ppl try to get laws passed to benefit tournaments. I guess I don't see the connection between how tagging crappie will lead to benefiting tournament fishermen or that the purpose of tagging is to benefit tournaments.

Are you still guiding?

Why can't people live and let live? I mean seriously, why do people give two cents about whether or not a person decides to notch a fin when the alternative is the grease? I think all of the male "Karens" need to go fish instead of taking their frustrations out on the internet.

I just wish everything wasn't at Fork. Seems to be the main crappie interest around here. There are other lakes than just fork LOL

This tagging thing probably wont last long and people will lose interest. Something very similar was done on a national level with Strike King selling a Fin Pals tagging system where you could tag and release your fish and log in the information into a website and anyone that catches that fish later would log in their information as well based on the number on the tag. You could track your fish each time it was caught as long as the person who caught it logged in the catch. That was in the early 2000's and it didnt last long. If it didnt last long in the Bass world I seriously doubt it will last long in the Crappie world considering Bass anglers are overwhelmingly catch and release and Crappie anglers are just the opposite.