I predict a great crappie year in 2009: How's that for going out on a limb?

Flooding in 2008 in Missouri resulted in strong survival rates for young-of-the-year crappie, as well as excellent shad production in waters across the state. Photo by Keith Sutton.

After talking with several fisheries management biologists and reviewing the weather conditions experienced in Missouri last year, I found that it wasn't hard to make the prediction.

In 2008, Missouri experienced one of the wettest years on record. Rainfall exceeded 50 inches in places. Reservoirs expanded into overflow lands early and late; small impoundments and ponds filled and then overflowed; rivers flooded.

But that same flooding afforded crappie populations a buffer during the 2008 fishing season, and, as a result, survival of young-of-the-year and yearling crappie was good to outstanding. Shad production was also outstanding, prompting Missouri Department of Conservation biologists to predict good reproduction in 2009. All told, spring fishing should be outstanding this year.

For many years, anglers and biologists believed that crappie in large lakes often drifted into overpopulation resulting in many small crappie and few large individuals. At that time, biologists felt that the solution was to increase harvests.

That was then; this is now. MDC researchers ultimately disproved the theory. The crappie populations weren't "stunted;" rather, they were overharvested and simply weren't living long enough to grow large. Anglers harvested fish as soon as they reached an acceptable size, usually 6 to 8 inches. As Walt Kelly's Pogo said: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Most of Missouri's popular crappie lakes now have a minimum-length limit that allows crappie to live three years and longer and grow to at least 9 or 10 inches before being harvested. One interesting side note: Biologists also found that, even with the high length limit and reduced creel, crappie anglers actually harvested more eatable meat than they had before the regulation change.

Most large lakes produce legal crappie two or three years after they've hatched. Spring spawners provide the early flush of great crappie fishing each year, later in the year, as 2- and 3-year-old crappie grow to legal size. They sustain the fishery.

Depending on the lake in question, we've had several years of good to great crappie production in Missouri. When you combine production with high water in 2008 and a reduction in crappie harvest, you have the makings of a great crappie year in 2009.

Join me as I explore what crappie anglers can expect at several of Missouri's large lakes and talk with MDC biologists responsible for the great fishing. During the journey I'll provide fishing tips to improve your crappie angling success.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS
Year in and year out, Lake of the Ozarks is one of Missouri's best crappie lakes. Based on 2008 angling results and high water levels, MDC management biologist Greg Stoner expects more of the same in 2009.

He cautioned that the crappie harvest over the last two years had declined slightly, but anglers reported nice catches of 12- to 14-inch crappie, with an occasional 14- to 16-inch individual to sweeten the creel.

Stoner explained that the high water this past year also triggered good plankton blooms that allowed for good survival of young-of-the year crappie. Those crappie will enter the creel late in 2009 and in 2010.

He also explained that MDC had established brushpiles in several locations to attract crappie. Lake of the Ozarks is unique. During construction, builders removed all timber in the basin. The brushpiles improve fish habitat in the lake.

To locate brushpiles, Stoner suggested visiting the MDC Web site, www.mdc.mo.gov/. Click on the state map at the bottom of the opening page for additional information about lakes and brushpiles.