Kick in the gut Guys!

**M R Dux** · 04-03-2018, 08:56 AM

I have been seeing the vast majority of reports here about the poor condition our crappie on KY Lake are in. Regardless of what anybody else says, when you clean crappie after crappie and there is absolutely NOTHING in the stomachs and the fillets are paper thin, there has to be something BAD going on.

These pics are from Monday's guide trip. This 14 inch fish was the 1st fish I've cleaned in 2 weeks that had anything in the stomach. I noticed something hard and figured it might be a large bug or maybe a shell. Nope, it was a rock!!!! I have witnesses to this.

I don't have the answer why the crappie are in such poor condition. I know what I'm seeing with my own eyes. I have a good idea of what I think is happening but I don't have volumes of data to back up my ideas.

The 2nd fish is a 15 incher that was no more than 3/4 of an inch thick and the fillets were paper thin. I have never seen eggs in a crappie in April that look like this.

BTW, I've been asked several times if I am attending the F&W meeting Thursday. No, I have nothing to say that they want to hear.

**M R Dux** · 04-03-2018, 09:08 AM

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**Monark King190** · 04-03-2018, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by mrdux

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Omg. That's not good at all. Those eggs don't look good. If there no shad or baitfish in their tummy. What they eating??? Are they even eating young of the year Asian carp?? Please enlighten us on your take???

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**M R Dux** · 04-03-2018, 05:30 PM

I think the competition for plankton is being won by the carp. The fry of shad, panfish, bass and crappie are left with scraps. The water on LBL side is very clear so IMO there is no plankton out yet. The fry of the Asians grow so fast there doesn’t seem to be an extended period of time that fish the size of crappie can prey on them. Since the carp spawn multiple times per year, maybe the starving crappie can survive long enough to get back in shape on the small carp.
That’s my take for what it’s worth.

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**M R Dux** · 04-03-2018, 05:33 PM

I think many crappie like the one in bottom pics aren’t going to be capable of producing a productive spawn because they have come out of winter in such terrible shape.

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**Slab Slayer** · 04-04-2018, 06:43 AM

Im with you on this Doug, Ive attended a few of these meetings and all i ever hear is that these fish are dying of old age, Its absolutely ridiculous that 5 years ago you could catch fish that was 14 inches long that weighed 1.75 to 2.0 pound and now i seen with my own eyes a fish caught in big sandy that was 14 inches long that weighed .70 pounds and all they can say is these fish are at the end of there life cycle. I understand that this has most likely already reached a point that the state of Ky. does not have the resources to combat the problem on there own but at least be honest about what the real problem is here. I would hope that at some point our politicians could just forget that they have a D or R beside there name and come together to help us fight this problem before it destroys the economy on this end of the state. Ive already heard talk within people fishing tournaments on Ky Lake that they no longer want to come here, and ive heard people talk about not wanting to hold any more tournaments here, this could be detrimental to the econmy in this area. I will not be attending the meeting either as every one of them ive attended i hear the same thing over and over while at the same time the problem continues to get worse.

**cevans** · 04-04-2018, 08:37 AM

I hate to say this. You can’t just give up and quit going to the meetings cause you do need to fight this and your DNR needs to have the opposing views IF anything is ever going to get done. You already are seeing the results first hand. does your DNR know these results? Take the pics with you and anything else you have. I envy You guys in Kentucky as at least your having meetings where here in Indiana we have none. At least the door is still open for discussion. How else are you going to keep the information flowing? If you stop going to the meetings your DNR May stop having any discussions and giving out info. They need people at the meeting. Just my 2cents, but you have to keep venting. They do work for you and it’s your taxes that fund them.

**Nutbush** · 04-04-2018, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by cevans

I hate to say this. You canâ€™t just give up and quit going to the meetings cause you do need to fight this and your DNR needs to have the opposing views IF anything is ever going to get done. You already are seeing the results first hand. does your DNR know these results? Take the pics with you and anything else you have. I envy You guys in Kentucky as at least your having meetings where here in Indiana we have none. At least the door is still open for discussion. How else are you going to keep the information flowing? If you stop going to the meetings your DNR May stop having any discussions and giving out info. They need people at the meeting. Just my 2cents, but you have to keep venting. They do work for you and itâ€™s your taxes that fund them.

I envy Kentucky as well. I know I’m probably not in the loop in Tennessee, but I have heard no talk concerning this issue. If there are meetings then they are doing a great job of keeping tight lips. At least y’all do have a guy in your state forum that seems to keep people abreast of issues. Tennessee’s forum is a ghost town.

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**perchjerker108** · 04-04-2018, 01:40 PM

MR, I'm sure will be correct on what you say at the meeting, they don't want to here it. I again, am worried you and most of the people out at KY and Barkley will ONLY be noted as he Asian Carp capital of the world in the next year or so. This may be OK if the tourist industry can play a 'spin' on this notoriety. I plan to come down in May to do some pan fishing, Bluegill mostly. I Just hope they hold up for the future along with the Crappie, but, from what you just revealed, it does no look good.
Later, Jim

**Amartinbio** · 04-04-2018, 04:01 PM

Hey guys, sorry if I’ve somehow given the impression that crappie weights weren’t down. Or that they weren’t down due to baitfish being down. They are down, and it is due to the predator prey ratio being unbalanced. Bass weights are also down. Has the competition with Asian carp affected our gizzard shad? Certainly. Are crappie weights the lowest they’ve ever been? No. This does not mean that we don’t have a problem, but it does mean that I’m not panicking. Carp are the biggest threat we have by far which is why controlling their population is a huge priority.

I am always interested in the opinions and concerns of anglers regardless of whether I want to hear it or not.

This topic will be a major component of the meeting on Thursday evening.

As for egg condition, there is some precedent for reduced egg production when fish are starving or stressed. It’s one of the theories for “density dependent population control”. It’s never really been proven in crappie, (they tend to overpopulate if given the chance so they at least aren’t very good at controlling their own population numbers). The average ky lake crappie female has about 120,000 eggs. (Less than the average Asian carp which usually has about 200,000 in other populations. not really sure where the 1 million number came from...). It doesn’t take many crappie eggs, but it does take the right conditions.

As for carp spawning and crappie eating them, we still haven’t observed any individuals in the lake from a 2016 or 2017 year class of carp, although we know from carp egg weights that they at least attempted to spawn. The 2015 year class is still extremely abundant unfortunately. They need high flows to spawn and unfortunately this year looks like a high flow year. We absolutely do not need another successful carp spawn in the rivers or the lake so I’m really hoping this rain calms down before water temps rise. If anyone observes small carp in stomachs or cast nets please take a photo. This information is crucial.

Hopefully those that are interested will be able to make it out to the meeting to discuss carp efforts and other issues. If not, send me an email or give me a call anytime to discuss the issues. Apologies to those who felt they weren’t being heard.
-Adam

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