[CraptastiC]

After last meeting I've been thinking a lot about the poor quality of crappie fishing at Roosevelt, and what we can do to help improve it.  I'm sure there are several factors that have contributed to the way things are now, but I'm curious what might be the most significant?  I have considered gizzard shad, poor spawning conditions, and over fishing.  My opinion at the moment is if you look at everything below high water mark the lake has almost zero underwater structures to serve as nurseries for small fish.  What are your thoughts?

[Tweeder]

#1 drought conditions and falling lake level.  We need rain and influx of water and nutrients not to mention flooded brush to protect the fry. 
#2 gizzard shad, their presence has not been kind ot the threadfin shad population as they fight for the same food source and grow so damn big

On a side note, and this is pure speculation but I think the lake is still finding a balance.  Last 10 years have been interesting going from over 100% capacity and hundreds of new surface acres of lake that had never been there before and an estimated 10 million crappie all the way to the fourty some percent we are at now with a new fish species in the mix is a lot for any lake to handle without any significant precipitation over that time frame.

[Papermouth]

I notice a poor quality of fishing indeed, but what I noticed more is poor quality of the fish themselves. This year at SCF, numbers were WAY down, but so was the overall appearance and health of the crappie. They didn't look like the beautiful, contrasting black/white speckled fish that normally come out of Roosevelt. They didn't look much like the healthy and plentiful crappie that came out of Alamo this year either.

Of all the factors, the gizzard shad invasion and threadfin shad population decline (supported by AZGFD surveys last and this year), makes the most sense to me. Alamo has been amazing for folks this year, and threadfin were/are everywhere! I saw some threadfin at SCF, but not near as many as in the past. I also noted there aren't near as many grebes as there was a few years ago. Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe not. The number of cormorants/grebes eating small fish has to be making a dent.

Spawning conditions may not be ideal but they never have been, consistently at least. The lake has always gone up and down since it was dammed up in 1905. It was just a few years ago the lake was full, so in theory there should be boat loads of age 3-4 slab crappie. Comparing them to other lakes as well, I just don't buy the spawning conditions, at least not as a major factor.

I also don't think over fishing is a factor either. We would have been seeing and hearing about a lot more success in the last 3 years. Not to mention, Roosevelt is huge. Far fewer fisherman are hitting that lake in the last couple years than they were a decade ago.

I completely agree with Tweeder above that the lake is in an imbalance. Predator/prey populations have always cycled back and forth and the crappie will bounce back eventually too, but it's going to take time.

In the meantime, I'm hoping the gizzard shad level out to a reasonable population, the threadfin population increases back in their place, bow fisherman continue to shoot the buffalo and carp that compete with game fish fry on plankton resources, more habitat is placed in useful locations, and people release the h'ordeuvres instead of feeling entitled to keep them since they spent so much on gas and bait to get them in the boat.

If we hear that there is something we as fisherman can do to help, it will be posted on the site.

[CraptastiC]

Thank you for the feedback.  I have seen other states are doing a ton of Christmas tree dumping into the lakes to improve fishing. I think something like that would be a perfect volunteer thing for people like you and me.

[Fishless]

Interesting saw this on waynesword, Utah biologist talking about gizzard shad at lake Powell, interesting since bass and crappie spawn right near each other and all the gizzard in Roosevelt

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Adult gizzard shad are bottom feeders so they could eat bass eggs very well off the nest if the male bass was taken away and not returned to the nest. It is wise to return bass caught on nests or the eggs will be eaten by whatever fish finds the unguarded treasure.