Likes: 0
Thanks: 0
HaHa: 0
Trophy King II
Crappie size
I have a thought on why crappie are so small this year. I could be barking up the wrong tree but I have noticed something in all the lakes I fish. This year there seem to be a ridiculous amount of bass under 14inches. We catch lots and lots of bass while were crappie fishen. The thing I want to point out is that almost all of them are in the 13 inch range. Very few are keepers. My question is. Do bass stunt when overpopulated? I know gills stunt when overpopulated so why wouldn't bass? What im getting at is if bass do stunt and they happen to stunt at 13 inches the lakes are not gunna be able to keep up with feeding huge numbers of 13 inch bass and nobody can take them out of the lake so crappie also being a predator fish are going to struggle to survive and not get the food they need to grow. I think that when Indiana changed the size limit on bass years back from 12 to 14 inches its now having a negative effect on crappie. This is just an idea worth discussing so let me know what you think.
Happy Hooken.....
Slabmaster II
And what bass fisherman keeps bass? Try to keep a few and see what the bass fishermen say. I know a guy that owns a small pond. He was told when it was stocked that he would need to start harvesting a number of the bass each year. So that the bass would not get stunted. That has happened at his pond. I can go there and catch 12-14 inch bass all day long. Nothing bigger.
Crappie Wall Hanger II
I would think that bass would stunt too when over populated, just like other fish. But I am far from any kind of expert on this. I too seem to be catching more small fish this year (bass and crappie) but thought it was just me!
Crappie.com Legend
The bass never get harvested, everywhere I fish is loaded with 10" largemouth, its nothing to catch 25 every trip, along with yellows, and stripes. There is always talk thrown around about putting a size limit on crappie to help the population of bigger fish. But if thats the case, every lake has a size limit on bass, and are all overfilled with short bass.
As far as the crappie go, I think the areas you guys are fishing are just going through a phase, it will come back around. Bad spawns, and overfishing can result in this too, but it will bounce back. My home lake was this way a couple years ago, but now back on track, and I'm catching good 13"+ fish everytime out.
Moderator Indiana Forum
* Crappie.com Supporter
there is no way missy is under fished
Kevin
Minnow
It doesn't hurt to keep a few of those smaller bass. Unfortunately, it's not legal to do so in most waters. If I'm gonna eat one, I'd rather it be under 14. They taste better.
Crappie Wall Hanger II
This thread has me thawing some 14-15 inch bass caught during ice fishing season. Now the hard part... Bake bass, bass tacos, smoked bass, bass chilli, bass casserole? Maybe cedar planked over the grill. Love eating those bass!!
Slabmaster
That's the truth. Myself I keep bass all the time to eat. Taste like crappies to me. I would keep my limit of bass unlike crappies I may keep 12 crappies at the most. As for bass fisherman getting mad........ T.S.Originally Posted by kwerdal
Crappie.com 2K Star General
i dont think they would stunt in a lake full of shad. crappie lakes do go threw phases. if you guys want to keep some smaller bass hit the reservoirs and head up into the river part. i have been filleting a lot of them from my reservoirs river. they make grreat fish sandwiches if the pin bones are removed!
Trophy King
I fish a lake that has went from a lake of 10 to 12 inch fish to nothing but 6 to 8 inch fish. I am hoping its a phase and that next year these 6 to 8 inch fish will be eaters. One of the culprits I think is these people I watched during the spawn keeping everything regardless of size. I dont understand keeping these little fish. In the mean time, its fun to take the kids because they love catching fish regardless of size.
Taking a kid fishing makes the world a better place one memory at a time.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote