Crappie Already with Eggs

[Shad]

Why is it that crappie have eggs in them during winter months. A lot of the crappie I have got in the last 4 weeks have had eggs in them. The water is around 42 -48 degrees. It is a long time until 60 degree water hits. Just curious.

[DockShootinJack]

I have caught them in fall with eggs. Crappie will on occasion spawn in fall.

[filletfetish]

I will start to see eggs in fish in Indiana by August. Most people don't even recognize them, due to the fact that the egg sack is smaller than a pea at this time. I've never done a thorough autopsy in July, but you may find them earlier than that. I thinks it's pretty interesting that it seems like the eggs mature, similar to the fish itself. Maybe that's why fishing can be so good in the fall and winter...she's only feeding for 50,000 or so.

[Dollfly]

I never knew crappie spawned in the fall. Never too old t o learn something new!! The ones I been catching have light yellow eggs and seems to be plenty of them. Maybe we will have a good spawn this year.

[genec]

the egg sack start in late summer and spawn in spring in our area,only one spawn and its after winter as water warms up,don't think they spawn twice any where in country

[ChrisCarter]

yea I heard that female crappies won't spawn all at once in spring, they can sometimes hold off their spawn until fall if conditions were not right in spring for whatever the many reasons they have. And of course if they don't spawn in fall, and still have eggs, they absorb them as winter protein.

[INTIMIDATOR]

Florida DNR conclude a study that Crappie DO spawn in the fall....it has been noted in other States also.
The main reason given the most credence, is above normal Fall Rain and bad Spring weather, but not ALOT of money is being spent to study Crappie behavior.

The reason they believe Crappie will Spawn in the Fall, is if the Normal Spring Spawn is interrupted....Here in Ohio, last year we had a brutal Spring, the weather was VERY late warming up, then we kept having Cold Fronts that kept the Water temps low, then we hit Hot Summer weather, that put temps past the Preferred Spawning Temps, in just a week!
They believe rising water levels in Fall, will trigger fish that have not spawned out, from earlier in the year.

Genec is correct, NORMALLY after a successful spawn, eggs sacks will again form in late summer, and eggs will be carried until they are ready at Spring Spawns.
If eggs are not layed, and conditions do not improve, most Crappie Female will absorb the old eggs and use the Protein to start the cycle off again. Researchers just don't fully understand why some absorb and some will hold and spawn later.

Even though Crappie are HUGE spawners, they are also one of the most delicate....things really have to come together to have a successful spawn...Crappie spawn year after year in the same area/cove/bay/shoreline, if that area changes, it will effect spawns, water temps have to be perfect, water flow or current has to be perfect, low water robs fish of preferred cover, high water release from the lake effects spawns by removing fry in the release, high STABLE water is actually preferred to add nutrients and boost zooplankton for larval Crappie...and then if it is a good Spawn, maybe 1% will survive to legal size (high end is figured to be 3%). Then you also figure that Crappie have one of the highest HOOKING and HANDLING MORTALITY rates if released, and you can understand why they can require management to have a continual Crappie Fishery!

[feelay]

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[scrat]

Does the winter draw down have bad effects on crappie spawn? The water is usually raised again right around the spawn time. Usually the last of rainy season here in central Mississippi. No one really likes the winter draw down but our reservoir is a flood control lake.

[INTIMIDATOR]

Does the winter draw down have bad effects on crappie spawn? The water is usually raised again right around the spawn time. Usually the last of rainy season here in central Mississippi. No one really likes the winter draw down but our reservoir is a flood control lake.

The slow Winter draw-down really doesn't have an effect on the Spawns at flood control lakes, but a massive draw-down can flush ALOT of fish! Our Dam has top gates and Massive lower gates....if the coe regulates properly with the top gates, you don't lose fish...when they goof up and have to use the bottom for faster drains, you lose ALOT.
As long as the water is at full pool by the time the males are heading to the beds, you should be alright....if they wait too long to get to Summer Pool, then yes, it will have a big effect.

This is my beef with Our Army COE....they continue to operate from obsolete orders that have been proven to be outdated and effect WB, Walleye, and other fish getting up into our creeks to Spawn...they also have made bad judgement decisions on raising and lowering the lake effecting our shoreline spawners also.
Our COE works off of dates...no matter what, they will not bring the lake up until a certain date...whether it effects the fish, birds, etc. They have plenty of time to bring the lake up and adjust if necessary...we have never come close to flooding or Overflowing the dam or lake, in my lifetime, and we have had some seriously bad late Winter and Springs. IMHO, The COE, DNR, etc should work together to develope new "Orders" that benefit the entire ecosystem and the nearby cities!

Our Reservoir also had 2 major projects after it was built and established in '74, one to put in a Marina, and another to put in a Larger new/modern boat ramp....both projects required massive drawdowns in the lake and it pumped out all kinds of fish, killed all of the underwater vegetation, and set the lake back for many years! We have just now established a sustainable fishery again, with the addition of cover, vegetation, ect....but the COE lowering the lake too quickly in Fall and raising too slowly in Spring, is having dire consequences with some of our fish populations and trying to stabilize them. THE BEST SPAWN we ever had was a few years back, we had massive Spring rains that melted heavy snow, then it continued to rain steady until summer, the COE could not release the water downstream...many low lying areas of the park were flooded....we had record spawns of Crappie, Bass, Gills, etc, and then they SLOWLY released the extra water from the top gates...we're still seeing part of that population today.

Good Fishing!