# Crappies in Open Water!



## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Crappies on the larger lakes have moved out to the deeper water areas on western MN lakes. Fast troll a 1/16oz beetlespin w/white 2" curly tail in 9-15' cabbage beds early and late in the day. Nothing like catching a 13" crappie on light action rods.....REMEMBER....if you catch them and then RELEASE them you can catch them another day. Should get plenty of the 10" range fish for eating.


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## BIG e (Jun 24, 2004)

You guys sure are into this release thing.I can see it with a bass, where the numbers are lower.Besides that noone eats a nasty bass anyway , they are good for nothing.But I respect a mans right to fish for whatever he desires.A crappie on the other hand,theres nothing like a 2lb. crappie fillet between two pcs. of bread.Also crappies are present in much much greater numbers than the b"***".I think the sport of crappie fishing would have to really,really catch on for you to disturb the population.Just one southern ******** opinion.Hope I dont stir yall up too bad, I PROMISE i'M NOT AS STUPID AS i MIGHT SOUND. 8)


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Big e,

The reason I've become very set against keeping the large fish, crappies and bluegills (I've caught too many and stock-piled them too in the past), is that I've come to realize we can effectively "fish-out" an entire year class of fish, from personal experience.

The northern states have a much shorter growing season for the fish that you guys do down in SC and as result if may take a decade to grow a 2# crappie and a 1# bluegill. I've seen the shows on southern crappie fishing and looks like a huge deal down there in the South. Just wonder if you have much larger populations and therefore the taking of a 2# crappie to eat instead of the occasional one to put on the wall may not be as dramatic to the population as it would be up in the North where it takes much longer to grow fish of that size.

Some things that happened on the lake that I visit in MN this year that don't normally happen. 1. The blugills and crappies that went on the beds, for a VERY short time this year due to the coldness of the Spring were fished off the beds very quickly. and 2. Many of the bluegills and crappies we're catching now in the deeper water have eggs that will be absorbed this year, as it was too cold to spawn, will not be good 3-4 years down the rode when there may be a very small year class of the panfish in the lake.

It's perfectly ok to keep a limit or two for the table but try to keep the smaller fish and try not to stab and slab as many as you can just because they are biting. They taste just as good caught in the Winter and those won't have freezer burn. Anyway, just the rantings of a fisherman that is trying to save and enhance the fish we have left.


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## BIG e (Jun 24, 2004)

I know I probably came off a little crass, and I apologize.You're completely right about the growing season, and this year the crappie spawned for damn near a month.You had a cold front here and there that pulled them off , but once the spawn was over all the girls were trim and fit again.I will say that I dont keep any swole up females in the spring unless the family wants some ******* cavier.I guess its just a culture gap and I should be happy to be in a place where we can pull slabs all summer.Nice talking with you.Nice website. :beer:


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