# possible new crappie law



## bassin101 (May 16, 2005)

Taken from the new issue of Ohio Outdoor News

Crappies - A proposal to add 38 lakes to the current list of six lakes (Alum Creek, Caesar Creek, Deer Creek, Delaware, Seneca and Tappan) that have 9-inch minimum size limits is being considered. The proposal also includes setting a bag limit of 30 for crappies on all lakes with 9-inch size limits, which will then total 44 lakes. 

The 38 new reservoirs considered are: Acton, Atwood, Berlin, Buckeye, C.J. Brown, Clear Fork, Clendening, Dillon, East Fork, Ferguson, Grand Lake St. Marys, Griggs, Hargus, Hoover, Indian, Kiser, Knox, Leesville, Loramie, Madison, Milton, Mosquito, Nimisila, O'Shaughnessy, Paint Creek, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Portage Lakes (East, Long, North, Turkeyfoot, and West), Rocky Fork, Rush Creek, Salt Fork, Springfield, Veterans Memorial and West Branch.


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## puterdude (Jan 27, 2006)

Nothing but good will come from this action,now just add a 15 inch saugeye limit as well.


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## emckean4 (May 25, 2008)

well puterdude i couldn't have said it better myself!!!


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## Bobinstow90 (Apr 13, 2006)

As a dedicated fisherman, I totally support this proposal.

I want to ask a simple question. How many people are filling their bellies (and their kids bellies) with buckets of 6-8" crappie?

Our lakes/rivers belong to everyone. Given the choice, would you send people to bed hungry.....or turn them into illegal fisherman.....to improve the quality of local fishing in Ohio.

The concept is great and long overdue. Maybe it should apply to some lakes but not all.


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

i agree 100% with it, its about time!!


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## wedebrook (Jul 29, 2009)

I have been waiting for this to pop up. A fisheries biologist approached me a few months back, while fishing in Burr Oak Lake and asked me to take a brief survey. This was one of the questions that they really went into detail with. I think a bag limit and protected slots are a great thing for fishing.


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## sploosh56 (Dec 31, 2008)

I see a lot of 5" crappies kept in the portage. I wonder how they even get meat off the bones


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## Boogieman (Apr 13, 2009)

I could not agree more that is great. Also make bass 15 inch in all of Ohio. An saugeyes 15 inch to that would be great.


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## Bobinstow90 (Apr 13, 2006)

sploosh56 said:


> I see a lot of 5" crappies kept in the portage. I wonder how they even get meat off the bones



Sorry. Must insert this.

Hungry people gut 'em, cut the fins out and the heads off (thats fishheadsoup), scale 'em.......and proceed.

Those of us that have never felt TRUE HUNGER......have no idea.

Good luck.....be safe out there.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

wedebrook said:


> I have been waiting for this to pop up. A fisheries biologist approached me a few months back, while fishing in Burr Oak Lake and asked me to take a brief survey. This was one of the questions that they really went into detail with. I think a bag limit and protected slots are a great thing for fishing.


Burr Oak is a lake that could really benefit from this, it's a shame it's not on the posted list. I can go out to Burr Oak in the spring and catch 80 crappies in less than 2 hours and be lucky if *one* of them is over 8" long.


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## wedebrook (Jul 29, 2009)

TheCream said:


> Burr Oak is a lake that could really benefit from this, it's a shame it's not on the posted list. I can go out to Burr Oak in the spring and catch 80 crappies in less than 2 hours and be lucky if *one* of them is over 8" long.


That's exactly the problem I had. We caught about a million and one crappies over two days when I was there, but they barely had any meat to them at all.


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

TheCream said:


> Burr Oak is a lake that could really benefit from this, it's a shame it's not on the posted list. I can go out to Burr Oak in the spring and catch 80 crappies in less than 2 hours and be lucky if *one* of them is over 8" long.



That is precisely the reason that Burr Oak is NOT on the list. It is overpopulated with small crappies and those small crappies need to be kept so the ones remaining can have enough available food to grow to a larger size. This is the same as Cowan lake and that lake was omitted as well.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Bassnpro1 said:


> That is precisely the reason that Burr Oak is NOT on the list. It is overpopulated with small crappies and those small crappies need to be kept so the ones remaining can have enough available food to grow to a larger size. This is the same as Cowan lake and that lake was omitted as well.


I seriously doubt that folks are going to keep a stringer full of 4-5" crappies. If they do, they'd have to eat them whole, fileting would be a waste of time. I like to keep crappies every now and then, maybe 1 in 5 trips for them, and I've never kept one under about 8", and that is pushing the limits of "worth the time."


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

TheCream said:


> I seriously doubt that folks are going to keep a stringer full of 4-5" crappies. If they do, they'd have to eat them whole, fileting would be a waste of time. I like to keep crappies every now and then, maybe 1 in 5 trips for them, and I've never kept one under about 8", and that is pushing the limits of "worth the time."


I completely agree, but it would help the fishery if those smaller fish were kept. I personally only keep crappie over 10.5" as I find anything under that isn't worth my time.


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## wedebrook (Jul 29, 2009)

In a place like Burr Oak, those little crappie would make for some great catfish bait since they aren't big enough to be eaten, but are overpopulated.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

wedebrook said:


> In a place like Burr Oak, those little crappie would make for some great catfish bait since they aren't big enough to be eaten, but are overpopulated.


I bet the bass in there work 'em over...just not well enough, obviously!


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## wedebrook (Jul 29, 2009)

I gotta tell you, I have seen some _monster_ largemouth cruising those docks where all those little crappie are, and they didn't want anything to do with the lures I was throwing at them, so apparently they are staying well fed.


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## bttmline (Apr 7, 2004)

Now if they would make that a 30 fish per boat limit it would really help. DAMN THEM STRAW HATS!!!


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## Procraftboats21 (Apr 6, 2004)

amen to that... now if we could just get mosquito to have a 15'' limit on walleyes


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Procraftboats21 said:


> amen to that... now if we could just get mosquito to have a 15'' limit on walleyes


You just dont get it do you? Why cant you understand what put and take lake means.  Maybe they should just close down the lake for a couple seasons to let those eyes grow to be SPORT fish, instead of tablefare. Cant believe some people just wont accept that lake for what it is. Maybe put a closed season on all ohio waters for walleyes from april 1 thru june 15. Then people would keep every 12" bass they catch to eat. There's plenty of 15" walleye lakes in ohio. Or do what a lot of other guys do and impose your own size limit and stop worrying about stuff outside your boat.


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

the whole state should have a 15" limit on all walleye and saugeye and limits on mosquito too!!! strawboys grind up lots of dinks, a nice meal to many of us when there bigger!!


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## WISH IT WAS YOU (Jul 25, 2006)

chaunc said:


> You just dont get it do you? Why cant you understand what put and take lake means.  Maybe they should just close down the lake for a couple seasons to let those eyes grow to be SPORT fish, instead of tablefare. Cant believe some people just wont accept that lake for what it is. Maybe put a closed season on all ohio waters for walleyes from april 1 thru june 15. Then people would keep every 12" bass they catch to eat. There's plenty of 15" walleye lakes in ohio. Or do what a lot of other guys do and impose your own size limit and stop worrying about stuff outside your boat.


 amen to this i agree with this more than any crappies are everywhere they dont need to put a limit on them atleast i think they shouldnt size limit wouldnt really help i dont think with giving them size i think it would just stunt the growth in them cuz they populate so quick its crazy just my thoughts though


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## Slabs! (Oct 1, 2005)

TheCream said:


> Burr Oak is a lake that could really benefit from this, it's a shame it's not on the posted list. I can go out to Burr Oak in the spring and catch 80 crappies in less than 2 hours and be lucky if *one* of them is over 8" long.


LOL, Obviously you've never been to Hoover. Seen buckets of 4 and 5 inch fish kept every year, all year, some of them so small that they don't have their pattern or even look like a crappie. I have noticed that it actually has seemed to help the crappie population grow larger. Problem is that these same people keep EVERYTHING that comes out of the water. I'm sure the ODNR knows what it is doing, more than most of us any way.


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## beakflowers (Mar 15, 2009)

I dont have a problem i fish at tappan a lot so im used to i also go to berlin at least we will be getting some huge slabs when they get bigger!!!


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

i also fish tappen and seen the difference. even though there are alot of small crappies still available.spring difference is great,cause they are more slabs to eat.13 to 16 inch fish.atwood has thousands of crappie,but they never get bigger!!when dad fished there in the 60]70s they were huge, not no more!! make the horsepeople fish there for a couple years and let atwood alone.....lol!!


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

husky hooker said:


> the whole state should have a 15" limit on all walleye and saugeye and limits on mosquito too!!! strawboys grind up lots of dinks, a nice meal to many of us when there bigger!!


Hold on there sheep dog.  It aint just the strawboys that like those 14" fish. They're a nice meal to some people at that size. Not everybody can get to erie where you catch those big old eyes that you have to split and take the dark line out. Those squito eyes dont have that line. If you're not going to eat them, throw them back. Then go complain to the powers that be that others are keeping them and see what they tell you. No sense complaining cause they'll tell you what they've told me and a thousand others, it's a put and take lake. They dont care how big they keep them, just as long as they dont take over a limit a day. Just telling you what they told me.


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

i kinda agree with you a little...lol i fish the ohio river mostly, not lake erie but i did till dad past away. i eat saugers and they don t get too big either,but their my dinner now..heh heh still only 10 limit down there.never get to mosq either. just my opinion thats all chaunc, and i ain t heard about the sheepdog since coreys get togeather...lol...lol


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## Tatonka (Aug 23, 2007)

husky hooker said:


> i also fish tappen and seen the difference. even though there are alot of small crappies still available.spring difference is great,cause they are more slabs to eat.13 to 16 inch fish.atwood has thousands of crappie,but they never get bigger!!when dad fished there in the 60]70s they were huge, not no more!! make the horsepeople fish there for a couple years and let atwood alone.....lol!!



Me and my friends fished Atwood as kids, from the bank, from 73-77 and we caught 15"-16" Crappie all day and about every time we threw an Ugly Beatle.
Now if I take the kids there a 9"-11" Crappie is a surprise and annoying at times.
What the heck happened to the Slab Crappis since the 70's ?


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Tatonka said:


> Me and my friends fished Atwood as kids, from the bank, from 73-77 and we caught 15"-16" Crappie all day and about every time we threw an Ugly Beatle.
> Now if I take the kids there a 9"-11" Crappie is a surprise and annoying at times.
> What the heck happened to the Slab Crappis since the 70's ?


Plain and simple...... the internet. More people know about these spots now so they see an enormous amount of pressure now. If the lake isn't stocked yearly, there will be a decline in size of fish as most people keep the bigger ones. It's hard to throw a 14" crappie back to spawn. And by the way, were you guys throwing those 15 and 16" fish back, back then?


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

and i ain t heard about the sheepdog since coreys get togeather...lol...lol 


Thought you'd get a charge out of that one. Take care man.


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## Tatonka (Aug 23, 2007)

chaunc said:


> Plain and simple...... the internet. More people know about these spots now so they see an enormous amount of pressure now. If the lake isn't stocked yearly, there will be a decline in size of fish as most people keep the bigger ones. It's hard to throw a 14" crappie back to spawn. And by the way, were you guys throwing those 15 and 16" fish back, back then?



Well the size and quanity dropped off before the popularity of the Internet and before boards like this, maybe around 1990-1992.
And we threw all of those fish back in the lake back then because at 12-13 years old we hated cleaning fish and it was hard to ride our bikes with a pole and tackle box so a bunch of fish hanging from a stringer would have been hard & messy if they got in the spokes of our bikes, and probably painful too.
Of course if they got in the spokes and didn't kill us the fish may have been cleaned by a trip through the spokes 
When our families kept fish to eat it was from local farm ponds because if we didn't take a certain amount of fish out of those ponds that pond would have "Stunted fish" in no time so the farmers told us if we didn't want to take some home to just throw the small ones up on the bank or in the weeds.


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

You too Chaunc,good fishin.least we got a few pics to show. don t know how to post mine,17 1/2 and 17 3/4 in 15 min.took Big daddy to spot and put one on wall for him,darn nice fish!! i see yours and they are are sweet!!!!


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