Everyone, I received word last week that the regulation proposal for Wappapello Lake crappie was approved by the Commission. The regulation will go in effect March 1, 2019. The new regulation is worded as: The daily limit of thirty (30) crappie may not include more than fifteen (15) fish more than 9" in total length.

  • The new regulation will provide more opportunities for anglers to harvest fish during poor growth years.
  • It will allow harvest of the slow growing Black Crappie. I encourage anglers that want to keep fish under 9" to keep Black Crappie. Black Crappie are more robust at smaller sizes than the White Crappie and reducing their densities should improve the fishery.
  • Only allowing 15 fish over 9" will keep some of the bigger fish in the lake a little longer, which should provide more consistency in the fishery during poor growth years.


We will continue to intensively monitor the fishery to determine the effectiveness of the regulation change. If you are interested in the input we received at the public meetings and online click on the link below.


https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/protect-missouri-fishing

I know many of you have been anxiously waiting for a change at Wappapello Lake. I am very excited to monitor the fishery and see how it responds to the change.

The White Crappie population in 2019 should be good and similar to what we saw in 2018. Our surveys in the fall of 2018 showed roughly 26% of the White Crappie are 9 inches or greater. Growth improved to an average of 8.7 inches at age 3 and was similar to what we saw in 2017. Growth was as low as 7.4 inches at age 3 in 2015. We also hinge cut a total of 70 trees along the shoreline on the lower end of the lake this winter.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Happy Fishing!

Dave Knuth
Fisheries Management Biologist
Missouri Department of Conservation
(573)290-5858 ext.4434
[email protected]