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Fished Owyhee yesterday. Decided not to take the boat, since we couldn't get out of Boise until noon. If you could find the right spots, they were catching them two at a time. Many other spots didn't produce. The problem is that a crew from Washington had the good spots nailed down, and it was quite a production. Tons of large coolers, and they were dumping 5 gallon buckets into the coolers with regularity. I'm sure they had crappie in the 1000's. No exageration. I also saw this at Brownlee a few years ago at the cemetery. Large crew from Portland with well over 30 giant coolers. I was told they own restaurants, and use the fish for that purpose. Anyway, we fished by the ramp, and caught more than enough to satisfy the grandson. Gave the fish to a nece couple. Mike
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Thanks for the report Mike. I'm not familiar with Owyhee, guessing there is no limit on crappie there? Also guessing they were keeping every crappie they caught too?
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Wow, that's crazy. Nothing like depleteing our resources.
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Not saying it’s right, or that I agree with it, but the bank access at owyhee is limited and the number of crappie in that reservoir is unbelievable. It would take groups of people like that lining the banks from the dam to the head of the reservoir to deplete the population. Now... the principal is the principal, but there is a reason there aren’t limits.
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Owyhee Res is in Nevada isn't it?
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I understand why there aren't limits. Fishing on that scale will hurt fish populations at some point.
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It's on Idaho/Oregon border.
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Actually it's well inside Oregon and you need a non resident license.
$21 a day. Best to get the annual license if you're going to be spending time there.
Thinning them out let's the rest get larger!
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I've seen that type of fishermen on Brownies and they have ruined the large crappie fishing. I believe there should be a limit set to stop this type of thing. Large crappie should be promoted and protected just like many of the other species. Game and Fish where are you?
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[quote fallsfish]I've seen that type of fishermen on Brownies and they have ruined the large crappie fishing. I believe there should be a limit set to stop this type of thing. Large crappie should be promoted and protected just like many of the other species. Game and Fish where are you?[/quote]
I agree, that type of fishing has got to be on the verge of commercial fishing.
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Oregon, I think .
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I fished Brownlee and CJ Strike but never got out on Owyhee. All three lakes have large reaches of shore not accessible to bank anglers and a long run for boats too. Crappie are so cyclic that it seemed you had to find the lake that was hot. The fish just die out and the cycle starts over. The Big 3 lakes there always seem to have one that is really on for crappie. Owyhee always had the mercury issue that made it less desirable to keep fish. I would be reluctant to load up on very many of them. A years supply would be out of the question. I am surprised the health department doesn't shut it down.
It is fun to catch crappie in the numbers and size those lakes produce. Ive cleaned a few coolers full.
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I grew up a few miles from the road to the Owyhee and fished it constantly. The crappie in that lake are stunted because of numbers and in my opinion are too small generally to even bother filleting, I say keep hauling them out. If they could make a dent in the population I would be impressed. When I was a teenager (pre-911) we would fish right off the dam, I remember on several occasions the DWR officer telling us to kill all the crappie we caught even if we weren't keeping them. That lake has in the neighborhood of 125 miles of shoreline, only a few(<10) are accessible without considerable effort and some fun 4 wheel drive action or a boat.
FYI mercury warning because of upstream mining for years. If someone is really selling these fish in a restaurant I wonder if they are posting the mercury warning.[crazy][crazy][sly]
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There was a discussion about allowing commercial purse seining for stripers at Powell a few years. Wayne said it might help stop the boom and bust but the public outcry would not be worth the benefit. Fishermen would not be happy about sharing their boil. So we have a lake full of two pound fish.
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