Do any of the waters you fish suffer from overfishing in numbers, qualtiy or both?

[RandyinRockford]

The lake I fish in is part of a state park and it gets A LOT of pressure. I also notice early in the season people taking 5 gal. buckets full of crappies home (the limit I believe is 20/day). I'm not a fish biologist but I do not know how long the lake can sustain that.

[Grainraiser]

EVERY lake is cyclical. The size and numbers go up and down in cycles. Most lakes that were phenomenal 20 years ago are not like that now. It's just the way things work. While fishing pressure could affect some of the smaller 2-25 acre water bodies mentioned above it's extremely unlikely that it will affect larger lakes. Especially for crappie. The reason folks don't see the numbers of big fish in some lakes is because those lakes don't support fish that big any longer. The biggest driver of that is the catch and release culture. Fish need to be taken out of the lake in order to maintain a healthy population. Just like deer need to be culled to manage a healthy herd. So all the folks on their high horse about people keeping fish.....you're the problem! I'm not specifically talking about folks on this thread or even this forum. But people want to scream CPR form the rooftops all over the place.

I was always of the belief that the Fish & Game agency gets funding from the money I pay for a license too monitor our lakes. They know a heck of alot more as to what is going on than I do. They do surveys that let them know if the population if healthy. We currently have a new lake that everyone is chomping at the bit to open so that they can fish it. They are constantly upset that the open date keeps getting pushed back because they are constantly releasing water before the lake fills. They refuse to accept the fact that the lake was built to supply water to the northern burbs of Dallas. Hunting and fishing is a very far second in rank of importance. I'm not expecting it to open til next winter.

[Gone Fishin']

I fish a real big lake. I've seen boats so thick around a bridge in the spring crappie run that you could literally walk across boats for 100 yards or so. Still catching crappie there.
With all the bass tourneys they have there I figured that would go first, but it is still a top 10 bass lake year after year.

[keeferfish]

I was always of the belief that the Fish & Game agency gets funding from the money I pay for a license too monitor our lakes. They know a heck of alot more as to what is going on than I do.

I agree and if like MO the biggest majority of their funding is from sales tax so outdoors people do not always come first.

[Grainraiser]

I fish a real big lake. I've seen boats so thick around a bridge in the spring crappie run that you could literally walk across boats for 100 yards or so. Still catching crappie there.
With all the bass tourneys they have there I figured that would go first, but it is still a top 10 bass lake year after year.

I know the lake well and it gets just as crazy during the winter along the dam.

[Rojo]

With so many into fishing year round and using all the new electronics the pressure is much greater these days . Just a few years ago most Crappie fishermen concentrated efforts in the spring. Don't see pressure letting up and most fishermen get upset when you suggest lower limits or slots .

At one time Fishing was the number two sport to Cycling. I don't know today how it ranks but it has to still be close to the top.

[Ketchn]

hammering them hard (crappie) in a really small lake might do some damage to the general population numbers ....BUT , the size of the surviving population might go to the moon , just saying
seen hammered small waters go south on big numbers and way north on average size more than once or twice , seems the hammering backs off as the ketch rate slows and the left over have more food than they can eat .....nice mix for sure.

[Central Minn]

When I remember the stories and look through the black and white pictures of 60-80 years ago of my grandfathers and fathers…Yep fishing isn’t even close to what it used to be in size and numbers.
As far as lakes and wildlife being cylindrical sometimes….sometimes not,there are a few lakes around here that had great fishing in the 70s one for crappie one for yellow perch both are terrible now and have been sense the mid 80s, invasive species mainly Zebs are taking there toll also,it’s hard for a fishery to thrive when the microorganisms are filtered out.
Now if you see a jack rabbit around here it’s cause to celebrate, in the 60s-mid 80s a winter drive to town at night every corner you turned and the headlights scanned the field there’d be jacks running,Minn DNR says there cylindrical…they must be on a 40+ year cycle.lol.

[Grainraiser]

hammering them hard (crappie) in a really small lake might do some damage to the general population numbers ....BUT , the size of the surviving population might go to the moon , just saying
seen hammered small waters go south on big numbers and way north on average size more than once or twice , seems the hammering backs off as the ketch rate slows and the left over have more food than they can eat .....nice mix for sure.

There is a guy who has a Youtube channel that catches some monster crappie and bass. He mostly fish small ponds in subdivisions and I wonder how those fish get so big in ponds less than 2 acres. I know those ponds are not being managed for big fish and they should be overpopulated.

[NIMROD]

I agree and if like MO the biggest majority of their funding is from sales tax so outdoors people do not always come first.

AGFC also gets part of a 1/8th cent sales tax. Arkansans starting to question where is all the money going? Some feel it is not well spent in some cases.