Nice mess congrats
Not sure about Alabama but you could be ticketed in Florida for an undersized fish photo that indicates you kept the fish. I think the fine is around 200 to 250 but not sure . Sauger were changed from 5 fish over 14 inches to 5 over 15 inches last year. Before the change the limit was 10 3 of which could be under 14 but the other 7 had to be over 14. Were they still plentiful I would not be fishing for Crappie in the winter but after then for sure. They have slowly come back from a total fishery collapse between 2006 and 2012 which the state of Alabama never acknowledged. If the Bass in the big G had disappeared like the Sauger did , there would have been about 500 fishery biologist on the lake daily and a stocking program in effect. Not sure where the stock came from that has gotten a few back in the river but hopefully it will be given a chance to make the fishery strong again like in the late 90s and early 2000's
Alabama regulations state that crappie must be at least 9 inches in length except in Weiss Lake which has a 10 inch limit.
Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply, Speak Kindly, and Trust in our Creator who Loves us
Lucky for me I freeze my fish to be cleaned the next day......Roll Tide
Damion Kidd, Bcline LIKED above post
Sorry,I just didn't want to see anyone get into trouble.I apologize
Damion Kidd LIKED above postCMack2525 thanked you for this post
Love the eyes on those things. When night fishing you can see their eyes cruising by or holding in the current, depending on where you're fishing.
I bet that is wild! I was surprised to catch one. My brother and I would catch them every now and again when we were boys. Hell it has been 17 years or so. Wish it had been a walleye.
About 30 years ago, my dad dragged me out to Guntersville a few times when it was 20 degrees outside to catch "jack" (sauger). He had lots of stories about how he and his friends used to load up on them, and how good they were to eat. After a few of those trips of breaking ice off my rod tip and having to break the ice in the minnow bucket every time I needed a minnow, and not catching a single jack, I began to wonder if he was pulling my leg. As far as I was concerned, they were unicorns. In the years since then, I've seen a few (only caught one myself while bass fishing). I heard they came back, went away again, and are making another comeback now. I've been thinking of giving them a try this winter, for old time's sake.
CMack2525 LIKED above post