Brownlee crappie catch records

[Crappie Chaser]

This may be of interest to some of you. Averages based on 322 trips that targeted crappie for 5 hrs or more and a total of 1058 angler days. Anglers of all skill levels, all types of weather, all year long. Only crappie 9"or better were counted. I would like to say more but if I take to long to post I lose all I typed.
2002 = 21 fish per angler per day
2003 = 15 " " " " " "
2004 = 10 " " " " "
2005 = 6 " " " " "
2006 = 7 " " " " "

think it's time for a limit?

[BuKuBass]

"think it's time for a limit?"

Yup.

[BrushApe]

No limit, it is just a cycle crappie go through. They are very prolific and they need to be kept in check or you may get stunting. Small body of water, farm pond, okay, be careful how many you take. Brownlee is huge, no way angling pressure can be that high. In couple years things will be smoking again, just my :twocents: . Looking forward to learning this water soon.

BA

[hunter9]

i go their and catch about 30 a day between 9-13 inches. you got to do a lot of hiking untill you find the school.Im going on the 12th.

[Smj]

Crappie Chaser...Let me say, I think you are, and have been a great resource for ifish and, I never have been able to get over and fish your waters, unfortunatly.

Now....Maybe them crappys are gittin' wise to your methods for ketchen' 'em? You just got to come up with somthin' new to fool 'em!...er... Maybe? Maybe not...

Smj

[B-RUN STEELIE]

I "do" fish Brownlee all the time. While its true that Crappie go through Cycles, I feel that commercial harvest in 2004 and 2005 put a serious dent in the population at the lake. I have no problem with a limit.. in fact have been pushing for it for some time. No person needs more than 25 crappie each on any given day. My early season reports from guys who are just now starting to taget them say they are running small this year, with few if any of the larger fish being found. The one thing that a limit would accomplish, would be to give the F&G a tool to eliminate the commercial fishing that goes on on the Oregon side ( don't laugh, its a fact) they were not as thick last year because the fishing was not that good.

I would also like to see an end to night fishing with lights at the lake. I would rather catch 10 slabs a day than 100 dinks

[retaliate]

Yep!, Commercial fishing has depleted the Crappie #'s for sure, It's time for a limit. I don't expect Brownlee to be very good this year, but with a little management, the Crappie will rebound in few years.:twocents:

[Crappie Chaser]

I just tried to post a reply ,got the "you are not logged in" business and lost it all. In short, it's not natural cycles that affect the crappie population. It's the man-made cycles caused by drawdowns,loss of spawn, etc. Maybe someone who types faster can explain it better.

[retaliate]

No doubt Crappie need a steady water level(preferably full pooll) for the spawning period in Spring, so any disruption in water level during spawning could greatly effect the survival rate.

[shalom]

A 25 fish limit would be great . I am all for it .

[Hunt'nFish]

I just tried to post a reply ,got the "you are not logged in" business and lost it all. In short, it's not natural cycles that affect the crappie population. It's the man-made cycles caused by drawdowns,loss of spawn, etc. Maybe someone who types faster can explain it better.

CC, click the "remember me" box next to your Login. It will not timeout like what it's been doing to ya.
Hunt'nFish

PS: BTW, I'm all in favor of a 25 fish limit w/ only 1 fish over 16" and ban on night light fishing.

[FelonFinder]

Gary

I've been fishing NE Texas for about a year now. It's ironic that in so many states, fishing techniques are allowed (live minnows, yo-yos, trot lines, etc.) that are considered poaching in the PNW. BUT the other states (all that I know of) have limits on crappie. Limits in the PNW are a fine idea for today's situation, but as so often discussed here, F&G admin is so fixated on salmonids that crappie and other warm water fish are essentially on their own. Living in Idaho, I found Idaho Power Co. is not unsympathetic, they pay for warm water fish stocking in some parts of Idaho, but if their bottom line is in jeopardy, I doubt the crappie will trump that. Something should be done which involves limits AND Idaho Power's activities, if at all possible. The spawn is ON down here, we're having fun. Here's a medium sized "white perch" as some down here call them.
http://myweb.cableone.net/holyhen78/cimg2275.jpg

[Super Fluke]

That thing is huge.

[BrushApe]

Forget 25 limit talk, give me five of those puppies and I will be eating fine fine fine:yay: . Thanks for the picture, got me pumped.

[Crappie Chaser]

HuntNFish, thanks, problem solved!
Jason, a white crappie with shoulders! Big fish, especially for a male.
To me, changing the way the water is managed in those dams is a dead horse. The dams weren't built for fishing. Electricity, flood control, irrigation, all these and probably more take precedence over recreational fishing. It will only get worse as the NW grows.The salmon flushes were really devastating, hope those sea lions appreciated it.
The crappie spawn right at the worst time for water fluctuations. All the other species are doing great. There are so many bass that some think they are eating most of the crappie fry. Even with the big fish-kill in 05, last year was fantastic for catfish. Had my best year ever for big bluegill, the kind you can barely get your hand around. Perch just keep getting more plentiful every year. All these are prospering, none of them are targeted by the commercial fishermen either.
On May 1st last year we were 52' below full pool. On May 31 we were full. The black crappie spawned then those eggs were covered up with 52' of snow melt. There's another age class we probably won't be catching 3 yrs from now. An Idaho bio told me 4yrs is an old crappie in Brownlee. I have fished thru several life cycles and it is just not improving.
Even if it were better we need rid of these outfits that come over here to **** the resource. Vandalism, property damage and litter is the mark they leave.
I do think we have a pretty good class of 3 yr old fish, 9-10". If this class is as strong as i think they will be hit hard this spring. It looks like a favorable spring for water conditions.

[B-RUN STEELIE]

My thoughts are mixed on water levels at Brownlee. We were given this warm water fishery in the Hells Canyon complex in exchange for one of the largest runs of Salmon and steelhead on earth. Don't get me wrong, I love fishing there. However, I believe that the fish in that lake are incidental to the true fish in the northwest and that the water itself needs to be managed with that in mind. The Salmon draw downs, while harmfull to the crappie fishing "are" needed. Case in point. The large draw downs of 1997 ( the one where everyone played including the BPA and the Columbia river complex ) Proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that all Salmon need is water for out migration. In return, we got the largest returning number of Salmon in Idaho since the lower Snake complex was built, and even the largest in the last 50 years. This was followed by another year of very good numbers of even larger fish from the same out migration class.

From there we have returned to very poor numbers and in fact, there will be no season in Idaho this year or probably any other year in the future. The fantastic fishing that was found in the Columbia river in recent years past is also history. Those huge runs were created by man ( just like they were destroyed by man ) It was water, plain and simple.

This is not a popular opinon on a warm water board. However, trading crappie for salmon is a bad move on any front.

There are things that can be done to help Brownlee that have not been done. The management has been for maximim harvest to the point that it really hurts the resource. I spend alot of time there in the spring and summer. I have seen the commercial harvest and its a bigger deal than many can imagine. They can't stop it because they have no law to use as a tool to nail these folks. I also am disturbed by the total lack of team work between the IDFG and the ODFW. This complex is managed in unison. Things that I see that really bother me are Grandpa camped at Richland or Woodhead with a chest freezer plugged in.. Nobody needs that many fish. Anything legal gets harvested ( because its legal ) There needs to be a limit, everyone knows it. I was up in the Powder river arm camped out two years ago. Some guys were out on one of the floating house docks with a large floating light. In the A.M we motored over and were talking to them and they had something over 200 crappies ranging from 6- 13 inches ( two guys) Two limits of bass, and several catfish. Thats just stupid. However, thats legal, and they did it several nights in a row. These guys were just your avg Joes and not involved with the large commercial operation that sets up between Spring and the Powder.

I say concentrate on what can be done. Requests to manage the complex at the expence of Salmon and steelhead is going to fall on deaf ears. I don't support it. I do love the lake and what it offers however, and see lots of issues than can make an certain impact and improve what there is to work with.

[retaliate]

For the most part Brownlee has been at full pool during the crappie spawn, usually in May when the water temp is 58 deg. & warming, last year they were doing Dam repairs, which was bad news for Crappie, & the reason I didn't go last year, I usually go the end of April, or early May, last time we went in 2005 we got there at dusk, & the whole Cove(Hibbard) was lined with lanterns...all commercial fishermen, they fish 24 hrs a day until their coolers are full, this trend has steadily increased thruout the years, & now we have a Overfishing problem that has depleted Crappie #'s greatly IMO,
It's time for a limit.

[FelonFinder]

B, I think you have made some very sane comments. I haven't seen these commercial outfits, but can you explain if they are legally doing this or is this the bunch of (a certain ethnicity) fish market folks from Portland/Seattle? Warm water fish may be incidental, but I sure love them anyway!

[walleye head]

we go every june. catfish for fun and crappies to fillet. some years the big crappies are tough to catch and some they seem to be all over. but i only fish with plugs and dont catch the small ones. we have a 4 year average of 10 inches on crappies to the boat. in 4 years i never have caught a crappie under 8 inches on the plug. i fish out of huntington. catch limits would be good but most of the people keeping hundreds are keeping alot of small ones. People keeping the small ones makes big ones. willow creek res. out of heppner has thousands of crappies but not one over 8 inches. people need to keep the small ones and thin them out some. over population. my :twocents: