DOUGLAS LAKE CRAPPIE?

By Perry Hensley

Let me start this article by stating first that I have debated about writing on this subject simply because it is so touchy with Crappie Anglers that I know on Douglas Lake. I have fished the lakes of Douglas and Cherokee most of my life for crappie.

I myself have noticed the amount of crappie caught between the years of 2017-2023 have seemingly declined from year to year (in my opinion). I have a lot of anglers tossing around blame on a number of things to do with the crappie population, but at the same time I’ve also experienced legitimate facts being tossed around in conversations myself.

Now! I don’t not claim to be a marine biologist at all or a expert of crappie behavior and reproduction, nor do I have a definite answer as to why the crappie numbers seem so low on Douglas Lake in recent years. Something I do know is the numbers of crappie caught in 2017 was sometimes 200 a day/trip with a lot of those being 4 inch fish with the occasional keeper.

In 2018 we were all catching those 9 ¾ inch fish with the occasional keeper crappie. Now by fall-spring 2019 it seemed as if the majority of fisherman were catching limits from Walters Bridge area to the Muddy Creek area. And with all that being said, let me share what I know about what my crappie fishing was like after 2019. Some limits were being caught with most of those containing 10-11 inch fish with an occasional short fish or two. Since 2020 I myself caught several 12 inch fish, and most of those days I had limits of fish ranging from 10-12 inches. But my limits of fish were less frequent.

As an educated observation, we as Anglers must acknowledge a list of factors as to why the numbers seem so low on Douglas at this time. Now this list would include factors such as flooding due to heavy rains near the height or just after the spawn, the TVA draw down being unsteady due to the flooding, water temps and, of course, other weather factors.

First off lets address the weather. In recent years the weather has been so unpredictable in the Southeast. As a result the lake gets unsteady water temperatures, which in turn draw the crappie to the bank. Then a cold front would move through and the crappie would return to deeper water until that water temperature was stable again. Since not all crappie spawn at the same time, some of those crappie that had moved in may have spawned in shallow water.

Now Douglas being a TVA controlled lake, we must understand that any heavy rainfall or flooding above will flow through Douglas and TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) must open the gates to let water flow so other areas will not flood. If there were any fertilized eggs those would be washed down stream and would possibly be destroyed by the current or eaten by other fish.

If we were to think of all these factors and with this happening back to back combined with the ease of catching limits in previous years one would be right to think that has played a huge roll in the low numbers of crappie being caught here in 2023. Let us not forget that a lot of fry stage crappie get eaten by a number of predators in Douglas Lake. Add all this with the fact that not all anglers are honest and abide by the rules and regulations set forth by the TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency.

My final thoughts on this matter are this: I think previous years, having better spawns and possibly some stocking on Douglas Lake, that some Anglers assume and expect that the following year should be good or just as good as the previous, and I am guilty of this logic myself. But the reality of it is that the numbers are always subject to all the factors I mentioned earlier.

In closing I would say not to blame any one factor and lets stop pointing fingers. How about instead we voice our concerns/opinions on the matter civilly to those who are in charge of taking care of our resources on our rivers, lakes and streams. And as ethical anglers and sportsmen, lets do our part by abiding by the rules and doing what we can to help in this situation. Just a thought. God Bless and Tight Lines

Perry Hensley Sr.