Fishing out a Lake?

[Ketchn]

once read a creel report on a Texas lake that nobody really hits all that hard , it only encompassed the boats leaving the ramps , there are tons of "crappie houses" on that lake as well .....55,000 was the number at the boat ramps and to be very sure they never counted our cooler fulls when we visited it ......
here tell inside them crappie houses they limit out so fast it's stupid ,never seems to make a difference in how many are there when I visit it .....
if a lake is small enough and or a pond and the masses descend on it , they could theoretically mess up the amount of fish in the lake / pond for sure and some water bodies can withstand the torment much better than others without a doubt .
look at a tiny lake like weatherford and the amount of crappie ketchn that goes on there , it stays the same year in and year out and trust me on this , it gets way more pressure per acre of water than any of those large impoundments east of dfw ....
lake size plays a larger role in what it can withstand on fishing pressure , most of the larger bodies of water can handle WAY more anglers than they currently have on them .
but remember this , some fish ....ie ,,,,crappie are prolific at reproduction and if there are not enough predators after them they will over populate in a real quick minute.
and in the end , most of the time when folks think a lake is fished out by masses of anglers (when it comes to crappie ) its very likely that they just ain't holding their mouth just right ......

[UnLikeU]

once read a creel report on a Texas lake that nobody really hits all that hard , it only encompassed the boats leaving the ramps , there are tons of "crappie houses" on that lake as well .....55,000 was the number at the boat ramps and to be very sure they never counted our cooler fulls when we visited it ......
here tell inside them crappie houses they limit out so fast it's stupid ,never seems to make a difference in how many are there when I visit it .....
if a lake is small enough and or a pond and the masses descend on it , they could theoretically mess up the amount of fish in the lake / pond for sure and some water bodies can withstand the torment much better than others without a doubt .
look at a tiny lake like weatherford and the amount of crappie ketchn that goes on there , it stays the same year in and year out and trust me on this , it gets way more pressure per acre of water than any of those large impoundments east of dfw ....
lake size plays a larger role in what it can withstand on fishing pressure , most of the larger bodies of water can handle WAY more anglers than they currently have on them .
but remember this , some fish ....ie ,,,,crappie are prolific at reproduction and if there are not enough predators after them they will over populate in a real quick minute.
and in the end , most of the time when folks think a lake is fished out by masses of anglers (when it comes to crappie ) its very likely that they just ain't holding their mouth just right ......

[UnLikeU]

@Homboy I say let's use math to answer your question using 10 Crappie Guides on a Lake that work 5 days a week & only have 1 person on the boat catching a limit twice a day:

25(Tx Crappie Limit) 50(Crappie per Day) 250(Crappie per week 1 Guide)
x's x's x's
2(People Per Tx Limit) 5(Worked Days per week) 4(Weeks in a the average month)
------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------------------
50(Crappie per Day) 250(Crappie per week 1 Guide) 1,000(Crappie per month 1 Guide)
x's x's x's
10(Crappie Guides) 10(Crappie Guides) 10(Crappie Guides)
------------------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------------------
500(Crappie per Day) 2,500(Crappie per week) 10,000(Crappie per month)
x's
12(Months in a Year)
-----------------------------------
120,000(Crappie per Year)

Sir, these figures are the lowest figures you will see & so below average on a lake like Lake Fork here in Texas where 1 Guide is averaging 300-500 Crappie per week. Why are the numbers still way Low???We haven't added regular fishermen, tournaments on the lake, people who are pro's or catch fish way above average that are retired & do it 7 days a week. Heck I took off work for a week last month & caught 300 in that week & I'm just a regular Joe Smoe.

Taking a Rod & Reel going to Fish Out a Lake isn't going to happen. I know people with Cameras underwater that can see the fish & can't catch 10. Can people with Nets & Electroshocking techniques overfish a lake HECK YEA. You aren't going to see that on a fresh water lake. Now understanding every fishery is different but using Lake Fork for example. That lake has been getting HAMMERED Daily with 200+ HAWGS FOR NEARLY 5 YEARS. & THEY KEEP CATCHING 3LB CRAPPIE. Just saying...

What do I know This is "1 Guide Only".. You can click Lake Fork Guide Cameron Burnett THIS IS JUST 1 GUIDE!!!!!

Sorry I tried to delete this post above because it didn't line up. My bad on the duplicate.

[JUNGLEJIMJIGS]

My favorite crappie lake was a 5 acre city park lake. I could go there and catch a dozen or more slabs with some 2-3 lb giants which I always released. I considered them my pets and would take a picture or two and let all of them go. Word got out and masses showed up and wiped out most of the bigger crappie and the bass too. Haven't caught a slab there in over a year. Nothing but little 5-6" crappie now. Remove all the big predators from a lake and now the lake is shot. Maybe it will recover but it's going to take a few years. Small lakes and ponds just can't handle the pressure like big lakes.

[UnLikeU]

My favorite crappie lake was a 5 acre city park lake. I could go there and catch a dozen or more slabs with some 2-3 lb giants which I always released. I considered them my pets and would take a picture or two and let all of them go. Word got out and masses showed up and wiped out most of the bigger crappie and the bass too. Haven't caught a slab there in over a year. Nothing but little 5-6" crappie now. Remove all the big predators from a lake and now the lake is shot. Maybe it will recover but it's going to take a few years. Small lakes and ponds just can't handle the pressure like big lakes.

@Jingle Hello.. Are you fishing from a boat or bank?

[Ketchn]

My favorite crappie lake was a 5 acre city park lake. I could go there and catch a dozen or more slabs with some 2-3 lb giants which I always released. I considered them my pets and would take a picture or two and let all of them go. Word got out and masses showed up and wiped out most of the bigger crappie and the bass too. Haven't caught a slab there in over a year. Nothing but little 5-6" crappie now. Remove all the big predators from a lake and now the lake is shot. Maybe it will recover but it's going to take a few years. Small lakes and ponds just can't handle the pressure like big lakes.

this is fact , small waters and high harvests on keepers will impact the average fish size for sure
we often hammer small fish by the hundreds if not thousands in small lakes to give the left overs room to grow
was asked to do it on several smaller lakes over the years , under 5 acres or so ...
all of them 2 years later had real nice slabs in them where there were about zero before that ...
had an under 10 inch rule in place on those harvest reductions ...
worked well if you can hit around 750 to 1500 a year in smaller lakes and ponds

[keeferfish]

Nothing but little 5-6" crappie now. Remove all the big predators from a lake and now the lake is shot.

You’re/We are a big predator but no one wants to keep 5 inch crappie so highly doubt it was fished out but it’s overpopulated. Big and little fish competing for the same food.

Fisherman are not that good.

[DockShootinJack]

They are very resilient. Once the large fish stop being caught the crowds will move on to other places. Then the lake has a chance to rebound

[Ketchn]

They are very resilient. Once the large fish stop being caught the crowds will move on to other places. Then the lake has a chance to rebound

possibly yes maybe no , if one particular age class of smalls dominates the pond they will stunt before they get big , there is method to the madness on pond crappie for sure my friend ....

[homboy66]

Reply to post. Great comments. I do understand a large or very larger Lake can take fishing pressure better but, smaller Lakes can take a beating and not recover if someone does not take control and manage these Lakes PROPERLY. I seen it happen in a 900acre Lake. No or very little law enforcement and no restocking.