FISH LIMIT LAKES FOR CRAPPIE ANYTIME

You can consistently catch more big crappie by fishing lakes that have more restrictive length and bag limits than most other lakes do. Fifteen or 20 years ago, many fisheries biologists preached the gospel of catching and eating all the crappie you could. Because the crappie had such a tremendous reproductive cycle, fisheries biologists believed that you never could catch all the crappie out of a lake.

Today however, research has tended to indicate that although you may not catch all the crappie out of a lake, you may take all the big crappie from a lake. A heavy harvest of crappie on a certain year class may be partially responsible for the boom or bust pattern we've seen in crappie lakes throughout the nation. Today many state departments of conservation have enacted length and more-restrictive catch limits than we've seen in the past, on the advice of fisheries biologists.

I've found that the lakes I fish that have a 10-inch length limit for crappie consistently produce more big crappie than the lakes with a 9-inch length limit or no length limit. These limits allow the younger crappie to survive until they reach the older age classes, put on heavy body weights and become a more prized catch for the fisherman than the crappie on the lakes with little or no restrictions.

These proven tactics will help you pinpoint crappie and fight them to your boat.

Check back each day this week for more about fighting tactics for monster crappie...

Day 1 - Use Bass Baits For Spawning Crappie
Day 2 - Fish Deep With Tiny Jigs For Post-spawn Crappie
Day 3 - Fish Hidden Spots Anytime
Day 4 - Become Structure Oriented To Crappie Fish Anytime
Day 5 - Fish Limit Lakes For Crappie Anytime

John's Journal