according to the folks in the know ....
(state fisheries biologist)
crappie ketchn is very much a cyclic program ....
similar to the way mast trees produce nuts per say ....
I was told if we look back about 2 to 3 years at the conservation pools on area lakes during the normal spawn ,
it will dictate how productive the ketchn will be 2 to 3 years later .
I think 2010 was an above average year on several area water bodies and the conservation pools at that time ....
interesting conversation and maybe a good explanation for the average sizes and fish numbers being produced this summer.
I found it quite interesting to know that as with other flora and fauna ...
crappie have highs and lows on production as well ...
food for thought yawl ...

Interesting stuff

good point, also, the location that crappie will be can be dictated by the water levels. for instance, take right now, lake belton is almost 10 feet low. if you go look along nost of the bank lines, there is significant shrub growth, lots of it. when the water comes back up, the micro organisms, baitfish, bugs, ect, will congregate around that new plant life, and so will the game fish. so in effect, it scatters the fish,. That is another reason excessive water level fluctuations make it tougher to find crappie on lakes sometimes. But a positive, note, is it gives the crappie alot more productive areas to spawn if the water comes back to normal pool in spring time.

pre excuse for not ketchn kinda stuff in waiting rite there bro .....

You got check out my new scent its like a tooth paste/ glue thickness. Its in squeeze tube easy to store. Can squeeze easily it to tube or rub on bait.

hmmmm interstin .....
I have some ideas on awl that ya know ....
turbid water white crappie thang ....

Yes sir know what ya mean!!! Should be here next Friday

so next Friday I have to drive over that way then ?

Yea and catch some east texas slabs lol. No I can make the trip got come over and talk with pro angler rods and angler pro tackle.

I can understand that. In either '10 or '11 we had an outstanding year on livingston mainly a feeder creek (kickapoo) and the past few years no ones been having much luck. It actually seems that way on a lot of fish, Striped Bass is definitely a thought.

Good stuff ketchn.

I started crappie fishing Ray Bob in 1997.
The next three years, the crappie fishing was awesome, then we hit a two year spell of small crappie, then two years of great fishing, then another lull,05 thru 07 was good, 08 and 09 was tuff with small fish, 2010, 11 and 12 was awesome, this year started out good, but now the size is down.

Last year I started hitting Bridgeport and they were all 9.75 inches, havent been back there this year, but if Ray Bob keeps producing small fish I may have to head Northwest.

Good stuff Ketchn!

I fish Lew the most. We had 2 years of drought around 2006 where it was difficult to launch a boat anywhere and the brush grew up heavily around the banks. Then we had two years of flooding where again it was hard to launch a boat and all of that brush was flooded, i.e. 2008. Then we had a year or two of non-stop wind. I think that did make crappie fishing especially good in 2011. I am not catching as many crappie in 2013. Lewisville gets a lot of fishing pressure so if the spawn isn't that productive I think the populations due shrink.

Regarding the fish attractants, the new bonehead product sounds interesting. I like to "grease up" my crappie jigs.

if the crappie can just get a good productive spawn in, the following year will be good, because the survival rate is pretty high, and they grow a lot faster than most would even imagine.

Catch a 10" fish and take a scale home and look at it in a magnifying glass. It will tell you pretty easily how long it took that fish to get that big. How old do you think the 2#ers are?