Thread: Real rookie question

Originally Posted by hoosier

It seems from what I've read here and on other sites many more crappie are caught from reservoirs and impoundments than are caught from natural lakes. Is that correct? If so, why would that be? There are hundreds of natural lakes in the northern third of Indiana but hardly anyone talks about them for crappie fishing.


Steve

Steve .... this may just be a guess, but it may be that the more northern Crappie, in natural lakes, are more nomadic than their southern cousins :p making them harder to keep up with, or keep track of.
They're more likely Black Crappie, too (aren't they ??) ... which makes them a little different in their habits & habitats, as well as their foodsource.

Here's an article I found, that could give some clues : Panfish | Summertime Crappie In Natural Lakes! | 1

Some other possibilities may be found in these links (the first link is the In-Fisherman article, above) :

Google

... cp

Here is my scientifically unproven answer :D I would say a lot has to do with the size of the water, population density and willingness to share information.

By size of the water here is what I mean. You will notice a lot of folks say that they are catching crappies at Missy or Salamonie or any reservoir and give a general location while. The general location is usually fairly large. Now if I said they were catching crappies in channels of Webster lake or Wawasee you would see 700 guys swarming the area. Because you and I both know these areas are small and easy to find. The areas on reservoirs are easy to find but they are not small.

I think reservoirs contain habitat that is more suited to crappies than most other species of game fish. I know down here there is tons of timber. There aren't many weeds due to the fluctuations of water levels. When conditions exist that favor the sustainability of one species over another then you will end up with a dominate species of fish. Hence crappies in reservoirs and bluegills in lakes.

I don't know about you but for myself, I have no problem sharing information with someone who stops me at the ramp and asks how I did. I'll even show them. I doesn't bother me that they fish the spot I just left. If they catch more fish from there then good for them, if not too bad. I think there is more willingness of folks to share information on bigger bodies of water like reservoirs than on lakes.

Interesting question. Actually the best I have read in quite a while. Let me start off by saying that Wawasee is bigger than either Salamonie or Mississinewa as far as acreage goes. Secondly in my 5 plus years here this site seems to have an overwhelming following for southern waters in this state. Lots of reports on Raccoon,Cataract,Monroe,Patoka, etc...etc.....! That aint a bad thing, it appears that is just the make up of the Indiana section of the site. I dont know what it takes to make crappie abundant......the reservoir guys talk about timber and sticks. As a natural lake guy, we talk about humps and flats. Does it mean anything? Sure it does. It comes down to knowing a body of water and fishing it regularly. As far as the reports go......I posted something a while back asking how many northern members there were on here. There are quite a few, but with so much water to pick from, I think their reports are lost in the shuffle. Remember all I have typed is just my opinion.

Interesting question and great response that makes sense

My thinking is this....crappie primarily eat bait fish ( shad). Smaller natural lakes normally do not have a abundance of bait fish and no current or flowing water. that the large reservoirs with current and flowing water do. When they build a reservoir the impound or dam a river and also involve creeks....rivers have baitfish....baitfish and crappie like current and flowing water. Water flow through a reservoir is usually for either flood control or making electricity...thus fluctuating water levels allow grass and bushes to grow when water levels are low.....thus you have good spawning areas for both crappie and baitfish when the water levels come back up.

Thanks for the thoughts, I was just curious. I remember as a kid visiting with a friend who's parents had a cottage on big lake in Whitley county. At night, there were boats with lanterns crappie fishing. Until very recently, that's the only way I knew to fish for them. Like I said, I'm very new to this. Still, it seems to me they could be caught in the daytime just as easily, unless they go very, very deep. Many of those lakes approach 100'. I understand crappie like structure and all of the lakes have weed beds, piers, rafts, etc. etc.

Steve

Its because no one but Bob and Rico live up there!

A lot of the northern Indiana people hop the border and fish the many clear water lakes in southwest MI. too.

Originally Posted by rico

Interesting question. Actually the best I have read in quite a while. Let me start off by saying that Wawasee is bigger than either Salamonie or Mississinewa as far as acreage goes. Secondly in my 5 plus years here this site seems to have an overwhelming following for southern waters in this state. Lots of reports on Raccoon,Cataract,Monroe,Patoka, etc...etc.....! That aint a bad thing, it appears that is just the make up of the Indiana section of the site. I dont know what it takes to make crappie abundant......the reservoir guys talk about timber and sticks. As a natural lake guy, we talk about humps and flats. Does it mean anything? Sure it does. It comes down to knowing a body of water and fishing it regularly. As far as the reports go......I posted something a while back asking how many northern members there were on here. There are quite a few, but with so much water to pick from, I think their reports are lost in the shuffle. Remember all I have typed is just my opinion.