Crappie Limit

[Highlander]

So, What's the forums opinion on the crappie limit being reduced from 15 crappies to 10. I believe that it will cause a catastrophic increase in the crappie population, if the harvesting of eyes continues. We have are still experiencing the effects of last harvest. Five years from now I can see Red being the crappie capital of the nation.

Question, does anyone know how long the northerns teeth stay gummed over. The last pike I caught practically had no teeth at all. The teeth were so soft that my bait was unharmed?

[PUTZ]

YEH! thats what we want,A lake bulging with
crappies,Kelly will build 200 more houses to
rent.
When they lower the limit to 10 its kind of
like speeding, after so many tickets you will
slow down
As for the fish, thats the one kelly had the
fight with----(kelly won)
PUTZ

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just cross this line------

[halad]

What i see from the time ive spent on the Red Lake this winter i dont think we have to worry to much about overpopulation from a smaller limit. They should have lowered it about 4-years ago. Maybe i can talk to Surface Tension about having UFO's haul us in a load of crappies.

[swampman]

i dont want to be the bearer of bad news but i will throw in my opinion on the red lake cappie boom.i dont have a biology or a fisheries degree but after spending years in the wholesale bait and commercial fishing buis i have seen these boom and bust cycles on lakes before.i dont think this crappie thing will last much longer regardless if the state didnt try to jump start the walleyes again.this was one of those rare occasions when the stars lined up just right and everytthing was in place for the crappies to explode but these fish are all from what basically one or two year classes and there getting towards the end of there life cycle without any strong hatches following them.maybe they are there but i didnt see them when i have fished there.for now enjoy the great fishing this lake is providing.thats just my opinion on the matter. p.s. when i was in the commercial fish buis it was for rough fish. just wanted to make that clear. hope the lake is good for years to come for you people that live up there you people are true survivors.

[upnorth]

From what I have read from the biologist, when the one big year class if either fished or die from natural causes that's it. The great crappie fishing that has been going is in the last phases, it should start going downhill now. These crappies can't last forever and there in no big year classes coming up.

Fishing as we are accustomed to on URL will continue to decline until the DNR opens up the Walleye fishery.

I know that there are some people who will argue the point, but the facts from the biologist types point out that the Walleye are gonna take the lake back.

[Lowe]

Okay, gotta jump in on this one

There are other year classes of crappies in URL. Besides the '95 year class, there is a pretty strong '97 class, and another year class of from '98. I read an article in the Duluth newspaper, taken from the Grand Forks Herald, that quoted a DNR biologist as saying the '95 year class was "the only game in town". That's BS.

I agree that the walleyes were going to take over the lake again, even if the DNR didn't start dumping millions of walleyes into the two lakes. It's a natural walleye lake. But it still bugs me to hear people say there's only one year class, especially since some people seem to use that as justification for taking home more fish than they can eat. Anytime a big lake has a huge population of spawning sized crappies, there's going to be crappie fry in the spring. The question is if they'll make it through the rest of the year. With lots and lots of stocked walleyes competing for the same forage as the crappie fry, not nearly as many crappies are going to grow into catchable fish. The '95 and '97 year classes didn't have that competition, and most of them survived and grew fast. There's even been good hatches since then, but it remains to be seen if they can make it with the influx of the lake's natural predator - the walleye - to compete with.

[This message has been edited by Lowe (edited 01-07-2003).]

[Guest]

The Red Lake Crappies have always been there. Folks just started to fish for them. It's no different than Crappie on other big water like Mille Lac, except they are not targeted. Folks that do target them do quite well on Slab Siders on any big water, they just don't talk about it.

[MJCatfish]

Think of it this way: If 1,000 people on a given weekend catch their limit of 10 instead of 15, that's 5,000 crappies left. Over the course of several weeks and years, that's a lot of fish.

On any lake with crappies in Minnesota, or anywhere 10 crappies is usually more than plenty to make a meal for the family and possibly some friends also.

Walleye limits in Minnesota should be dropped to 4 also. More than enough fish to eat.

MJ

[swampman]

LOWE i agree that thear is more than one yearclass in the lake some fry make it everyear but i would guess that 80 percent of the fish are from that 95 and (97 i think) yearclass.LABRAT while i agree there has always been crappies in red lake what is going on now is something unique.with all the people that used to fish red for walleyes dragging leaches and minnows or whatever there should have been alot of these crappies being caught weather they were targeted or not.and while millacs and any other big lake you want to name have some large crappies put a thousand guys on each lake for a weekend targeting crappies and see what they catch.i would want to be on red.for the way this lake has been fished for the last few years and the amount of fish that have been caught is truly incredible alot of us may not live long enough to see anything like it again. as far as the limit being changed to 10 i guess its proably ok.hard to put a statewide limit that suits each lake the same it gets more confusing everyear with special regs here and there but i guess thats the direction we are headed.

[swampman]

forgot to add one thing once these fish got to be a size where they could really start to chow down the most abundent forage in the lake was most likely small crappies hence no strong yearclasses have taken hold.crappies like to eat and if the most abundent food is the kids so be it.any thoughts?

[CHODE]

explain this!! Why would you reduce the walleye limit when the actuall limit filled ratio is so low?? Most people put in many hours and many outings without going home with a limit! Also don't you think that if the limit was to high on walleyes all the lakes would be fished! Boy I can think of only one lake that has been fished out!! And it wasnt all do to rod and reel!! Boy lets think about this one!!
Why not let the starving state tell us or limit us on the following then!!
GAS for your vehicles
Groceries
Smoke Beer
And so on !!

Get my point!!

[PUTZ]

Just tell the state that we want them to tax
us on A per fish basis and they will raise
the limit to (50).
The tax man will be on shore
PUTZ

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just cross this line------

[MJCatfish]

Chode,
A couple of my thoughts on your questions. Remember, your limit is also your possession limit. It keeps some people from hoarding dozens and sometimes hundreds of fish in their freezer. (hopefully)

Also, pretty soon the dnr won't be able to stock lakes as well as they have in the past due to huge budget cuts, thus causing less fish production in our lakes.

Question for you, what do you consider as a lake that's been fished out? zero walleyes or low enough to hinder the ability for someone to go out and have a chance for a meal of walleyes occasionally?

The "good old days" of fishing are here now, thanks in large part to the mn dnr, and I'm confident they are making these proposals for the benefit of you and me.

Just my thoughts.

MJ

[Surface Tension]

Halad The best I can do with the Mothership is free dog biscuits.

[Guest]

Good post Lowe! Scott Steil

[swamptiger]

Once this big year class gets fished down, people will get tired of catching 3 or 4 crappies in a night, instead of 10, and most people who have been traveling long distances to partake in this fabulous phenomenon will lose interest, and go fishing elsewhere. Unless the walleye fishing generates a lot of interest, which is also entirely possible for a lake of this caliber..

My three cents worth.