Kinda deep for spawning

[Jignjim]

I fished the Tenn-Tom Waterway today. I only had three fish until I got to the welfare hole. (a place where you can always pick up enough for a mess) I caught 8 fish that were 1# to 1 1/4 # in 17' of water and every one of them were full of eggs and blood streaks like they were ready to lay. In this part of Mississippi the spawn is practically over. I just thought it was strange to catch that many , that deep, that was that full of eggs. Give me some thoughts on this.

[beenfishin?]

I have heard that there are a lot of crappie that stay in the main channel, even to spawn, and that when the spawn is over in the shallow bays and creeks, those "river" fish start their spawn. We caught some friday just off of the channel that were ready to spawn. My guess is that with all the rain causing so much current in the main channel, those "river" fish have been forced to leave their "normal" grounds in order to spawn. Just a lot of speculation, but the best I can come up with.

[beenfishin?]

another thing, an article I read said that there are crappie that stay "deep" year round and don't spawn until the water temp at their prefered depth get up to 60. That would mean the "shallow" spawning is over for some time before these other fish start.

[Jignjim]

I have heard that before too. I have said many times that river fishing is not like any other kind of fishing. I guess I just need to listen to what I'm saying.

Jim

[crappiehuntr]

I have found a few spots on my lake that they stay deeper around 12' and have caught them ready to spawn. Most spawning fish are caught here in 3' or less. And it will be 3 weeks after any shallow action has died out.

[tles1]

My question is about the "rumor" of crappies absorbing their eggs rather than spawning due to messed up weather conditions such as we have had record rains and once a week cold fronts. I can't believe that they don't release their eggs even if its late.

[CrappiePappy]

My question is about the "rumor" of crappies absorbing their eggs rather than spawning due to messed up weather conditions such as we have had record rains and once a week cold fronts. I can't believe that they don't release their eggs even if its late.

or a very good survival trait ... to release eggs into a environment unsuitable for hatching. If interrupted often enough, during the spawning season, eggs can be absorbed as nutrition for the female. Left over eggs, that weren't deposited, are also absorbed. This helps keep the nutrition level of the female, up to par. Sacrificing the brood, for the sake of staying alive ... and having the chance, next year, to spawn .... is a better survival tactic, than dropping eggs too late to have any chance of survival. Only a percentage of the eggs will even get the chance to hatch ... a smaller number will make it thru the fry stage ... and only a fraction of the original number will make it past their first year. That's why there's so many eggs, in the first place. Fish don't know they're going to die, and so their instinct is to survive ... even if sacrificing their spawn is the only option. At least they survive to try again, another day.

... cp

[Miller]

I have always heard that the depth that they spawn depends on the clarity of the water. So is the water very clear? They say that if you put a white coffee cup on a string and lower it in the water. When you stop seeing it the crappie will spawn 12" to 18" below that. Or maybe they just did not spawn because the conditions were not right.

[beenfishin?]

I have always heard that the depth that they spawn depends on the clarity of the water. So is the water very clear? They say that if you put a white coffee cup on a string and lower it in the water. When you stop seeing it the crappie will spawn 12" to 18" below that. Or maybe they just did not spawn because the conditions were not right.

Nope and nope. You couldn't see that cup more than 3 feet deep here. Also, the crappie here usually spawn in about 12 to 18 inches of water for the most part. The spawn was great here, just still have some deeper fish needing to spawn.

[Jignjim]

That's the reason I asked those questions on this page. There is more knowledge in this group than anywhere I know of. You've answered everything I asked and several things I didn't.

Thanks, Jim