Thread: LAKE TALQUIN- take care of it!!!

Originally Posted by crappielimits

Shellcrackers thrive off of mussels,clams and well any other creature with a shell. These creatures require hard sandy bottom. When a lake is newer it doesn't have as much sludge, mud and muck. So the bottoms is clean and clear. Shelled creature populations take off. So do Shellcrackers. In many places during drought and drawdowns lake bottoms get cleaned. This starts the cycle. Most of the Shellcracker records get broken within three years immediately after a drought/drawdown with clean up. Talquin shell cracker and white bass populations are down tremendously for many reasons. Habitat, forage, fishing pressure and invasive species to name a few. The crappie is a little different it is primarily fishing pressure. Though the loss of lily pads is beginning to play a huge role.

Nearby Lake Jackson has an amazing Shellcracker population. It has experienced many years off and on of drought. Clams at times large as baseballs cover the docks there. Two pound Shellcrackers are common and 1-1.5 are easily caught. Several factors go into management and each species requires something the other doesn't but a good management plan and vision are need for each body of water. Talquin seems to be mainly being focused on largemouth over the last ten years. Losing several commercial cat fishermen has also hurt pan fishing there. Jackson being in Tallahassee is getting a lot of talk towards management along with funding soon.

What kind of invasive species are in Talquin


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Originally Posted by Glad2Bhere

What kind of invasive species are in Talquin


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The most critical is flathead catfish. Unfortunately fisherman imported them from other fisheries illegally. The river red bellies have been hurt the worst but all panfish have been affected.