Crappie Age and keeping big fish

[Mrs. Crappie Stalker]

We keep the bigger fish and throw the smaller ones back to keep growing. Our minimum length here in Tennessee is 10 inches, but we usually don't keep any under 11 unless they're pretty thick.

[BigKyd]

We keep the bigger fish and throw the smaller ones back to keep growing. Our minimum length here in Tennessee is 10 inches, but we usually don't keep any under 11 unless they're pretty thick.

Not all of Tennessee is 10 inches. I was at Glenn Springs Monday and noticed they have dropped the limit all the way down to 8 inches there. I think Herb Parsons is 9.

[Flatwater]

You can check the age of a crappie by counting the rings in the ear bone. Just like the rings of a tree. I will post up the process of getting the earbone next time I catch a fish.

Old fish contain more toxins. Not to say 9" fish are not old. I just had our state age one of my 9" crappie. It was 5 years old! In our local river the crappie just do not get big very often, maybe because it is brackish, I do know way upstream they are larger.

Oh yea smokeing has not killed all those that smoke either. I hope they all live to 100 and I am sure some will. But the ones that get lung disease will die a long slow painful death. Old fish in the USA contain the most toxins. Back in the good old days when we had no EPA and plants dumped what they wanted into our waterways, well folks most of it is still there.

[J_ROW]

Boy, it really amazes me at how many Biologist, Physicist, and Doctors posted on this blog. Them fish gonna be dying of all that toxin before they even get up to spawning age. I guess the Wildlife & Fishery boys gonna be out of work soon now that we know more than they do on how to manage the population of fish in our lakes.




Me, I am just 150 percent good ol country boy and all I know is kool aid huh GCD.
But I am full blooded American country boy through & through.

[GCD]

Boy, it really amazes me at how many Biologist, Physicist, and Doctors posted on this blog. Them fish gonna be dying of all that toxin before they even get up to spawning age. I guess the Wildlife & Fishery boys gonna be out of work soon now that we know more than they do on how to manage the population of fish in our lakes.




Me, I am just 150 percent good ol country boy and all I know is kool aid huh GCD.
But I am full blooded American country boy through & through.

I'm thinkin' you should eat every big fish you catch!... the bigger the better!!!

... the Dioxin's, PCB's, and Mercury are just seasoning eh!!!

[J_ROW]

I eat lots of fish because I catch lots of them as shown below. But I don't drink slurppies.

[Flatwater]

It does not take a biologist or PHD to read state advisories. The levels are posted for all to read. In Virginia they even post signs at the boat ramps.
Some ole' country boys took reedin and written in rithmotic and even learned it.

[Bonehead]

When we fish we do not keep any fish smaller than 12". In reading we think we are correct that if a fish is 12" or larger it is at least 3-4 years old. What we also hate is to filet out a 9 or 10 inch fish and see how little meat you get for the life of a fish that could be caught again next year and be 12" if everything goes right for the fish related to diet....Just my (and my wife's) opinion....Mark

[STUMP HUNTER]

You know, every year this comes up. I been fishing all my life and back when I started catching crappie we would keep our limit. Now I know there are 6 times the people fishing as there was when I started but I still catch as many crappie as I use to. Just because they're more people fishing doesn't mean that there are more people catching!
I don't keep the fish that I use to but that's my choice to keep or not keep crappie. I believe the influx of bass fishermen that has come over to crappie fishing has started this talk about not keeping fish. I for one will tell em if they can't catch a big em then maybe they need to learn how to crappie fish. This isn't bass fishing and keep your bass fishing rules out of crappie fishing.

Not trying to step on anyones toe's just my .02 about how I feel about it

[fishinRod]

He said there were so many big fish in the lake that they had to be thinned out some so the smaller ones had a chance to grow. EB

thats a good problem to have