For Immediate Release:
Grenada Lake: Trophy Crappie Management Being Proposed

Jackson - The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks voted 4-1 Wednesday, January 18, 2006 to institute changes in the crappie length and creel limit at Grenada Lake. The changes came following requests by Department biologists that the trophy status of Grenada merited such added restrictions. A public hearing has been set for Tuesday, February 7, 2006 at 7 PM at Hugh White State Park. The new regulations, which call for a 12-inch minimum length and a creel limit of 15 fish per angler, will take effect March 23, 2006.

Grenada Lake has a reputation for producing huge crappie. It has gained nationwide notoriety from record-setting tournaments the last few years. A tournament last spring was won with a 2.92 lb per fish average! Grenada Lake is to crappie what Lake Fork, Texas and the Stick Marsh in Florida are to bass.

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks fisheries biologists have determined Grenada crappie get so big due to a combination of fast growth and age. With fishing pressure normally less than half that of Sardis, enough crappie survive to reach trophy size at six years of age or older.

However, the MDWFP creel survey on Grenada in 2005 found fishing effort (hours) roughly doubled from the 2001 survey. In 2001 it had roughly doubled from 1997. Fishing pressure (hours per acre) has risen to that of some of the other north Mississippi flood control reservoirs.

Many local Grenada Lake anglers would blame the higher pressure on nonresidents, and the survey did find nonresidents (other than Memphis, TN) rose from 5% to nearly 15% of all anglers since 2001. However, residents from 40 of the state's 82 counties were represented, up from 23 counties in 1997. Folks came from all corners of the state. Anglers from Tishomingo to Desoto counties, to Hancock, Pike, and Jackson counties, most drawn by the lure of big crappie. Grenada is a public lake so restricting access would be nearly impossible.

During the survey, crappie anglers were asked about stricter regulations in the face of the increasing fishing pressure. Of those surveyed: 93% supported stricter regulations; Of those, 30% wanted a higher minimum size limit only; 5% wanted a lower daily limit only; and 65% wanted both a higher size limit and a lower daily limit.

A 12-inch crappie is by most comparisons a one pound fish. The 2005 survey found the average Grenada Lake crappie harvested weighed 1.2 lbs. The new limits should not discourage tournaments, since their daily limits are much lower than state regulations. Anglers participating in crappie tournaments made up less than 0.5% of all crappie anglers in the survey. In contrast, 44% of bass anglers were tournament fishing.

Keith Meals, MDWFP fisheries biologist notes, "As fishing pressure increases, the big fish will disappear without additional measures to keep some fish in the lake long enough to get that old. We're not trying to create a trophy crappie fishery, we're trying to maintain one." -30-

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