Help! I need crappie!

[top_dollar]

There is not much pressure on table rock compared to crappie factories like reel foot.  Crappie are the rabbits of the fish world.  Their fry are defenseless and get eaten in huge numbers, but they reproduce so abundantly that a few will always survive.  They do well in lakes with low visibility and/lots of shallow vegetation as predators have a harder time finding them.  Table rock is just poor habitat for crappie numbers (clear water, little vegetation)....but its perfect habitat for very big crappies.   The few that make it to adulthood grow very fast and consume large forage.  

Lake kincaid in southern illinois is a perfect example of the perfect crappie lake, relatively clear water and lots of shallow vegetation, good mix.of hard and soft bottom..which is why its full of huge numbers of good sized crappie and 2-3# fish are not unheard of.

Mark twain in northern missouri is a good example too many fry surviving. Its a generally muddy lake, with lots of shallow debris and vegetation.  As a result there are 7 to 9 inch crappie anywhere and everywhere on that lake.

[Buckethead]

There is also no length limit on Twain which plays into the lack of quality fish. I've seen people with a limit of 7-9" fish and feel like they've hit the lottery.  Of course there's the folks who live close and can fish regularly and have figured out how and where to catch the above average fish. That's true on any lake though.