Thread: quanity and size limit

Crappie changes porposed.
9" limit - good or bad idea?
30 per day/person - good or bad idea?
Both 9" and 30 per day/person - good or bad idea?

I think both will help with bigger fish in the long run.

Loose the size limits, thats my motto. I know its not feesible for all fish.
Indiana is no size limit, 25 creel limit, seems to work great here, and there are at least 3 well known crappie lakes, lotsa of others not so well known.
Its a big plus for the harvest fishermen, so when that 6-7"crappie swallows the hook and dies,in the boat, no wasted fish. Likewise with the creel limits, wether you hate to see folks keep small fish, or the big fish, its cuts down on the harvest of either, by limiting the take.
One key reason why i prefer walleye/saugeye fishing in OH, hoping they dont change that, i know it was on the question aire along with these questions.

HB

quanity... 25 per man, 3 men in same boat... 4 or more in same boat 20 per man...

size limit...over 9" but under 14"

I'd like to see a limit in the spring to insure a good spawn. That's when alot of the over-harvesting happens and you'll see folks keeping hundreds. I like Yates idea of a slot limit; CC's a good example where a simple 9" limit just hasn't worked that well. I think it's the spawning habitat in that lake--not enough sheltered arms--and a protected spawn might improve it.

I like the slot limit idea too. But fished-out might have something there. Even maybe closing a shallow section of the lake off for a minth or something during the spawn would help. At least give some of them a chance.
Problem is, from the email I got from Terry Glynn(sp) last year concerning size, bag or slot limits, the state sees crappie as a fish anglers want to keep in bunches to eat(in so many words). He says that the fear with some limits is that fishing license sales will drop as a result of not allowing fishermen to keep their catch. Considering that a lot of crappie "fishermen" fish only in the spring during the spawn, that would probably not be something they'd consider. Though it definitely makes sense to most of us.
I'd like to see them try something on these lakes for at least a while to see if it works. I'd say SIZE AND BAG LIMIT. Slot limit, unfortunately, won't happen. At the same time, looking at it as a state wide thing is not necessarily the right way either. Every lake is a little different, and a limit that works on CC or EF might not work on St. Mary's , a MUCH shallower lake.

What if you lived an hour or so away from a lake? You plan on taking the family/kids crappie fishing and would like to keep some. (you invested in a boat, vehicle to haul, tackle, bait, fuel, vacation time, lodging and food) When on the lake you only catch 8-3/4" fish and were unable to keep any. QUESTION--> do you think they will plan on coming back? What will that do to a small towns economy? Do that a couple times and some won't buy license (state doesn't need that) and take up golf.

It's hard to clean any crappie under 10"...license under $40... golf $$$...

Originally Posted by Nightprowler64

What if you lived an hour or so away from a lake? You plan on taking the family/kids crappie fishing and would like to keep some. (you invested in a boat, vehicle to haul, tackle, bait, fuel, vacation time, lodging and food) When on the lake you only catch 8-3/4" fish and were unable to keep any. QUESTION--> do you think they will plan on coming back? What will that do to a small towns economy? Do that a couple times and some won't buy license (state doesn't need that) and take up golf.

this kind of sounds like my life.......and I keep coming back.

Originally Posted by Yates

It's hard to clean any crappie under 10"...license under $40... golf $$$...

Starvin and I have a hard time catching a crappie over 10"

I guess I just can't see enforcement of a state wide size limit, they are pan fish!! Would they size limit gills as well or perch?? I think they should just set bag limits and leave it at that. The bag limit would prevent the large numbers of fish being caught simply for meat and would leave (presumably) an equal number of larger and smaller fish in the lake. On one small city reservoir I fish, a statewide size limit of 9" would pretty much mean you would catch 1 or 2 keepers... on a good day!!! Out of 50 or so fish I have cleaned in 2009 from this reservoir, maybe have had 10 over 9" Largest fish being 12.5" that was caught during spawn this spring which I turned loose and continued to catch and keep 8"ers. Over-populated!!?!?!?

I think I would be opposed to a total ban on keeping fish during a month or so span for spawning, but would not mind a bit to see the bag limits cut in half or more during those months.

They play with the creel limit for perch alot on Erie, mostly keep dropping it.... even so far as a different limit if you park your boat east or west of the Huron River..... Still don't understand that when it's all the same darn lake!! So far as I can tell, I have seen no change in numbers, but oddly enough have seen somewhat of an increase in size. My Dad's minimum size for perch on his boat is 7.5" So yeah, I have no problem cleanin' the dinks. They eat just fine as well!! Thats my 2¢.