Crappie Disappointment

[tightline]

The year is quickly coming to an end and no crappie! I was just wondering if any of you out ther had any theories on what happened this year? I know there are still fish in the lake, so what happened? Will they bite later this month? Will we have a bunker year next year because of the lack of production this year? Should we look at restocking efforts for both crappie and bluegill? Will it help at all? Hey, I want to hear from you because I love Clear Lake and I love crappie!


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[Norm]

Don't know if anyone knows for sure as to what happened to the crappie, or for that matter, how about the bluegill?  There used to be thousands of those little buggers around, so many that they would beat the crappie to the jig.  Now, there's so few around, it'll be a challenge just to catch one bluegill.

A few years ago when shad were in abundance, so were the crappie.  The shad seemed to have disappeared about 3 years ago and the crappie population has been on the decline with each passing year since.  Kono had always been a dependable spot for good winter crappie action but the numbers had been declining every year.  This year, they seemed to have all but disappeared.  It appears that a conclusion can be drawn that with the disappearance of shad, probably a primary food source, the crappie population declined as well.  However, silverside minnows appear to be in abundance.  I've seen huge schools of them at Kono and other parts of the lake, so a lack of a food source does not appear to be the reason for the decline in the crappie population.  I've spoken to a few residents of Clear Lake who've said  that they're just going through a cycle.  That sounds like a logical explanation but is that the same reason why bluegill have practically disappeared as well?  I've heard also that the bass may have been eating a lot of bluegill and small crappie since the disappearance of the shad.  Hard to imagine that the bass can almost wipe them out  ,  and if that were true, why is it then that the bass fishery seems to have declined as well?   If anyone has some answers or theories, please chime in. 

[Hog]

The threadfin shad cycle is well documented but the effect it has on predatory fish (bluegill, crappie, bass) populations are not fully understood. Most people think that because the fishing is good while the shad population is exploding the answer is more shad. This is true to a certain extent, shad are great food for adult predatory fish. The problem is in the recruitment of juvenile fish.  All fish start their life as predators of zooplankton, as they grow many switch to feeding on smaller fish.  It has been well documented that massive populations of shad can almost completely strip the water of zooplankton. Shad are a great food source for adult bass and crappie, but they compete directly with the juveniles for zooplankton. So what results is a top heavy (age and size) population of predatory fish while the shad are expanding, with very few juveniles surviving to replace that eventual decline at the top.  We saw this in the bass population when shad were first introduced into Clear Lake.  The good news is that we saw a good population of young of the year crappie survive past the stage of feeding on zooplankton this year and last and the shad have started to show again, so the cycle may be starting over.

[donniep2217]

I agree with Hog. I do believe it is cyclical. You know what the weirdest thing about the last three or four years is, the way the crappie disappeared from Shag and Kinocti, but stayed thick at Kono. Now, some people will say that they got fished out, but there would still be some fish being caught. Kinocti was just plain empty last year. Shag 5 years ago was so thick with crappie, that you could just throw a crappie jig 2 feet under a bobber and just let it sit there and get bit every cast. I heard people say that the bait disappeared from Kinocti and Shag, but the bait is thick at Kono this year and no fish. As far as the bass being tough. The bite isn't quite as wide open as the last couple of years, but it is pretty dang good. I do firmly believe that as the shad go, so goes the lake. This goes for any other lake as well. In my 15 years of tourney fishing fishing, a good population of shad always makes for better fishing. Silversides and pond smelt are good, but that bait can be really moody about staying in shallow water. Shad seems to always be relatively shallow and that gets bass and crappie active shallow, making for a better bite. I must admit though, we sure got spoiled with that winter crappie bite. I miss it. Got used to making it a big part of my winter fishing. Oh well, just gotta hope they make an appearance and if not, hope the delta doesn't get blown out too bad for stripers. Good fishing!

[len johnson]

Hey guys,
It's been some time since I posted anything, but I've been reading the posts daily.
I also share the cyclical theory on crappie fishing.  If you can remember a couple years ago I stated that Clear Lake would at some time go through this cycle.  I have been fishing lakes in Northern Cal for many years and I have seen the same cycle in all of the lakes that I have fished.  I've seen this cyclye in lakes in San Jose and other lakes.   I saw it happen at New Melones, Amador, Berryessa and all the other foothill lakes.  I've seen these lakes go through tremendous fishing pressure when the bite was hot and still hold up for many years.  I've seen the fish on an extremely hot bite at lakes where the fishing pressure was not so great and the lakes still went through the cycle.  Sometimes it takes many years for another very hot bite to re-occur, but at some point it will happen.

I believe the fish are still there and can be caught, it just takes more patience and perhaps more skill to be able to get them to bite.  I did very well at Clear Lake last winter.  The fish I caught were quality fish, the numbers were just down.  I would rather catch five quality fish any time than a bucket full of small ones.

Last year I had a spot in the delta that was on fire from October until December.  I was catching crappie that were 1lb 2lb with little or no effort in the same spot each time I went.  I have not caught one crappie in the delta since October in that same spot where I was getting them last year.  I know that they are in the delta, because I am reading the reports of people who are catching them.  I just have to use my electronics and have some patience on my trips.

The lakes where I normally catch them this time of year are not yielding any fish either.  I think the strange weather that we have been having all year long has played a major part in the way fish have responded.  I know that at some point I will be on a good bite, but I just don't where it is going to be.

Good luck to all you guys and may you and your families have a blessed and safe Holiday season.

Tight lines,
Len

[tightline]

Great stuff guys! I have caught only a few crappie this year and those were caught on the Sutter Bypass. All of my usually spots have not yielded a fish! I don't if the crappie have gone on strike or what, but I have not heard many reports of people really catching this fish anywhere. If they are being caught, the people catching them are keeping very quite. However, like some of you mention my fall/winter fishing is based around the Clear Lake crappie bite. It has been a great disappointment not to be able to fish the lake for crappie this year. I guess I will have to concentrate on catching them in the spring and summer now, just in case something like this happens again. However, with a whole year of little fishing pressure on them they should make a pretty good come back when they do show up.

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[donniep2217]

Thank the good lord the striper bite on the delta has pretty much been wide open this winter. Just need to find some bigger fish. Do miss the crappie though. A buddy of mine says he knows where big slabs are being caught on the delta, so I will have to see if I can wrestle that info from him. Merry Christmas to all.

[tightline]

donniep2217 if you get that info out of your friend I want to go! Anyway, I hope I can find some slabs this spring somewhere. Does anyone know how the crappie bite is at Indian Valley  Resvior? I pass it all the time on my way to the lake, but I have never fished there. Is the fishing any good there? Any info would help.

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