Dinker Overpopulation

[KrappieKid]

I live in Southen Illinois and our local city lake has some very nice slabs. The only problem with this is that one must weed through nearly a hundred dinks to catch one or two nice ones. There is no size limit and no quantity limit on the lake. If one were to consistantly keep all the small ones caught, would the lake eventually have a nicer population of larger fish??

[mduncan62]

I have asked about this with the dnr in our area. It seems that lakes with no size or creel limit, most likely can't support crappie reaching 9" in 4-5 years. So they don't bother setting the limits. You might want to talk to your local DNR and see what they say. They will at least talk to you, and if it's a good one he can probably give you a bunch of info.

[drill instructor]

Either keep most of the small ones, or put some aggresive bigger gamefish, like stripers or even some big gar.

[NIMROD]

flat Heads !!!!!!!

[KrappieKid]

MDuncan,

I am a little unclear on what you mean by "the lake can't support 9" crappie in 4-5 years". Do you mean that there isn't a large enough food supply?

Also how can there be some 12-14" fish in there? Are these fish that someone might have thrown in as larger fish? I have caught and cleaned several of these.

Thanks.

[painterfish]

we have the same situation here lake warden said dont put them back

[KrappieKid]

painterfish,

This to me would be the most logical solution; however, it would seem that you could catch thousands of these fish before making any dent in the overall population. If you did make a dent would the population rebound after the next hatch?

Have you been doing this? If so, for how long and have you noticed any results either good or bad?

Thanks

[CrappiePappy]

Good questions !! Here are some possible answers:

Crappie tend to reach maturity in about 3yrs .... and the 8-9" length. Your "slabs" may well be the parents of these fish, having survived and grown another 3-4" since their spawning. Or they may well be the "grandparents".

The biomass of food/population would seem to be messed up. This is probably due to good spawnings and anglers releasing the "dinks" back. Crappie are prolific breeders, and can overpopulate a small body of water. Removing quantities of the dinks can help put the biomass back into proportion. And having the proper number/ratio of larger predator fish can also make a difference. But, if there is a viable population of "baitfish species" in the lake, like certain minnows or Shad, then the predator fish will generally not control the Crappie population as well as without having these baitfish present. They tend to prefer "soft rayed" (soft fins) prey, like minnows & Shad, over the young Crappie (which have spines in their fins).

Sounds like you are talking about a "city water supply lake" ... probably not very fertile waters, but deep/big enough to sustain a large population of slow growing Crappie. It would appear that the DNR/F&W doesn't have management powers over the lake, or they don't think it's worthy of any management (not cost effective).

Just don't go "micro-managing" on your own, by introducing any other species of gamefish or baitfish. More often than not, this only creates a worse situation ... plus, it's usually illegal and can land you in jail, get you fined, cause you to have your fishing equipment confiscated, have your fishing license revoked for years, or several or all of these.

I know you'd like to see the Crappie size increase, and be greater in numbers (of larger fish) ... but, it would appear that the controlling factions don't feel it's a viable enough fishery to put forth the money & effort.

I'd keep a bunch of the "dinks", clean them & eat them. Even a 6-9" Crappie has some filet meat, and you can make up for size with numbers. Enjoy being able to catch so many ... downsize your equipment to match the size of the fish (one micro-lite outfit is enough) ... hone your skills of casting & presentation ... enjoy the opportunity while it lasts. ......... luck2ya ... cp

[KrappieKid]

Thanks CP.

Sounds like some good advice. Rather stay out of trouble with the law.

Would this (the thinning of the small population) be something that would have a noticable impact in the next year or two or would it take longer than that?

Thanks.

[wrwest]

I have to agree with the most of the above ideas. I would start keeping the dinks, That would improve the food suppy for te remainder of the crappie. By no means waste the meat, eat it...