Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Help (crappie)

There is one other way that can help your crappie dilemma. I know of 3 separate biologists who mechanically harvested crappie using trapnets. These guys fished the nets and literally caught thousands of crappie and took them out of the lake. There isn't a good formula to determine just how many crappie to remove. According to their results, they had better crappie size structure and growth for the next 3 years after they removed the crappie. None of the studies (to my knowledge) evaluated the technique for more than 3 years, but all 3 guys were pleased with the results. This was done at a slightly larger scale than your 16 acre lake, so I think there is some potential for you. Although most trapnetting is done in the fall, I would recommend you set the nets during the early spring to help remove some pre-spawn fish. The nets aren't cheap, but they will likely help you fight your battle. Check with memphis net and twine or miller net for prices. Other companies also make the trapnets, but you'll have to do some searching around tofind out who.

A bunch of five inch crappie isn't want you want. Reducing their numbers will allow better growth. It would be really nice if you could determine the age of the 5 inchers. This would let you know if poor growth due to competition is indeed your situation. In most cases it is. Too bad you don't know when the crappie were stocked. Good luck.