Thread: tenkiller archives

i wish they would put the length and limit on a lot more lakes sardis being one. i love the fact you can go catch crappie big enough to eat. sardis has some decent crappie now but a few years ago if you caught one that weighed a pound you were lucky. i have fished tenkiller and gibson that have these rules it works great.

Grenada is the number 1. crappie lake in the nation in fact its known as 'home of the 3lb crappie" they have not a 10 inch limit on there but they have to be 12 inches. If you have a fish right at 12 you better throw it back it will get you a ticket. Now in my opinion, I wish we had a 10 inch length limit on all the lakes with a one man limit of 25 and a boat limit of 75 or so. I've guided for 14 years and if we go out and catch over 50 keepers we've had a great day. If I'm ask if the fishing is good I will always compare it to 8-10 keepers an hour. I call that great fishing. EB

Grenada is a "trophy" crappie lake. Tenkiller is not. It is also shallow, muddy, and deep in the south. It is not a comparable situation. In this instance I believe the size limit and 15 per day on tenkiller is hurting the lake though I am no biologist. It is not normal to catch 400 fish and the big fish only being 1.3 pounds. You all can say what you want but if you'd rather catch numbers than size that's ok. I will continue to fish there regardless maybe even guide there since it's so easy. A 4 year old could catch a fish there which is nice when trying to put people on fish. Eufaula in my opinion with a 12 inch limit would pump out 3 pounders every year. I could go for that. Different lakes though

Ranger 09 had 7 weigh 14.00lbs last week. That's pretty big for Oklahoma. We can safely say that Tenkiiller has had really good spawns back to back years. EB

EB and Ranger09, as guides, would a length limit not hurt your business? I'm assuming here that your clients want to take home eats and not so much trophy's. They want to catch a lot and not just one every hour that's big enough to keep. I may be wrong so that's why I'm asking.

With the amount of crappie in Eufaula, I personally don't see a reason to change. I am no biologist but it seems to have worked for decades. I catch as big of a fish in Eufaula as I did 30 years ago and when I hit it right, I'll catch as many.

As for enforcing a crappie length limit, I've fished that lake many years with a lot of people. I've been checked for a license only once. I just don't see how a length limit can be enforced and taking home 37 is a lot to clean at one time but people exceed it.

CHEcrappie I myself which I can't speak for others very seldom keep crappie under 10". Now take into account I do have a few clients that will keep a 9" fish on lakes that doesn't have a length limit size. That's what they want and I'm not the one to argu the point. It's just how I feel about it. I feel when you take out that size fish that hasn't reached maturity at 21/2 to 3 years which are the spawning age crappie you are limiting that impoundment to reach its full potential. Again that's just my opinion and no scientific research to uphold it. And the answer is no it wouldn't hurt my business as a guide in the least.......Ranger

Somthing I plucked off the internet, its good reading. Considerations for Crappie in area lakes Fisheries Management Work and Information: Minnesota DNR

Research and observations show that crappies do not spawn successfully each year. That is good because populations usually won't become abundant and stunted as do sunfish. It is bad in that population numbers sometimes become low and fishing success is diminished.

Crappies thrive in lakes with poor water clarity. Local examples are French, Constance, and Dog Lakes. Whereas, crappies generally are not abundant in lakes with good water quality. In clear water lakes, crappie populations tend to be low but the average size can be quite good. Examples include Sylvia, Pulaski, and Sugar.

Because crappie have variable recruitment, stocking probably will not help the population. Most lakes contain a sufficient number of brood fish (only one pair per ten acres is needed) for natural reproduction. The average number of eggs per 7.5-9" female is 38,000.

Recent studies have shown that crappies select nesting sites on undeveloped lake shorelines where emergent vegetation, especially bulrush is present. Restorative actions and naturalizing shorelines will help provide habitat for crappies and thus increase their spawning success.

Angling can affect crappie populations. At Lake Pulaski anglers harvested 33% of the years harvest in May and June of 2003. At the Horseshoe Chain, about 33% of the open water harvest occurred in May and June (1999).

Anglers generally do not release large crappies. At Mink and Somers Lakes (Winter 2002) anglers harvested nearly every crappie caught with harvested fish averaging 10 inches in length.

Posting spawning areas so as to restrict fishing will not improve crappie populations. In the above examples approximately 33% of the population might be saved if the season were closed during May-June. To post a smaller area of a lake would result in less of a savings, and then only for a time. The survivors might be harvested during a later season.

At Buffalo Lake, Wright County, only 3% of the annual harvest took place during May-June (2003). Sixty one percent of the harvest took place during the winter.

Special fishing regulations might help improve the size structure of crappie populations. A five fish daily bag will decrease harvest; while a 10-inch minimum size limit will improve the overall size structure. Alternatively, we have the option of closing the harvest season from March 1 - July 1. All of these regulation options would need considerable public support.

In many lakes, crappie suspend over deeper water in mid-summer and can be hard to catch. Spring and winter are times when anglers can enjoy good fishing. We do not want to limit good angling opportunities for crappies if there were no good biological reason to do so.

Illegal harvest of crappies is frequent and harms the resource. In a recent incident (2005) at Long Lake in Stearns County 10 tickets were issued in a short time for over-limits and double tripping. Call the conservation officer if you observe illegal activity.

Kentucky is doing a study now that supplements certain lakes with crappie stocking when they know they have had a poor spawn in those lakes in an attempt to even out the populations and age structures. If the results pan out, I would support that in Oklahoma even if it costs more for licensing. Another option is you could change the limits and lengths as needed by lake and year, but I imagine that would be a enforcement nightmare, and too much for the average Joe to keep track of... Or you could do what most of are already doing, just follow the good fishing.