For
whatever reason, since I was
a child crappies have been my favorite freshwater fish for fun.
Yeh-yeh, you've got your largemouth bass, old bucket mouth big and
mean...they get all the attention. They're always on television
getting gold medals. Then you got your trout, living in all the
best neighborhoods. You never see a trout slumming it! Then you
have your calico bass...to you buddy...Crappies! They sort of look
like a largemouth bass that has been hit by a steam roller, four
or five times. Not every lake has them and not every schnook can
catch the big ones. They are structure bound and now is the time
of year to get them. As for jigs...think micro...translation small,
real small. Light line, four pound test, with pencil floats are
the only way to go.
Since
Long Island lakes have been pounded heavy in the last five years,
please release the crappies during spawning. They will group into
small areas, like half the lakes population, so fishing can get
real hot once you find their areas. You can easily catch 40-50 fish
no problem. And by the by, there is a limit on your catch. Crappies
have been one of the most abused fish out there, I have constantly
been told about guys taking home 5 gallon buckets filled to the
rim. I have seen the same and it just disgusts me to the point of
wanting to grab their bucket and dump it back in the lake. It's
your backyard Long Island, take care of it. Stop passing the buck
to somebody else to fix it. We have very small lakes and ponds,
they cannot keep up with the pressure that we put upon them. So
if you want to keep fish, stick to the quotas and throw the rest
back for the next generation. Hey, I am no angel, and there are
no wings on my back...but there is a reality clause and that reality
is a simple one...once the population is destroyed it will take
years for our lakes and ponds to come back. Personally, I don't
feel like waiting around for 9 years for a lake to come back to
it's full beauty. Keep the trout they stock...Please! Leave the
crappies and bass alone. Your kid only wants one, which he will
drag home, show Mom...then it will be dried up and smelling like
a dead bunker and you'll throw it away anyway when he's not looking.
Keep what is right and throw the rest back. God I'm on a rant.
One
more thing before I take my medication. Who in their right frigging
mind keeps a 9 pound bass in Long Island? OK, I understand a kid,
because he doesn't know any better and that fish will keep his little
butt fishing for the rest of his life. But a full grown adult, who
even went to college or at least passed the third grade, will take
it home and stuff it for what? The attic? Or to put next to that
stupid black velvet painting of the dogs playing poker? A 9 pound
bass takes years to grow in the cold northern states, where the
growing cycle is so short, unlike the south, like Florida, which
has an all year growing cycle. By the by, a 9 pound bass takes like
dog food, smells like dog food, IS dog food. Please for the sake
of the reality clause, smell the coffee, open up a can of puppy
chow and eat that if you must, it goes good with fried onions.
Let's
come back to reality, that 9 pound largemouth is a great breeder,
for she has that special gene to breed the big pups. And you just
took it out for your little ego. Take a picture that will last forever.
The bass that you see pictured here were all thrown back.
Oh
yeh...crappies...gotta love em! Hug a crappie today!
What's
your opinion? Yes I do read my email, even though I don't always
reply...so please be creative with your words, without cursing (we
have a lot of young readers and even though some of their mouths
are worse than ours) play nicey nice.
