Are crappies back on Red?

My simplistic take… when the walleye were decimated (over netted/fished) the crappies had the run of the lake and flourished (the last boom) about a decade later, walleye were reintroduced with taxpayer funds (which most said, the natives will just decimate it again… that hasn’t happened yet) the walleye foraged on the crappies as well as anglers, the crappies declined and the walleyes flourished to the point where anglers now targeted walleye again and the crappies were left alone. Now the walleye are probably on the down swing again and the crappie are coming back… granted, this takes years to happen, but it may be happening again… I hope not.

tswoboda wrote:

Crappie life span is 7-9 years in MN. Good growth rate is 10″ at 5 years old. How big are the crappies coming out of Red right now? Simple math tells you why the boom ended quickly last time and why it’s going to end quickly again.

Bingo. Crappies only live so long.

A successful spawn causes the boom along with the forage to support them and keep them from getting eaten. Successful spawns take the right conditions on a lake like Red and will not happen every year. Enjoy it when it happens.

mark-bruzek wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Feathers and Dots wrote:</div>
We can fish 40% of a 120,000 acre lake, not to mention lower red. If you guys can entice the <em class=”ido-tag-em”>crappies on the native side of URL to come bite and fish em all out on hook and line, I want to know what you’re fishing with.

The crappie population is dependent on spawn and forage. There has been a ton of suspended forage the last few years. Must have been a good spawn or two and conditions aligned.

So explain how that same theory applies to the decimation of the <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye population circa 2000… ya know the whole reason the crappie boom happened

But overall it is all factors combined, tribal, wheelhouses, portables, resorts, technology, internet…
The only way to protect what you want is to keep your mouth shut.
Bringing to light on public forums via word and pics will only add nails to the coffin.

Walleyes were over harvested by nets and to a much less extent hook and line.

The crappie boom happened due to a successful spawn(s) and was amplified by the fact that the crappies had no competition from walleyes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the current year class of crappies coming up right now would match the boom days if there weren’t walleyes in the lake.

Gregg Gunter wrote:

Thank you! It’s not Natives, locals, citiots or any other names. It’s all of us. Point the finger at yourself and quit belly acheing. Use some self restraint and model that to the people who have to inherit the mess we leave behind.

I would say local anglers decimate a hot bit much more than citiots. I used to talk to the fisheries manager in the area I fish for walleye opener. I would always ask him about a lake in he managed that I fished for a few years (only on opener) since it is prone to freeze out. He said “the restocked fish are just getting to keeper size and over the winter the locals pounded it.” Even if I knew the fish were in it I would only fish it on opener since it’s 2 hours from my house. The locals have it out their back door. Much easier to fish it a lot.

Netguy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Gregg Gunter wrote:</div>
Thank you! It’s not Natives, locals, citiots or any other names. It’s all of us. Point the finger at yourself and quit belly acheing. Use some self restraint and model that to the people who have to inherit the mess we leave behind.

I would say local anglers decimate a hot bit much more than citiots. I used to talk to the fisheries manager in the area I fish for walleye opener. I would always ask him about a lake in he managed that I fished for a few years (only on opener) since it is prone to freeze out. He said “the restocked fish are just getting to keeper size and over the winter the locals pounded it.” Even if I knew the fish were in it I would only fish it on opener since it’s 2 hours from my house. The locals have it out their back door. Much easier to fish it a lot.

Good luck with that theory on Red. Last census put Waskish at 139 people. Other areas like Alex and Brainerd, yes, Red no.

So if the only theory is boom and bust and “crappies only live so long”. How do you explain all the other lakes that can sustain a robust crappie population.

There is no doubt fishing pressure has a major impact.

I believe we can only fish less then 10% Of the lake.

FinnyDinDin wrote:

We can fish 40% of a 120,000 acre lake, not to mention lower red.

lindyrig79 wrote:

So if the only theory is boom and bust and “crappies only live so long”. How do you explain all the other lakes that can sustain a robust crappie population.

There is no doubt fishing pressure has a major impact.

Because it is much easier to spawn on small lakes that are not wind blown like Red. Those lakes your are referring to probably hardly ever produce fish over 10 inches.
Why do the crappies get so big on Red. Because it’s a big ass fertile lake.
Lots of food and places to roam.

Red is like every crappie lake with its crappie up and down swings. It is more susceptible because of the shear size and wind. There is an upswing now. Enjoy it. The lake cycles like every crappie lake in the state.

It’s not always doom and gloom and protect this and that.
Just fish. Ma nature will take care of the rest.

gimruis wrote:
Are crappies commercially harvested on Red Lake like the walleyes are? Or is there a significant amount of by-catch crappies being caught and/or harvested in the band’s nets when the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes are taken?

Something else to consider here is that crappies are not stocked in this lake, while <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleyes are/were. And crappie season never closes, so they aren’t protected during their spawning season, whereas the walleyes are. So not only are they reliant solely on natural reproduction, but they also receive year round pressure.

They are also extremely easy to find with live imaging sonar units. Suspended fish like crappies are way easier to target now than they were during the boom days on Red…hence why I’m guessing their populations will take a pretty quick hit.

Their were schools that were literally a mile long and half a mile wide. They were not hard to find. Again it was two monster year classes that happened to coincide without any predator fish.

Gim very little pressure on red in the spring. I am guessing most don’t have a clue where they spawn.

lindyrig79 wrote:

So if the only theory is boom and bust and “crappies only live so long”. How do you explain all the other lakes that can sustain a robust crappie population.
There is no doubt fishing pressure has a major impact.

This thread is about Upper Red Lake – which gets a successful crappie spawn once or twice every 10 years, and the difference between a good and average spawn is astronomical. URL is a little different than your local crappie hole.

I bet half the people commenting rarely fish the lake if ever but want to complain about legal fish being kept and regulate this or that. Why is that? Is it a jealousy thing that people are catching big crappies or is it a selfish thing so you can catch and keep them when you go once a year.

The lake gets pounded every winter, but it sure seems like the lake is doing just fine. Hell there is even a nice uptick in crappies even though the lake gets pounded in the winter (very little in the summer) every year for the last 20.

I have never fished Red. I am bummed that while in College at BSU during the boom I never went up there.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Gim very little pressure on red in the spring. I am guessing most don’t have a clue where they spawn.

Do you know if the Red Lake band nets them when they commercially net walleyes? I am assuming a few end up in their nets as bycatch.

No idea Gim and I doubt anyone does. My guess is that most don’t get caught in the mesh they use for walleye, but would think there would be some accidental harvest.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I have never fished Red. I am bummed that while in College at BSU during the boom I never went up there.

It was a blast.

I would believe they use gill nets so I doubt many would get caught in there due to the body profile difference between a crappie and their intended target walleye.

Ripjiggen wrote:

I bet half the people commenting rarely fish the lake if ever but want to complain about legal fish being kept and regulate this or that. Why is that? Is it a jealousy thing that people are catching big crappies or is it a selfish thing so you can catch and keep them when you go once a year.

The lake gets pounded every winter, but it sure seems like the lake is doing just fine. Hell there is even a nice uptick in crappies even though the lake gets pounded in the winter (very little in the summer) every year for the last 20.

I guess I haven’t seen any jealousy comments or even seen anything like it. I fish the lake early ice and spring time. My comments in no way have been because I’m jealous that guys catch fish in the waters nor do I care who keeps what. I said the crappie thing wouldn’t last long. I wasn’t aware your expertise on the subject.

Don’t think I mentioned your name. Or anyone’s for that matter.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Don’t think I mentioned your name.

Sorry if I jumped to conclusions, hopefully the crappies will boom. But I haven’t seen any small crappies coming out. Only larger fish. So I imagine these are coming to a prime size slot and will be gone before we know it. Just the way nature works

Ripjiggen wrote:

Or anyone’s for that matter.

You mentioned me!

Bearcat89 wrote:

I guess I haven’t seen any jealousy comments or even seen anything like it. I fish the lake early ice and spring time. My comments in no way have been because I’m jealous that guys catch fish in the waters nor do I care who keeps what. I said the crappie thing wouldn’t last long. I wasn’t aware your expertise on the subject.

X2

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>lindyrig79 wrote:</div>
So if the only theory is boom and bust and “crappies only live so long”. How do you explain all the other lakes that can sustain a robust crappie population.
There is no doubt fishing pressure has a major impact.

This thread is about Upper Red Lake – which gets a successful crappie spawn once or twice every 10 years, and the difference between a good and average spawn is astronomical. URL is a little different than your local crappie hole.

I agree Upper Red is very different from your average crappie hole. But yet there are other big bodies of water that maintain a more stable crappie population.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Because it is much easier to spawn on small lakes that are not wind blown like Red. Those lakes your are referring to probably hardly ever produce fish over 10 inches.
Why do the crappies get so big on Red. Because it’s a big ass fertile lake.
Lots of food and places to roam.

Red is like every crappie lake with its crappie up and down swings. It is more susceptible because of the shear size and wind. There is an upswing now. Enjoy it. The lake cycles like every crappie lake in the state.

It’s not always doom and gloom and protect this and that.
Just fish. Ma nature will take care of the rest.

You make some good points that I agree with. This is a discussion about it. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see this post in the first place, because yes I do fish Red Lake. But here we are talking about it.

And for the record, no, there are plenty of good lakes that produce 12-14 inch crappies (and bigger) year after year. However most of those lakes do not have nearly the walleye population Red does.

Not on that particular comment Gim.

lindyrig79 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Because it is much easier to spawn on small lakes that are not wind blown like Red. Those lakes your are referring to probably hardly ever produce fish over 10 inches.
Why do the crappies get so big on Red. Because it’s a big ass fertile lake.
Lots of food and places to roam.

Red is like every crappie lake with its crappie up and down swings. It is more susceptible because of the shear size and wind. There is an upswing now. Enjoy it. The lake cycles like every crappie lake in the state.

It’s not always doom and gloom and protect this and that.
Just fish. Ma nature will take care of the rest.

You make some good points that I agree with. This is a discussion about it. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see this post in the first place, because yes I do fish Red Lake. But here we are talking about it.

And for the record, no, there are plenty of good lakes that produce 12-14 inch crappies (and bigger) year after year. However most of those lakes do not have nearly the walleye population Red does.

Not lakes built like Red was more my point.

I was living on the east coast during the boom and so never got in on the action. Something I’ve always wondered is how did people find the crappies during open water? Just drive around in a pattern looking for the school? I am just kind of baffled how to fish a species like that on such big water without any of the typical structure you start at. Were they by the mouth of the Tamarack in the spring, etc?

Red is part of the large lake program for the DNR. They do annual netting to assess the population. That data is posted on the DNR lakefinder and you can see the crappie year classes move through the population in the netting numbers. There was a good hatch in 2018 that showed up in 2019. You can see it each year through the most recent report in 2021 and they were 10 to 11 inches. They should be 12 to 13+ in the 2022 survey when that’s posted.

FWIW a quick Google and I found the Red Lake Nation Fishery has a website selling the fish they net. They offer walleye, perch, pike, white fish and crappie.

Good info there Blackbay.

queenswake wrote:

I was living on the east coast during the boom and so never got in on the action. Something I’ve always wondered is how did people find the crappies during open water? Just drive around in a pattern looking for the school? I am just kind of baffled how to fish a species like that on such big water without any of the typical structure you start at. Were they by the mouth of the Tamarack in the spring, etc?

Great question.
We just drove out to where other people were, didn’t have electronics.
Funny how that’s the opposite of what they do now.

lindyrig79 wrote:

But yet there are other big bodies of water that maintain a more stable crappie population.

Serious question – Where? LOTW or Rainy maybe? Those are isolated populations with protected spawning areas. Same for crappies on Winni and Leech.

I’m not saying anglers have zero effect on the population, just that it’s miniscule compared to nature. Even with 100% C&R that 12″-14″ year class will be gone in a couple years. And the lake only gets a good year class to maturity once every 10ish years.