Nope , not when boats all around me keeping them . Most have livescope and putting the hurt on them . I just keep a limit and release the rest. We will see a day when regulations change when pressure gets too great .
Just wondering about this. Now Im not talking about a 2.5 lb Crappie full of eggs in the heat of the spawn, but like what is coming upon us, giant pre-spawn fish that are hammering bait fish and fattening up for the next two+ months. Lets say just under 2lbs and over, Do you let them go?
Nope , not when boats all around me keeping them . Most have livescope and putting the hurt on them . I just keep a limit and release the rest. We will see a day when regulations change when pressure gets too great .
I do at times throw them back. Other times they take a trip home to the skillet. 14" fish here are TARP ( Tennessee Angler Recognition Program) Fish. I throw those back.
The love for fishing is one of the best gifts you can pass along
I throw all back unless I have company that want to eat fish, or mom wants some. I've learned long ago not to keep more than one or two packages in the freezer. I've seen too much get freezer burned and wasted over the years. But that's just me. Keep all you're gonna eat is what I say, as long as you're following rules no-one should complain.
CentKyPaddler, arkcrappie LIKED above postNIMROD thanked you for this post
Some places a 15'' fish is really old . Places like Mississippi big 4 lakes it may not be . Either way it is a personal choice . My home lake has a slower growth rate from what biologists say so does it help to release the really old fish ? If fishing pressure continues to grow maybe a lower limit or slots may help some lakes . Some flood control lakes get overpopulated with yearly floods .
I haven’t kept a crappie since about 2016. The neighbors wanted a fish fry and asked if I would supply the fish. I did and told them to enjoy as that would be the last I would bring home. Being strictly an UL angler using 2# test line…and sometimes 1.5# test line….crappie give me all the fun I want. Caught about 2 thousand crappie a year before my recent move to Arkansas. Still getting house setup so fishing will have to wait a while. I’ve had days where all fish were 12-14 inches…get into the black nose and get them in the 14-15 inch range…they all go back. I realize I’m not the norm when it comes to crappie fisherman….very few go after crappie and catch and release. Up until about 2015 I would have plenty of crappie filets in the freezer but just got to where I didn’t want to clean fish anymore.
Regards
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NIMROD, Blackjeepjk LIKED above post
I keep what my family eats. Throw the rest back. Don't worry about what your neighbors does you can never change their mind or control what he does. Only thing you can control is you. And if you think your being a good steward to the great outdoors......you probably are! We deer hunt alot. Got neighbors that gun any deer that walks up. We used to shoot 3 year old bucks ,because if we didnt the neighbors would. Result=no one ever killed anything but. We started waiting to shoot only what we wanted to mount, we started killing bigger deer even though the neighbors still were popping every horned deer that walked by. Fast forward about 5 years, neighbors started seeing our success and ended up changing their behavior, which was an unexpected blessing. Now I would say we have things where they need to be and an insane improvement from where it started off. So do what you think is best for the environment and leave the neighbors opinions out of it.