New crappie rule starts March 1

The long-awaited change to crappie fishing regulations anglers have sought at Wappapello Lake finally will kick into effect March 1.

“I’m pretty excited to see the change,” said Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Biologist Dave Knuth, who’s overseen Wappapello’s crappie fishery for several years.

The new regulation still will allow anglers to keep 30 fish daily, but only 15 can be longer than 9 inches.

The new regulation stemmed from angler complaints of poor fishing quality and crappie size structure, which matched data collected by Knuth and other biologists.

“We’ve been monitoring the crappie population for years, since the 9-inch regulation went into effect in 2006, and we did a creel survey in 2016 to see if angler data matched our biological data, and it did,” Knuth said.

That data determined there were too many small fish in the lake, including a high percentage of slow-growing black crappies, only 2.6 percent of which ever reach 9 inches long.

Public meetings were scheduled in the spring of 2017, but were canceled because of major flooding and ultimately were held later, followed by a public comment period and other regulatory procedures.

“We pitched this idea a year and a half ago,” Knuth said, “and the public was really receptive. In the end, we got what we wanted.”

The new regulation, Knuth hopes, will have three primary benefits.

First, it should increase angling opportunity since smaller crappies under 9 inches, the vast majority of those in the lake, now will be legal to keep.

Under the old rule, Knuth noted, a bad growth year would result in gaps in fish size structure, leaving fewer crappies at least 9 inches long for anglers to keep.

The second benefit, Knuth said, is anglers will be allowed to keep the black crappie they catch, which have little growth potential and only compete with young white crappies for available food sources.

The removal of small black crappies, Knuth said, directly relates to the third benefit, and that is more large fish will be able to remain in the lake longer and continue to grow as anglers remove some of the smaller crappies.

“If anglers really want to do what’s right for the lake, they’ll keep the black crappies they catch under 9 inches,” Knuth emphasized.

With the changes and some time for them to become effective, Knuth also hopes businesses at the lake will see a rebound.

Ultimately, Knuth said, crappie size and populations in Wappapello are “driven by water levels and shad, which we can’t control,” and while the new regulation “won’t be a magic bullet,” it will provide more angling consistency during both good and bad growth years.

Classic Winners

Seventeen teams battled some pretty crummy weekend weather to compete in the Wappapello Crappie Club Classic tournament.

At the end of the two-day event, the top team was Joe Guiling and Nathan Conner, who brought a combined weight of 16.60 pounds to the scales.

Second place was earned by Tim Hill and Jarred Green with 16.29 pounds, and third went to Brody Roper and Brandon Miller with 14.90 pounds.

Eric Parris and Jason Comfort grabbed fourth place with a total weight of 14.26 pounds.

The biggest crappie caught over the course of the event was a 1.93-pounder taken by Chuck Chism and James Chism.

Stream Bass Closure

If you happen to fish for black bass in what the Department of Conservation has called “Ozark streams,” the season will close at the end of the month.

The dividing line for the special bass regulation zone goes right through our area, so it’s a good idea to look closely at the map in the fishing regulations booklet, available free at permit vendors.

Until the last Saturday in May, fishing for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in Ozark streams must be done on a catch-and-release basis.

New Licenses Due

It’s almost time for new hunting and fishing licenses in Missouri as the 2018 ones expire at the end of the month.

Really all that’s needed until the squirrel season opens in late May is a new fishing license, but it’s cheaper to go ahead and buy the combination hunting and fishing permit now.

If you buy extras, like a trout permit, they also will expire Feb. 28 and need replacing. The only license which doesn’t expire then is a conservation order permit, which is good through April.

New App Update

If you use the Department of Conservation’s MO Hunting smartphone app, an update was posted for it a few days ago, which you’ll need to install before the spring turkey season because of changes to the Telecheck process in the app.

The design of the app has been updated, and it now shows any preference points you’ve earned for managed deer hunts.

I’ve noticed over the last couple years as updates are released that it’s always best to log out of your account on the app before updating it. Then you can log back in once the installation is complete. If you don’t, the app tends to forget your details and acts squirrelly.