02-18-2010, 11:50 AM
Before we all go half cocked and call for limits, you have to consider... Is this really a problem? Remember, just because people take a lot of crappie doesn't mean it's a problem. CJ is a big body of water, and crappies are extremely prolific. There can be so many of them that they overpopulate and stunt their growth. Sure, 1,800 fish sounds like a lot, but check out the crappie reproduction numbers in this PDF:
http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/crappie_bro.pdf
"Females weighing 1/2 pound will contain about 30,000 eggs, and as many as 213,000 eggs have been counted in a 1-1/2 pound fish."
I highly doubt that the crappie is in any danger of going extinct in CJ Strike anytime soon, if every angler in the state descended on the reservoir and kept every fish they caught. Overall, fishing pressure in Idaho is extremely light compared to other areas of the country. There just aren't as many people, and most of the people that are here don't fish. Of those that do, a lot of them don't have access to a boat.
There were a couple of days last year during the spring and summer when I was able to pull out around 100 crappies in a day of fishing. Some I threw back. Some I ate, and some are still in the freezer. But those days were balanced out by days where I didn't get a single one.
While catch and release is good, and I do a lot of it myself, there's nothing wrong with keeping fish for the table where it's legal. If I were to catch a 5 pound trout, he'd probably end up battered and fried.
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http://www.agfc.com/pdfs/free/crappie_bro.pdf
"Females weighing 1/2 pound will contain about 30,000 eggs, and as many as 213,000 eggs have been counted in a 1-1/2 pound fish."
I highly doubt that the crappie is in any danger of going extinct in CJ Strike anytime soon, if every angler in the state descended on the reservoir and kept every fish they caught. Overall, fishing pressure in Idaho is extremely light compared to other areas of the country. There just aren't as many people, and most of the people that are here don't fish. Of those that do, a lot of them don't have access to a boat.
There were a couple of days last year during the spring and summer when I was able to pull out around 100 crappies in a day of fishing. Some I threw back. Some I ate, and some are still in the freezer. But those days were balanced out by days where I didn't get a single one.
While catch and release is good, and I do a lot of it myself, there's nothing wrong with keeping fish for the table where it's legal. If I were to catch a 5 pound trout, he'd probably end up battered and fried.
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