[Snyd]

Not sure if everyone saw the ODNR page with the two people who had two stringers full of Crappie. Don't get me wrong that was a great catch but do they really need all those crappie from one trip? I always catch a bunch but usually only bring home 10 to 20 at the most to eat. Those two fisherman looked liked they cleaned the place out. What do you think?

 

[twistertail]

I will say the same thing i said about the people with 200 white bass, maybe its the only time this year they are keeping any fish. If thats the case i dont see a problem with it, if they are doing that everytime they go out then it would be a problem. If i can get into a good mess of white bass, crappie or bluegill i will keep lots of them and then i just have to clean fish one time for the whole summer and spend the rest of my time catch and releasing. I have cleaned over 100 bluegill at once before, but then i'm done cleaning fish for the whole summer and if i want to have a fish fry all i have to do is thaw out some fillets. I'm sure people have seen me with a stringer of w/b or crappie and thought that meathunter is taking all the fish, well whats the differnce if i keep 50 white bass from one trip or 5 from 10 trips.

 

[twistertail]

by the way, i did see that pic and was thinking the same but then thought hey maybe they are doing the same thing that i do. There are people that will keep that many from every trip but you just cant tell that from looking at pictures on the internet so i always give them the benifit and hope that they dont do that every time.

 

[Pharley]

I would keep that many if they were slabes, and it was early spring. I like to catch my fish for the year while the water is still ice cold, so I hit them hard and early. But I wouldn't take that amount every time...once I get my 75 or so crappie for the year, it is catch and release only after that.

 

[Gobi Muncher]

I think that the intent of the DNR is to promote Ohio Fishing and what better way to do it than with pictures like that. Wrong or not it is an "eye catcher". From their faces it looks as though they had a blast. Also, with experience comes wisdom and ethics. Someone just getting into fishing might think keeping everything is the right thing to do. I know when I started fishing everything I caught came home to show Mom and Dad what an angler I was. Although I don't think I could have rode my bike with that many fish and my gear. Now, I keep enough for a meal provided I fish in the morning. If I go in the evening, the last thing I want to do is clean fish when I get home late. Bottom line is that if they have purchased their license (if required by age) and obey the limits and regulations, then there is nothing that can be done other than possibly educating them from time to time. Who knows, they may have went home and caught flack from someone or cleaned them for hours and vowed never to do that again.

 

[harry1]

i keep alot of fish in the spring. after the freezer's full, i won't need to keep any more. except for the occasioal saugeye i stopped keeping in june last year.

 

[jethro]

I trust the state. If people were taking too many fish and populations were dwon they would adjust the limits. As long as people are within the rules I don't see much of a problem. If a fishery is big enough it would be tough for a handful of people to put much of a dent in a crappie population.

 

[Smallie Chaser]

There is no reason for people to keep that many fish in my opinion...Deer Creek was a heck of a crappie lake in the early to mid 80s...my father and I used to have a blast catching them by the dozen...a 9" crappie was a dink in those days...but slowly but surely more and more people showed up and you would see guys keeping massive stringers full(we never kept more than maybe 15 or so between the 2 of us and that was because we knew a old couple that liked fish) and needless to say the fishing dropped off in very quick fashion...its just recently to my understanding that they have started to come back..the 9" size limit helps alot...but they should even go further and put a limit on the amount you can take...maybe 50 at the most..even 30 would be reasonable...just my 2 cents.

 

[twistertail]

Hey Smallie, have you been to Deer Creek this year? Crappie fishing has been amazing for numbers and size. I been fishing there since i was about 5 so its been about 20 years and I dont remeber the crappie ever being as good as it is now. I think the size limit they put on it a few years ago has really made a big difference. I think that 30 would be a good number limit also.

 

[dfoxfish]

maybe even a 10" minimum. there's not much meat on a 9".

 

[twistertail]

We would be in for some SLAB crappies if we had a 10" limit! Anyone have any growth rate info for crappie? Wonder how long it takes a crappie to reach 10".

 

[gonefishin']

Most of you guys are experienced fisherpersons so we realize from experience what a job cleaning fish can be. While crappie are indeed good eating, cleaning a mess of fish after being out all day can be painful. My feeling is keep all you want, but, eat all you keep.

 

[Lucky Bass]

No, you'd have some overpopulated waters with more 8 and 9 inch crappies than you could handle, because everyone would be releasing fish. There is a journal article that was done specifically on Delaware Reservoir right here in Central Ohio. The title is: Evaluation of a 254-mm Minimum Length Limit on Crappies in Delaware Reservoir, Ohio. (254 mm = 10in.) It was published in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management in 1999. This article actually overviews what happened when a 10" lenght limit was placed on Delaware. Remember, prey availability plays a large role with crappie growth, releasing a lot of fish is often not as beneficial as one might think.
As for keeping all of the fish, yea, it's not always great to see stringers like that being taken out of a system, but at the same time we don't know the specifics and the reasons they kept them. Look in my gallery, you will find huge stringers of crappie and piles of ice fishing gills. Those are the only fish that I keep all season. I am still eating off those crappie from last year and the gills from ice season. Basically, don't be so quick to judge people.

Norm

 

[twistertail]

Good post norm, that was my point also you cant always judge someone from just one picture. I do like you stock up in one or two trips so i only clean fish a few times a year. Good info on the size limit also.

gonefishin, you are right that cleaning a mess of crappie is a pain but i would rather spend several hours cleaning fish one time than a half hour or so several times during the year. All this talk is getting me hungry for good ol fish fry

 

[Snyd]

I just wanted to thank everyone on their opinions. Now please don't take this the wrong way. I am not mad at the two fisherman, I was just wanting to know what everyone's thought was on this.

 

[misfit]

i'd say it takes at least 3 years for grappie to reach 10 inches.depending on particular water and food abundance.average life span is probably 5-6 years,maybe a little longer(7-8 years)(in this part of the country).most 13 inch and up fish,are probably in their last year or two.some may live longer,but i think for around here,that's pretty close.i think those rare 16-18 inch slabs that are caught occasionally,are probably older fish that are most likely very near the end of their life.

 

[twistertail]

Thanks misfit, good info on the "grappie".

 

[CreekFloater]

The only fish I keep are the panfish (gills, crappie, perch) that I catch when I in Canada each summer. Yes, it is tiring after fishing all day to clean up to a hundred fish, but with some help, a sharp knife and a couple icy cold beverages of your choice, it goes much quicker. I take the vacuum sealer with me and vacuum seal them after one night of soaking the filets. They easily keep from year to the next. Sometimes I even have a big fish fry just prior to going to Canada to clean out last years that is remaining in the freeze. Down here, I strictly am a CPR (catch, photo, release) fellow, but don't have problem with others who thin the heard of panfish.

 

[Pharley]

I went through all the weeks pics, and some of those stringers of crappie are pittiful. I have had stringers of gills that were bigger than some of those crappies. I laugh at that- just like a group of people I see fish at Hoover, will keep a 4" and 5" crappie....wtf!!!