Crappies tonight

[Dahitman44]

I am going to take the boat out on her maiden voyage tonight and going to try and hit some slabs.

Was thinking Upper or Middle or maybe Sallie --

Anyone have any thoughts?

Anything happening on Big C or Pelican?

[walleyeguy23]

One of my buddies fished Melissa last weekend and caught only one 10". He drove by Sallie and saw a couple boats, and they weren't even in "the spot". He did get a few on Crystal and Pearl, but 10-11" only.

I'd give you my own report but live in SD and wont be back until opener. I'm going to stalk the ferocious prairie dogs this weekend.

Hope this helps.

[Dahitman44]

I heard that there were some crappies lying dead on the shore on Pearl -- like a lot and they were in the 6 inch size. There were o apparent injuries and they looked healthy -- that can't be good.

[shae1986]

Hope its not from all he people that were fishing them in almost 50 feet of water and on the bottom.

[hadanooner]

i was out on Big C Sunday and caught about 20 total crappies. Could have kept about 8, but i don't eat fish. Just enjoying the weather and getting the ranger ready. Nooner

[Dahitman44]

Made it to Big C and the boat works great. It is kinda boring to run at 3,000 RPM, but that is the way it goes..

We wet lines for about 20 minutes -- no fish, but we did get the first 2 hrs on the motor for the break-in period.

[Brett Waldera]

I hit Sallie last night and landed 3 crappies and lost two. Fishing was tough, but this size was nice. All three over 13". Picked up a bass and a got to tussle a few gators on 4 lb line. I think another week and it will be much better.

Fish I caught were on a 9 foot flat 4 foot down and hit a 1.5" pink/white power tube. My brother tried minnows and other stuff but was blanked.

Brett Waldera

[Dahitman44]

B --

I was using minnows too and got zippo. I did mark fish in 10 feet of water but no takers.

Sallie can have nice sized crappies -- glad you nailed some nice ones for the fryin' pan!

[Brett Waldera]

You bring up a good point Dahitman44. I did keep these 3 for the pan, but generally, I very seldom ever keep my limit, or more than a meal where I would have to freeze fish. Not that there is anything wrong with those who do, but I think crappies are a very vulnerable fish in the spring and they should be treated as such.

I'll get off my soapbox, but just because there is a limit, doesn't mean you have to keep a limit to be considered a successful angler.

Hope everyone gets into some good crappie action. Catch some nice ones and let some go.

Brett Waldera

[BrianLucky13]

Very good point Brett!!! You dont need to keep you limit to be a good fisherman!! Its just fun to be out on the water!!!

[fisherdog19]

Welcome Brett, long time since I've spoken with you, how are things going? You get those fish out by the locks or across the bay? I've been hitting Sallie quite a bit, marking a ton of fish, but none to bite. Hope those fish will turn on some time after opener. Were you out in a Ranger Wednesday night, I was out on Wed on shore by the locks.

[Dahitman44]

100% correct, Brett.

People get a little too worked up about a "Limit" That is not a big deal to me. It is kinda like beating a team 27 -0 or 6-0 in softball -- who cares? You won and a good time. Those closer games are a lot more fun -- like catching eyes and crappies. What if everyone kept every fish they caught?

Yikes.

Thanks to electronics it is getting easier to find fish and stay on structure. I would not be surprised if the limits change all over the state in the next couple of years.

Part of being a good fisherman is thinking about the future, not just if you limited out on "big" or "small" fish.

I remember the year I caught like 65 eyes on Big C and kept about 20 -- just enough to eat. Some of my friends were like -- what you are going to toss back that 25-incher?

Yep I am and so are you if you are in my boat.

I am now off of my soap box as well.

Good luck, my Brothers.

[Fishin' Addict]

Heck we rarely keep anything we catch - I've thrown a 30.5" back on an area lake. For me it's more about finding them and seeing how fast you can go through bait. Which in some ways is a larger problem if you use anything but Fats, suckers, and Golden Shiners. The spot-tails are siened from lakes - which can't be good for the lakes given the quantites removed. As well and also more importantly are the Red tail chubs that everyone pay's top dollar for. Those little guys live in rivers and don't reach spawning age for five years and as well have lost alot of their habitat so think about that also when it comes to resource conservation. It could be that we'll see bait restrictions/availability in the future if something doesn't happen sooner.

[SM1]

Hey FA.

I bet you wish you were in this neck of the woods come this weekend??

[Brett Waldera]

Peter,

Your still alive?? It's been a while.

I was in a green 1900 Pro-V SE across from the locks. I didn't see a Ranger out there, there were two other boats that I was aware of. I was on the water from 5:00-8:20.

We'll have to get together some time and chase ski's or grass carp. I have a trailer on Lizzie now, but I still hit Dl quite a bit.

Later,

Brett

[Fishin' Addict]

SM1 you guys staying busy in FAR these days? You gonna make it out for the opener. I'm thinking about flying in for the weekend but as usual - haven't bought the ticket yet. We'll see tomorrow when Efares hit the net!!! One way or another I'll be on some water either with the fly rod catchin trout up in Breckenridge or with the spinning rod catching Wally's in MN. Tough decisions.

Let me know where you guys are heading to and if I make it, we'll meet up and swap lies.

[TJ25]

You make a great point... everyone needs stop keeping evrything they catch. I myself wont keep a single crappie under 10 inches just not worth it and will only keep them 17-20 inch EYES and of course that throphy 32" 12 pounder. Its just good to see others out there throwing back. Good fishing to all.

[Code-Man]

I have a private lake I fish. You can catch 70 crappies in one day without live bait. We know with it being so small we can't keep everything. So we have set a slot limit that nothing under 12/13 inches unless hook swallower. My cousin thought it was stupid at first untill we were throwing back so many fish and he was having a blast catching instead of keeping. Gotta supervise yourselves and enjoy our resources otherwise it will be a BACK IN THE GOOD OLE DAYS....

[fisherdog19]

Brett, will do. I've got a new to me Triton tiller, so if you see me out, say hello; did you get a new rig? Give me a holler at work some time and we'll plan a trip after some fish. It's been a couple years since I've chased ski's as my old little boat wasn't quite set up for them, I will be chasing them this year much more regularly. I look forward to hearing/fishing with you.

[deacon]

Code-Man, well put it is more enjoyable catching then keeping! We all go fishing first and foremost to catch fish.

But what is the best size to keep (to best protect the resource) for crappies if a guys wants to eat a few. I have always let the 12inch plus fish go and would keep a few around 10 inches to eat.

[Chuckster]

I agree, crappies over 12 inches go back in the water for me.

[Dahitman44]

Great thread ambush, guys!

I totally agree with you fellas -- it us up to us to help educate others.

Good luck in the opener!