DEC Reminder for Crappie & Sunfish Anglers

[L&M]

DEC reminds sunfish and crappie anglers that it is accepting comments on proposed regulation changes for these species through December 26, 2021.

The proposals include:

• Reducing the sunfish statewide daily harvest limit from 50 to 25.
• Increasing the crappie statewide minimum size limit from 9 to 10 inches.
• Implementing an 8-inch minimum size limit and a daily harvest limit of 15 for sunfish in the following waters: Blydenburgh Lake (DEC Region 1), Lake Welch (Region 3), Canadarago Lake and Goodyear Lake (Region 4), Saratoga Lake (Region 5), Sixtown Pond and Red Lake (Region 6), Cazenovia Lake and Otisco Lake (Region 7), Honeoye Lake (Region 8), and Silver Lake (Region 9).

Visit DEC's website for more information on sunfish and crappie management in New York.

 

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYSDEC/bulletins/301185e

[Gator]

If I recall correctly, they had also proposed a 12" minimum and limit of 10 fish for crappie on Honeoye. That's going to make things...interesting. I encourage everybody to weigh-in.

 

Edit: It appears that they removed the special crappie regulation for Honeoye, and it will simply be the same change as the rest of the state, with a 10" minimum proposed to replace the current 9" limit? If anyone knows differently, please post.

Edited December 18, 2021 by Gator

[DtD]

Isn't money the driver for over harvesting ? No catch should be for sale. Seems like another distraction to play around the edges. We don't enforce the laws we have now on limits, size and snagging, etc.  So without effective enforcement and punishment that fits the crime, forget it. These things probably start in the home, anyway, just the opposite of some of the heartwarming hunter/fishing examples we see often on these pages.

Still,  Merry Christmas !

[bulletbob]

 WHERE can anyone consistently catch 10 inch crappies in this entire state??.. Maybe Black Lake, Lake George,, but wow 10   inches"".. In the past 2 years I  have caught ONE Crappie that even made the 9 inch size limit, along with a million 7- 8 inchers... I know a few private lakes have some big ones, but for me anyway, decent Crappies are hard to find, at least in my part of the state...

[bosco]

 

9 hours ago, bulletbob said:

 WHERE can anyone consistently catch 10 inch crappies in this entire state??

I think that’s the point.

[bulletbob]

20 hours ago, bosco said:

 

 

I think that’s the point.

 I get that, but to be honest I am not sure how much it will help.. In a year or two, the 8 and 9 inchers WILL be "legal" 10 inch fish, but as soon as they are  caught at 10 inches , they  will get eaten, same as it ever was... I just don't think NY is a great  crappie state.. The fish run small in most lakes, and a LOT of lakes either don't have them at all, or they have very small populations... NJ has pitiful water resources compared to NY state, but its a lot warmer down there, and that big ocean and all the big tidal rivers and bays keep some of the pressure off the panfish.. Foot long and longer Crappies are much easier to catch down there than they are here... NY DEC  is so invested in the trout and salmon fisheries in the great lakes, finger lakes, and the catskills, that they don't bother with mundane fish like Crappies, Perch,  Walleyes etc...

[bosco]

Ever try the Seneca River?

[bulletbob]

 Yes, we caught quite a few but  it was mostly smaller  sub legal fish that day , although we got a few keepers.. Not anything much over 9 inches. We might have been there too late during the spring season. However that was probably 10 years ago, and things certainly might have changed... matter of fact, I was just at the ramp at Montezuma  about 2 days ago looking it over... Might try it again this spring.. Whitney Point is a lot closer to me, but from what I gather the Crappies there are not doing as well there as they  once did.. It has gotten better for walleyes, but worse for crappies.. Its really no big deal...  Personally I prefer Perch to crappies, and they are a lot easier to find and catch in decent numbers.. Just like a bit of variety I suppose... bob

[bosco]

I get it. My preference is Walleye, Perch, and Crappie in that order. I specifically target Crappie less than a handful of times a year. Perch, no problem. Crappie are a challenge. There's certain spots at certain times of year but the window is tight with no guarantees, times of disappointment.

[bulletbob]

 to be honest, the absolute BEST panfishing I had ever witnessed, was my first 10 years here in NY state, right at the south end of Cayuga Lake, fishing from shore.. My kids were young at the time, and the size and quantity of the Sunnies, Rock Bass and Perch we would catch was astounding.. Huge 1/2 pound Bluegills and Pumpkinseeds, Perch over a  foot,  Rock bass sometimes 12 inches, and constantly hooking 18 inch SMB while worm and bobber fishing   to the  point they became a nuisance.. Then the Zebras. then a massive die off in 2008 , then the gobies, and that was the end of it... These days if you try and fish with a worm and bobber, its all gobies..  nothing else.. Such a shame...