Kim City - Dec 28 - Deep main lake

[Smithvillesteve]

Thats a slab Waterpossum!!  I am concerned with all the new methods we are using to catch crappies. I'm 70 yrs old so i am old school. First it was the spider rigs. I would see two guys coming down the water with 10 rods out. Now its the FFS. Someone mentioned on here that it has really made the crappie fishing easy, a lot more so than bass. I have people tell me that as long as they are staying within the limit why does it matter how they catch them? Its a valid argument. I just dont like it boys!!

[DavidB]

At the risk of exhausting a topic, allow me to add that many of the guides on Toledo Bend have shifted from bass fishing to crappie.  There are numerous guides on the lake with pontoon boats, who have scattered hundreds of brush piles around Toledo's 186,000 acres.

Locating and catching crappie from the brush piles, using GPS and FFS, is far easier for them than chasing largemouth and spots, and makes for a more reliable payday.  This scenario has played out for several years now, and the crappie population seems to be holding up well.  They're extremely prolific.

We do have an issue with far too many bass fishermen keeping their catch, with too many keeping undersized (14" limit) fish.  We have very little on the water enforcement, unfortunately.  Toledo can be tough, but the 10 pounders show up in numbers every year, if you care to come and try your luck!

See you on the water again this April.  Can't wait!

[Champ188]

On 1/1/2023 at 12:51 PM, waterpossum said:

This was only 16" but weighed 1-12

Still a big, big crappie. A 2-pounder is huge. Lots of people honestly THINK they've caught one when the fish actually only weighs 1-8 to 1-12. 

I was fortunate to catch a 3-4 once on a private lake in Hot Springs Village, Ark. Was throwing a Shad Rap in winter and reeling it quite slow for bass when the thing inhaled it. Heckuva fight on 6-pound line. Never got a pic because the marina was closed and it was pre-cellphone days. Just couldn't bear to kill the thing by dragging it home for a pic.

[Ham]

52 minutes ago, Champ188 said:

Still a big, big crappie. A 2-pounder is huge. Lots of people honestly THINK they've caught one when the fish actually only weighs 1-8 to 1-12. 

Yeah, it’s laughable when guys say that got a limit of 2 lbers when maybe all their fish go 12 inches.

a true 2 lb crappie is a special fish. I might have one. Might.

I appreciate you releasing a giant rather than killing it to stroke your ego. I wish that core value would spread throughout the fishing community. 

[waterpossum]

On 1/2/2023 at 12:15 PM, Smithvillesteve said:

Thats a slab Waterpossum!!  I am concerned with all the new methods we are using to catch crappies. I'm 70 yrs old so i am old school. First it was the spider rigs. I would see two guys coming down the water with 10 rods out. Now its the FFS. Someone mentioned on here that it has really made the crappie fishing easy, a lot more so than bass. I have people tell me that as long as they are staying within the limit why does it matter how they catch them? Its a valid argument. I just dont like it boys!!

I'm with you 100%. I am 78 and still get around pretty good. The video fishing is not my cup of tea. Since dad first took me about 70 years ago the thrill of fishing was always about the anticipation for me. Some days the bite never occurred a few days a year were good and just ever once in awhile phenomenal. I do understand the fascination with watching fish bite and being able to follow them around, but falling in with a pack of boats to catch fish is not for me. I recently had routine service work on my boat. Yesterday I put in at State Park Marina to run it out. As I passed the outer barrier wall there were 12 boats crappie fishing. All within a 50 yard radius. This is the new norm. Drive to the 245 bridge when the crappie arrive. There may be as many as 25 boats in a cluster. When I loaded out yesterday one another boat was taking out. They had 42 crappie. He said most of the boats had or were near limits. But they assured me crappie populations couldn't be hurt. I don't believe that one bit.