[cousinlll]

Halibut Warrior & I hit Bartlett this afternoon.  Caught just over 25 Crappie w/ 6 of those being keepers.  One weighed in at 2lbs.  A whole lot of small Crappie out there.  All fish caught trolling @ .3, majority of them on minnows.  Joe talked with one guy who had a similar day but only had 1 keeper.

More info along w/ pics in members section...

LLL

[Elefantdude]

Heading there on Monday afternoon for 2 nights/2 days - Heard a cold front is coming, with possible rain on Wednesday. Should promote some great fishing! Seems like they are ready to turn on :-)

[o from wi]

Fished last week. Caught 4 nice fish and 12 or so smaller fish. Kept all of them. Food for thought,, if you only take bigger fish, more smaller fish will remain to spawn more smaller fish. What you call "smaller" fish here are KEEPERS in WI. So as long as I'm going to get my hands dirty cleaning fish anyway,,, I may as well clean a few smaller ones too. They are just a tasty.

[cousinlll]

Kept all of them. Food for thought,, if you only take bigger fish, more smaller fish will remain to spawn more smaller fish.

Food for Thought:

From Crappie.com:  http://www.crappie.com/crappie/content/284-article-what-s-happened-bite-my-favorite-lake.html

So Does This Mean Crappies Are An Unlimited Resource?
The common belief among fisherman is that crappies provide an unlimited and continually renewing resource is simply false. Is it possible to take all the crappie out of a lake? Of course not, but crappies, like any other fish, are subject to intense year around predation and fishing pressure, which can make a considerable impact in the overall population balance of a lake year to year.

In some lakes, especially those with poor spawning habitat, lower nutrient levels or those more prone to drought conditions or frequent low water levels, recruitment — (the number of young fish that survive beyond the first year of their lives) — is already much lower so that predation and fishing pressure have a far more drastic affect on the numbers of fish that even make it to maturity. It is clear that both of these factors (both) (natural and external) continually at work to negatively impact the numbers of mature fish that ought be maintained in a lake year to year to keep it balanced and productive.

Adding to the problem… crappies typically don't get off a good spawn until around age 3, at about 10 inches long. Second-year fish, 6-8 inches, occasionally do lay some eggs, but not nearly as many as more mature fish. Crappies in their fairly short 5 or 6 year life span only effectively spawn 2 or 3 years if they are lucky—that is if they live that long without being harvested. These facts should really begin to show us the importance of maintaining certain numbers of mature crappies in our area lakes and reservoirs consistently year to year.

LLL

[timbo]

Went out today at 8am. It was very windy. We got 5ea be 11:30am & then it got so windy we couldn't fish.
1ea 14". All are still in the lake.
I have all I need to eat other wise I'd have then home.
Thanks cousin for info. Water temp 51 All catch on b/b 12" deep at .3 mph
Timbo

[Fishless]

that's one of the problems people from back east don't see big crappie, small crappie in az are fishing try to grow up to become big within a few years, and able to spawn, plenty of big fish in our lakes, good points counsins. Wish more people would release the smaller fish but until g and f puts a size limit on fish it is not against the law even with az crappie supporting releasing small fish.

[menrats]

so we should cull the little ones and leave the spawners? balance is whats needed and if the lake is full of 2nd year fish they should be our target?  or wait till all these little buggers try to compete as adults? next sunday im gunna cull  the little ones and release the 12 -14s.

[Fishless]

do what you want, no law against it, plenty of big crappie in bartlett for spawn, small crappie grow faster probably at bartlett than most lakes in the state, just the future of the lake, have caught the 10-12" spawning, bartlett had cycled off as far as a spawn for several  years, this year may be tough due to dropping water depending on when SRP switches releases. I would rather have a lake full of larger crappie to catch

[o from wi]

At the mercy of man. When I moved to Northern Wisconsin (1990) I could catch 16 to 20 inch Walleye's and 14 inch crappies any time I wanted. I only fished when I NEEDED! I know of 3 people who have freezers full of fish year around. I haven't a clue what they do with them. Most were taken during the spring spawn. Lets not forget the Indians who are allowed to spear these lakes too. Now (2011) I caught ONE walleye over 15 inches all season and haven't seen a crappie over 8 inches in years. My walleye fishing is now done in MN. I am considering a move. I sure hope these MEAT hunters can't find their way. I spent a few days at Gull Lake MN with Al Lindner back in the 70's. It was a GREAT fishery,,, then. One of the statements Al said was, "if the guides are going to kill this lake,,, I'm gonna play along". I hope this don't happen here. Nuff said!