Thread: Keep finding dead crappie at my local lake

Every time I go down to the lake by my house lately, I have been finding dead crappies floating around. Not TONS of them; just 1 or 2 at a time, but I've found them at different spots around the lake.

Could it have anything to do with the spawn?? Because I know for some fish species it is normal for fish to die after spawning. I didn't see any dead crappie around last year though.

Ryan,
I wonder if they are small crappie that have been caught and hooked deep and they were releashed, usually if lipped hook not a problem. Some fish are fragile, can't eat after being caught deep/released and don't survive

^could be... But I seem to find them so consistenly, from week-to-week. Maybe someone else fishes the lake as often as I do, but i doubt it because I rarely ever see anyone.

I usually stay on the ga forum but we seen the same problem down here this year so I thought I would shed a little light on our problem and it may be the same one YA"LL have. What I was told by a biologist was the water warmed up too quick in a short period of time and it just happened to be when they were spawning which is when they are at their weakest. It shouldn't happen again unless the same situation comes up at that period of time or just bad timeing on the spawn. I don't know when it takes place up there but it is usually in march down here. Hope this helped.