Thread: Silver carp and lack of shad???? Questions for fishery biologists.

Originally Posted by Slab Slayer

I was on here back a couple months ago and discussing the need to raise the size limit for crappie on these lakes, Paul Rister commented back basically laughing about my concerns. I fished in the Crappie USA Tournament this past weekend and out of 183 of the best fishermen in the world, only 2 fish where weighed over 2 pounds. I heard numerous people talking about how the size need to be raised but our officials are not going to do it. As far as the asian carp are concerned we have already lost these lakes and just dont know it yet. When it comes to the states way of dealing with these carp and the need to keep a 10 inch size limit i am not drinking the kool- aid like some on this site!

Yep and in 2013 Classic there were only 3 fish over 2lbs weighed. And in the 2015 Crappie Usa Super over 20 fish over 2lbs weighed with some of the biggest stringers ever recorded since Cusa went to seven fish bags. When exactly was the fishing good before? I have looked at alot of tournament results and still don't see a negative trend here on Ky/Barkley, just cycles.

I am concerned about the carp and honsetly really not optimistic about a viable solution long term but the sky hasn't fallen yet.

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I agree with you Pab that the sky hasnt fallen yet, but got to tell you its bad!! I would welcome anyone that knows how to read a lowrance HDS side scan to go into any bay on this lake now and try to find a place where there not at. Ive been hearing for 5 years about things that the state was doing to control them, so 5 years later they are worse than ever and obviously with no solution from the state except talk, id pretty much think they have taken over and only going to get worse, and the way things are looking its going to be sooner than later. Its really sad!!

I too fished the USA event this past weekend and noticed the dramatic decrease in fish Heath. The crappie in areas looked like they hadn’t ate in years. We had a 14.75” Crappie that weighed 1.03lbs and another almost identical. Like said earlier any bay is completely covered with the silvers. Every local I talked to at the ramp and weigh in had similar thoughts and concerns. Sad to see this happening to such a once great fishery


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If y'all really feel the fish are already starving, which I don't agree with either, what is the logic behind raising the size limit to increase competition for the food that is available?

As far as a couple skinny fish on a tough weekend, it is what it is. It doesn't track with what I have been seeing the last few months, fish have been very thick for the most part and stuffed full of shad. I guess I need to get a decent scale and start posting weights.

Again I encourage anyone interested to look at the results and write up from the 2013 Classic, somewhat similar weather conditions and if you remember what was going with the lakes, similar fish cycles. Similar but not exactly the same,weights are down a little but oddly enough some of the same folks at the top. I still don't think fishing or fishing tournaments alone are the basis for sound fisheries management.

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I wouldn't worry about anything changing.

One look at the finances for any one of the states around here will tell you all you need to know.

It will have to play out naturally.

Besides....as long as that lock is at the dam...so goes the connecting river systems...so goes Kentucky Lake to one degree or another.

The lock just slows down the process

I am sure there are probably just as many sport fish of equal size as ever in history..old people tend to embellish their stories or just don't remember it accurately.


I do wish those lamprey would disappear...the first time I pulled up a beautiful 15" crappie and one of those nasty looking things dropped
off just as I was lifting it from the water and the fish had nasty wounds.....I got to admit...that bothered me..maybe the're gone already...haven't been there in a long time.

I catch at least one fish a year with one of them things on there.

I would rather see them on a bass than a crappie tho. Lol


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Originally Posted by birdman

I too fished the USA event this past weekend and noticed the dramatic decrease in fish Heath. The crappie in areas looked like they hadn’t ate in years. We had a 14.75” Crappie that weighed 1.03lbs and another almost identical. Like said earlier any bay is completely covered with the silvers. Every local I talked to at the ramp and weigh in had similar thoughts and concerns. Sad to see this happening to such a once great fishery


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During our crappie sampling this week and last we have also noticed that some of the largest white crappie were in poor condition (skinny). The large blacks were in much better shape, as were the smaller (13" and down) whites. It was only the 14"+ whites that were skinny. The reason for this is unknown. The current theory is that these fish may be so old that they are regressing in size. (After aging a few, some of these fish were ancient for a ky lake crappie). A 12 inch white should be eating the same shad as a 15", so lack of food seems unlikely but not out of the question. We hope this isn't a widespread trend, but we will know more as we measure and weigh (hopefully thousands) more crappie in blood river and little river this week. This is another reason we hope to collect some otoliths during the fall shindig since our oldest and largest fish are often underrepresented in our trapnetting samples.

For those of you who catch a lot of these big whites, is the trend of skinny 14+ fish something you have consistently seen? Or have you also seen some healthy ones?

Once again, thanks for your comments

I haven't seen a trend of skinny 14"+ whites at all on Barkley, a few here and there but not nearly as many as healthy ones. But I drink kool-aid lol, what do I know, maybe they all weigh a pound. I haven't weighed a fish in a long time.

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