# Crappie problem on Conroe



## slabseeker (Mar 11, 2006)

This sums it all up along with the otters.....

I called Richard Tatch, a local fishing guide, and discussed possibly hiring him for a guided trip for some crappie and mark a few more brush piles to fish later. We had a good long conversation about what has happened to the crappie fishing on Lake Conroe. He says he will not take anymore crappie fishing guided trips because it isn't worth burning the gas to maybe catch 2-3 crappie and his clients want to catch more fish than that. He also claims in his opinion we just don't have the numbers of crappie we once had due to the carp eating all the vegetation where the crappie have to spawn. Lack of vegetation means the other fish are eating the crappie eggs and small hatchlings so they never get a chance to survive. TP&WL Department are only stocking Bass and Hybrids so all we can do is maybe petition the TP&WL Department to restock crappie and find a way to get rid of the carp. I'm sure the waterfront land owners will fight us so they won't have the hydrilla that our fish need to survive.

Crappie fishing has been getting worse each year and now it is as bad as I have ever seen and will most likely even get worse until something is done.

If you know how to make a legal online petition we can send to TP&WL and our congressmen please let us know."


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## CrappyFisher (Mar 11, 2013)

Yeah.....the population of Crappie has declined rapidly from just 3 years ago. There was one year that you could get to the 1097 bridge before daylight and get your limit within 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When this was going on there were people at every column every day. That's when I started to notice the Crappie were starting to go down hill. Then you never caught many small Crappie.


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## photofishin (Aug 7, 2009)

here's the thing, with all the multimillion dollar homes on Conroe and the fact that the lake is plumb full of breeding grass carp, there's likely zero chance you'll see a blade of grass in the lake anytime soon. It's sad that such a great lake is ruined for all types of fishing but you have to consider that fishing isn't the primary use of the lake.


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## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

I have been saying the same thing for a few years now. There are no white bass in the lake ether. They just cant put a few grass carp in the lake they always over do it. i have talked with Butch Terp a guide on the lake about the problem a few times. We would run into each other on the lake from time time, crappie fishing. He said he was catching grass carp on crappie jigs. When the vegetation is gone they don't stop eating they just change what they eat. Grass carp have a long life span and it will be years before things can even start to get better.


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## chucktx (Sep 12, 2011)

very sad......and to think, lake Conroe was one of the top 10 fishing lakes in the USA a few years ago.......sad to think that the almighty dollar can turn a fertile fishery into a waste water..............


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## pYr8 (Apr 17, 2012)

photofishin said:


> here's the thing, with all the multimillion dollar homes on Conroe and the fact that the lake is plumb full of breeding grass carp, there's likely zero chance you'll see a blade of grass in the lake anytime soon. It's sad that such a great lake is ruined for all types of fishing but you have to consider that fishing isn't the primary use of the lake.


Good point, policy dictated by property value. The home owners haven't a clue what it takes to manage a waterway but the polititions do what they want because of the donations/tax base. Short term success, long term disaster...


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## Crusader (Jan 31, 2014)

One man's disaster is another man's blessing. 

I think the solution is to hook owners of those homes to fishing...


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## Big Guns 1971 (Nov 7, 2013)

Looks like it's time to go carp fishing if you want to catch anything.


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## Mr Duck (Dec 20, 2012)

Amen Brothers! went to Loch Ness bank fishing yesterday. Woulda thought a few crappie in grass etc - 0 crappie bites-couple channels. Did see carp working grass over most of times I was there.


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## Bull Minnow (May 28, 2004)

Crappie fishing has been terrible. I talked with butch terpe and he stated that he wasn't running crappie trips either


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## slabseeker (Mar 11, 2006)

That's what I heard also, pretty sad. I put out new brush piles and was all excited.....


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## mycolcason (Jan 7, 2013)

I caught three 2 lbs in about 30 minutes!


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## mycolcason (Jan 7, 2013)

Here are the three


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## Spooley (Feb 24, 2013)

*We need some help here*

It's not just the grass carp OR AQUATIC VEGETATION herbicides that have been introduced to Lake Conroe that are killing the fish reproduction numbers, but also the cormorants (aka: water turkeys) that visit here during the winter months. The Cormorants are federally protected and their numbers have increased logarithmically since I have lived here since 1995. These birds corral not just shad, but also juvenile game fish in the coves and plunder the reproduction numbers every year of our target fish. They descend upon the coves in mass numbers from 500 to thousands at a time and feast upon the young fish as they push them into the shallows, harvesting tens of thousands at a time each time they eat. I witness this onslaught daily during these winter months right here on Weir Creek Cove and they are probably the greatest threat to this fishery.

I have no idea why these birds are still protected, nor why they ever were, but to keep our fisheries balanced, there needs to be a change on these cormorants and do not fail to notice all the potlicker pelicans feasting on the table scraps.


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## SwineAssassiN (Jul 24, 2011)

Can u bowfish for the grass carp on conroe?


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## bearintex (Feb 7, 2006)

SwineAssassiN said:


> Can u bowfish for the grass carp on conroe?


Negative ghostrider..... sad3sm


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## TXPalerider (May 21, 2004)

Spooley said:


> ..... I witness this onslaught daily during these winter months right here on Weir Creek Cove and they are probably the greatest threat to this fishery.
> 
> I have no idea why these birds are still protected, nor why they ever were, but to keep our fisheries balanced, there needs to be a change on these cormorants and do not fail to notice all the potlicker pelicans feasting on the table scraps.


Interesting. This year we had about 20 Pelicans than stayed on our neighborhood lakes for almost a month. Never seen this before, but, it was cause for concern because our lakes are not very big and it takes a LOT of fish to sustain a pelican.

I wonder if Pelican numbers are increasing substantially too?


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## slabseeker (Mar 11, 2006)

Good point Spooley, I know these birds can clean out a small lake pretty quick. I have seen Pelicans in the past on Conroe and other lakes and never really thought about it. I'm sure it is a combination of all these things. you would think that the fish would be deeper in the winter time. but maybe not the young ones. I think we need to restock them again. It looks like I will have to move to SR or TB in the near future to catch crappie. until the lake comes back...we will be there this coming weekend and give it one more try.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Here is the latest creel survey I could find, pretty dramatic decline in crappie and white bass even though this is an old survey. Another one is planned for this year and it should be a real wake up call for the white bass/crappie fishery. Fishermen spend a lot of money. It just does not compare with the scale of $ involved in the lake front property business, so those folks will prevail.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/lake_survey/pwd_rp_t3200_1278_2009.pdf


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