# crappie size and keeping



## jonnythfisherteen2

I was out fishing during the rain at a local place (not saying where) and was doing surprisingly well. took 2 hours but steady retrieving a BPS road runner knockoff produced some hits. eventually figured out how they were biting and started jigging it. caught a 10 inch o so crappie. saw it had eggs and released it. tied on a 1/80 oz jig and tipped it with half a beetle grub, and cast it near shore. I was watching it closely and it disappeared. I knew it was a crappie, but it fought really hard and felt a bit too heavy. I reel it in and its a 12 1/2 inch black crappie. my personal best!








but, was it a good idea to throw back the younger ones and keep this older fish? I was wondering this all evening.


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## Fish'n what bites

10 inch with eggs I'd throw back. I've kept a few big ones I thought were meaty but had eggs. Didn't mean to though, my wife and I believe in karma when it comes to fishing. If I have to try and make a fish hit limit on the ruler I throw it back. If its carrying eggs it goes back. When it comes to crappie if it's not 10" I'm throwing it back 9 times out of 10 just because the meat isn't there to justify the time to filet it. I'd say you made a good call, got to remember that even though crappie reproduce well, the smaller ones are a good food source for the bigger fish we all like to catch also like walleye, muskie, bass, even other crappie and so on. Just my 2 cents, nice job on the catch in the pic by the way.

"A bad day fishing beats a day at work anytime!"


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## crappiedude

Nice fish Jonny.
Keeping female crappie has been a debate for a long time. I honestly don't think keeping a few will matter too much one way or the other. Crappie will start to develop eggs very early in the year so finding a female with egg sacks in Jan is very possible and i have caught them into June with eggs so you could possibly miss half the season of not keeping any fish. Even if a crappie is post spawn it will still have eggs the following year. So a female is a female regardless of what part of the cycle she is in. 

Now with that said, I do think over harvest will and can hurt a fishery. I wish Ohio had a 15 fish @10" limit on crappie. Even if they stayed with a 9" limit, 15 fish per person is plenty. Most people don't catch 30 so the limit is not effective.


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## Bucket Mouth

I woulda kept it. Crappies are too thin when they are in the single digits in length. I C&R all my fish until I deplete my stash (I usually keep 5 or 6 meals) but when I am keeping 'em, I'm targeting 10"-12" fish to keep. If they're beasts they go back in and if they're runts they go back in.


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## buckzye11

Congrats on your PB, nice one!
If you do keep one with eggs, fry the egg sack just like you would a filet... dip, bread and fry. Taste like popcorn! no kidding. 
I don't hesitate keeping some with eggs... also, i make sure some females go back even if they are legal size.


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## jonnythfisherteen2

yeah, I think the limits need to be changed some more. in a way to PREVENT not FIX any problems coming from over harvest.


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## youngbuckohio

How about not worrying about the limits being changed and actually get ODNR to enforce the restrictions! I have seen way too many people here recently catching 6-7 inch dink crappie and throwing them in a bucket. When I approach them and advise them that there is a 9 inch min on them they usaully shrug their shoulders and keep fishing. It goes the same with saugeye. People dont get it until they ruin the fishing and wander how it got that way.


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## jonnythfisherteen2

that's a good point. I see people keeping undersized crappie all the time. they need to heed the size limits or and other regs. they are there for a reason. at that pond, the average for the crappie were 10 inches.


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## Row v. Wade

jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> that's a good point. I see people keeping undersized crappie all the time. they need to heed the size limits or and other regs. they are there for a reason. at that pond, the average for the crappie were 10 inches.


Shouldn't you be in algebra? :T


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## jonnythfisherteen2

I hate math actually. no school for me today sooo...yeah. the average for the fish I caught, which was about 10 fish


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## youngbuckohio

private ponds are different since they are up to the regulations of the owner of the pond. If I had a pond nothing under 10 and nothing over 12-13 would be harvested. That is the best size in my opinion for eating. But then again most of the time I throw back my fish because I know people out there are not following the rules and I will do my best to help if I can.


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## Smallmouth Crazy

The state says 9" on most lakes but I might bump that up to 10 or so, I got into a descent mess of them lastnight and threw them all back.


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## fishintechnician

i personally think the size limit should be at 11'', i know alot of guys would hate that but in 2-3 years after it is implemented you would see alot more 12'' plus fish. I know alot of the great southern crappie fisheries have a 12'' limit. I dont think the 30 fish limit is that big a deal, as someone else mentioned most dont get that many anyway. And my take on fish w eggs is it wont hurt to take a few. If all were left there would be an abundance of dinks.


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## chaunc

fishintechnician said:


> i personally think the size limit should be at 11'', i know alot of guys would hate that but in 2-3 years after it is implemented you would see alot more 12'' plus fish. I know alot of the great southern crappie fisheries have a 12'' limit. I dont think the 30 fish limit is that big a deal, as someone else mentioned most dont get that many anyway. And my take on fish w eggs is it wont hurt to take a few. If all were left there would be an abundance of dinks.


Think about what you just said. " if all were left there would be an abundance of dinks." An 11" size limit on most NORTHERN lakes would hurt them more than help them. Crappies spawn at or around 9". There will be billions of little crappies every year fighting for food. It'll be dink city if you're not taking some of them out.


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## Intimidator

You guys don't have to worry about Crappies most of the time......they are prolific spawners and can over-populate a lake quickly...like Chaunc said, you need to take the 9's and 10's or they get stunted if food is scarce!
Everything has to be in balance.
Myself, I'll keep different sizes...my Mother and Aunts like 9 inch fish scaled, gutted, head off, and fried...they pick through the bones. I like Big filets.
The fish at our lake have massive amounts of food...9 inch fish are fat and tasty!
I will however put back anything over 14 inches...I figure it was smart enough to survive that long and we need that gene pool surviving!


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## RebelWithACause122

I will almost always throw back a 10" crappie... although I don't actually measure crappie when I catch them. When I catch a crappie (and I happen to fishing for keeps) I can tell at a glance if it's one that I feel has enough meat to justify the cleaning. The smallest ones that I tend to keep are 10.5 to 11". I'd rather clean 6 or 8 crappie that are 11-13 inches than clean 15 to 20 that are 9 or 10 inches. I don't knock the people that keep the 9s and 10s (although I have been known to get upset with people keeping undersized ones)... and some lakes are very much in need of 9-10s being harvested. Since every lake is different, it's hard to make "one-size-fits-all" regulations... which is why some lakes are exempt from the 9" minimum. However, it would get very complicated if the regs were truely on a lake-by-lake basis... this lake has an 11" minimum and a limit of 10 while that lake has an 8" minimum and a limit of 30 would make the laws very difficult to keep straight.

All that being said (which is just my opinion, not trying to persuade anyone else) congrats on the 12.5 incher... that's a nice fish. If you keep at it while they're still close to shore, you just may get that 13+ FISH OHIO crappie. I've never caught a FO crappie from shore before (I tend to get them offshore in the summertime from my kayak) but I know people who have right here in the Akron area. Good luck out there.


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## fishintechnician

chaunc said:


> Think about what you just said. " if all were left there would be an abundance of dinks." An 11" size limit on most NORTHERN lakes would hurt them more than help them. Crappies spawn at or around 9". There will be billions of little crappies every year fighting for food. It'll be dink city if you're not taking some of them out.


I agree some what but you have to take into account predation, I live on a very small lake with a good crappie population and has some hogs in it. We have a lot of small shad for them to eat, and also alot of BIG catfish, and bass that take down that number of yearling crappie every year. I saw this fisrt hand, used to be 10-15 years ago you could sink your boat with crappie but all around 6-8''. Years later after these predatory fish have established them selves and they eat what they can get. Our average size crappie is up to about 11'' now. Now in most res around home there are alot more predators that will help keep the dinks in check. I just think that there is plenty enough forage for the lakes around here to produce alot bigger fish than what they do. I belive a good portion of 9-11'' fish will be harvested year in and year out. This doesnt leave a huge stock to grow up to be brutes. I dont know just a thought I guesse. I know the lakes around here have the potential to produce some great fish, but I am no biologist, maybe I just need to come and fish with you chaunc, you certainly know how to find the slabs!! haha


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## chaunc

fishintechnician said:


> I agree some what but you have to take into account predation, I live on a very small lake with a good crappie population and has some hogs in it. We have a lot of small shad for them to eat, and also alot of BIG catfish, and bass that take down that number of yearling crappie every year. I saw this fisrt hand, used to be 10-15 years ago you could sink your boat with crappie but all around 6-8''. Years later after these predatory fish have established them selves and they eat what they can get. Our average size crappie is up to about 11'' now. Now in most res around home there are alot more predators that will help keep the dinks in check. I just think that there is plenty enough forage for the lakes around here to produce alot bigger fish than what they do. I belive a good portion of 9-11'' fish will be harvested year in and year out. This doesnt leave a huge stock to grow up to be brutes. I dont know just a thought I guesse. I know the lakes around here have the potential to produce some great fish, but I am no biologist, maybe I just need to come and fish with you chaunc, you certainly know how to find the slabs!! haha


I've read as many books and articles that i could find on crappies. Studied their migration routes on my home lake and a few other lakes too. I can find them because i know what to look for, and how to look for them, and where to look for them. Believe me. I'm not lucky. I work hard to be good at finding crappies. You can too. Read, study, and practice what you've read. You'll be slammin em year round too.


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## Intimidator

chaunc said:


> I've read as many books and articles that i could find on crappies. Studied their migration routes on my home lake and a few other lakes too. I can find them because i know what to look for, and how to look for them, and where to look for them. Believe me. I'm not lucky. I work hard to be good at finding crappies. You can too. Read, study, and practice what you've read. You'll be slammin em year round too.


AMEN!
That's the best advice there is, to become a better Crappie fisherman.


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## fishintechnician

Ive been working on it, and am steadily gettign better but still dont have the results you do. And I didnt mean any disrespect in sayin your lucky. I, sure you put in more work in a month than most do all season.


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## kamikazil

chaunc said:


> I've read as many books and articles that i could find on crappies. Studied their migration routes on my home lake and a few other lakes too. I can find them because i know what to look for, and how to look for them, and where to look for them. Believe me. I'm not lucky. I work hard to be good at finding crappies. You can too. Read, study, and practice what you've read. You'll be slammin em year round too.


Is it possible to find crappies all the time from shore? I'm curious because I'm stuck on shore till I save up for a boat or yak.


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## Cajunsaugeye

Answer to that is MAYBE.It would depend on lots of factors.Depth reachable from shore,cover,Baitfish,how much area is accessible from shore and other things.I would say if bank access isn't crazy limited and there's decent numbers there,the only time it'd be difficult might be summer.Again,to many factors to give a definite answer.

Sent from my VS870 4G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Intimidator

kamikazil said:


> Is it possible to find crappies all the time from shore? I'm curious because I'm stuck on shore till I save up for a boat or yak.


YES!...if you have deep water that can be reached from shore, or cover that is in shade during the day or can provide shade, that you can reach....or feeding shallows that you can reach at night!
Boat docks, Marinas, or other lighted areas draw bugs and baitfish and turn into Crappie feeding areas at night!
In the summer Crappie mainly eat from dusk til dawn into the early morning...they will eat during the day if it is an easy meal and presented properly!
Crappie have Fantastic HD vision and use it as an advantage at night!


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## kamikazil

Intimidator said:


> YES!...if you have deep water that can be reached from shore, or cover that is in shade during the day or can provide shade, that you can reach....or feeding shallows that you can reach at night!
> Boat docks, Marinas, or other lighted areas draw bugs and baitfish and turn into Crappie feeding areas at night!
> In the summer Crappie mainly eat from dusk til dawn into the early morning...they will eat during the day if it is an easy meal and presented properly!
> Crappie have Fantastic HD vision and use it as an advantage at night![/QU
> 
> I use to fish skeeter from the shore for them and got some but not amazing numbers, but man I really did make a killer on cats there lots of times. Im looking for a new lake to try in northeast Ohio any hints on what would be best from shore, planing on going out tonight if weather permits. I was thinking lake Rockwell nims or mogadore but nothing definite, might even walk the erie canal and try for some.


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## buckzye11

kamikazil said:


> Intimidator said:
> 
> 
> 
> YES!...if you have deep water that can be reached from shore, or cover that is in shade during the day or can provide shade, that you can reach....or feeding shallows that you can reach at night!
> Boat docks, Marinas, or other lighted areas draw bugs and baitfish and turn into Crappie feeding areas at night!
> In the summer Crappie mainly eat from dusk til dawn into the early morning...they will eat during the day if it is an easy meal and presented properly!
> Crappie have Fantastic HD vision and use it as an advantage at night![/QU
> 
> I use to fish skeeter from the shore for them and got some but not amazing numbers, but man I really did make a killer on cats there lots of times. Im looking for a new lake to try in northeast Ohio any hints on what would be best from shore, planing on going out tonight if weather permits. I was thinking lake Rockwell nims or mogadore but nothing definite, might even walk the erie canal and try for some.
> 
> 
> 
> After seeing those huge crappie from Rockwell id like to try there! Nimi has been good from shore.... about a 1 in 3 keeper ratio. North rez has been good from shore too... fish the rip rap area off Portage Lakes Dr, lots of keepers. Erie canal around here has way more gills and Bass then Crappie.
Click to expand...


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## kamikazil

buckzye11 said:


> kamikazil said:
> 
> 
> 
> After seeing those huge crappie from Rockwell id like to try there! Nimi has been good from shore.... about a 1 in 3 keeper ratio. North rez has been good from shore too... fish the rip rap area off Portage Lakes Dr, lots of keepers. Erie canal around here has way more gills and Bass then Crappie.
> 
> 
> 
> Ill take gills anytime off they are big enough to eat, and as for bass who doesn't like a good fight from them, but too bad they don't taste like sea bass.
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## chaunc

Get a map of the lakes you'd like to fish from shore and find where the river channel swings in closest to shore, if it has a river channel in it. This will PROBABLY be the best spot year round to fish from shore. If the channel has a sharp bend back out towards deeper water, there MAY be brush pushed into that corner. It really doesn't matter how deep it is, it will hold fish. Will take some time and baits to get to learn how to fish it best but it will be well worth it once you learn it. Jig and bobber or slideing bobber and minnow just above, outside of, or behind the downwind section should produce fish. If you post any picture of your spot online, prepare to have a lot of company. Most folks will let you do all the work finding these type spots and move in when they get the chance. I'm talking from experience. Been there, done that.


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## mlayers

I can take u to a small lake and u can not catch a crappie bigger then 7". You can fish all day and u can catch over a hundred crappies so what size would u say to keep here. Oh yea these fish will have eggs even if they are only around 5 to 6" big. I say it is over populated and some of these fish need to be taken out. So hit it to me guy am what I am saying is wrong take fish out or not.


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## chaunc

Take fish. Take lots of fish. Couple hundred a month might help cut down the population but dont expect to catch 11" fish for a couple years.


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## mlayers

oh chaunc I do take fish. I did this to a small pond that had gills in it that u was luck to catch a 5" gill. I started taking them out by the bucket full. I would fillet the bigger one 3" and over and I would use the smaller one on my trap line for *****. Now I can go to that lake and every now and then catch a fish Ohio fish over 9".


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