Less Than Two Weeks Till the TeeZur Tournament!!!

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Crappiepappy:

Are you and Paul going to make it to the TeeZur Tournament? Would sure like to meet you! We are going to have a great time and I hope you and everyone else on this board will be there if at all possible.

[CrappiePappy]

can't really say right now. I'd like to. Best bet is to not count on me being there, and I may just show up . I'll have to check with Paul and see if he's up for it. You guys have a ball down there, ya hear !!

They've been slaying them at Weiss, and Watts Bar is starting to turn on, too ... so you should be in for some serious "catching" !! ....luck2ya ...cp

I've also wanted to take you up on your offer to come and share the boat with you ... but, changing work schedules has put those plans on the back burner for now. I'll get in touch with you, well in advance, if it's ever possible to take you up on the offer. .........cp

[Jerry Blake]

Hey CP,

The offer stands - whenever you can make it. We'll get together and yank up a few one of these days.

Our crappie are really trying to get into a serious fall feeding frenzy but the weather won't cooperate - been too warm.

We haven't even had a killing frost yet and the surface temps are back up over 70-degrees. Sure wish they would drop into the low 60s for about a month and then take another month to fall through the 50s.

Ever notice how the males get a little bit darker and their sex glands get full in the fall when the temps get down in the 60s?

Seems to be about the same time the females finally finish absorbing the previous spawn's eggs and start filling up with fresh eggs.

I've been noticing the males changing for a couple weeks but today was the first time I found fresh eggs in any of the females. I think we still have most of the Fall Feeding Frenzy yet to come.

Do try and make it to the TT. If Paul can't go there are still a couple guys looking for a boat ride so we can get you a partner if you like.

[CrappiePappy]

I'll see what I can do in both cases.

The long hot Summer had the Watts Bar Crappie in the same tizzy. They were just waiting for the water temps to drop below 65deg there, too. And that was two weeks ago. It's only now making a serious turn towards "cool" weather ... and it's NOVEMBER already !!
When I was cleaning the Fall Brawl fish ... I noticed that the females already had a small egg sac starting to develop. Most weren't much bigger than a inch or so long and about as big around as a pencil. Well, there was one ... she had a egg sac as big as my thumb. :D
I think most of the Crappie, around here, absorb any leftover eggs long before the Fall cool down. Can't say as I've ever seen an egg sac, in a Crappie, much after June. Locally, the spawn is usually from mid April to mid May ... further South, at Watts Bar, it seems to run a little longer spread....with Black Crappie coming in around early April, then White Crappie coming in around early May (there). The Fall "feeding" period here is mid Oct into mid Nov ... pretty much the same as Watts Bar. But, you're right - this year has been lengthened by the warm spells. Even the rains, that usually turn the lakes over, have come in during these warm spells. I just hope the fish have had a easy time of it, catching Shad out in deeper water. That would go a long way towards helping them get thru the Winter, and be in good shape by the warm-up period next year. They could really use the help around here ... flooding rains have messed up the spawns for the last few years. Most lakes I fish around here are flood control lakes ... they don't stop them from rising 10-15-20ft over pool, regardless of the fish. And my "home" Crappie lake can only drop 1ft/day, when the water can be released at WOT ... it only has a single, small spillway and that limits the amount of water that can be released.
Anyway ... I'll see what I can do about getting down to the TT gathering. Hope the weather cooperates, and the fish are chowing down .....luck2ya ......cp

[Jerry Blake]

Hey CP,

The female crappie here keep a very small egg sack all summer - like you said about the diameter of a pencil and about an inch long. But the eggs pretty much dissolved into a dark orange goop.

During the Fall Feeding Frenzy the orange goop starts getting replaced with bright yellow eggs about the size of a grain of salt and the sack continues to fill all through the winter until the spawn.

Our spawn can start as early as mid March with males moving in as early as mid February and can last well into May if the water temps don’t rise too fast.

I've noticed that the female crappie on Lake Hamilton - a power company lake that stays level except for a 5 to 9-foot winter drawdown - lay nearly all their eggs every year.

But on Greeson - a flood control lake that can go up and down a foot or more a day if we get a lot of rain during the spawn - they end up with a lot of leftover eggs when their is a lot of water fluctuation during the spawn.

Their seems to be plenty of crappie in both lakes to go around though and they sure are nice and plump right now - must have had a good summer.