Clear Lake is known or its outstanding bass fishing, but there are other game fish in the lake as well. It has one of the largest catfish derbies in the nation and it holds the state record for the largest black and white crappie in California.
Whereas crappie don’t draw the attention as a trophy bass it is still a popular fish. When the crappie are biting it’s not uncommon to see dozens of fishermen fishing from dock or even the shore and catches of 50 or more crappie will have an impact on the fishery.
The daily limit for crappie is 25. This is also the possession limit. What is happening is that entire families, which often include the husband, wife and several youngsters, are all catching and keeping crappie. For example, a family of five can legally retain 125 crappie a day. According to the game wardens many of these crappie are being sold to restaurants in the Bay Area. There have been several arrests made for selling crappie.
At one time, crappie was to be the top game fish at Clear Lake. Bass took over that title in 1990.That was mainly due to bass tournaments. At one time tourists from throughout the state and the western anglers would visit Clear Lake to catch crappie, and not because the fish put up a fight such as a bass but because they were delicious to eat. In fact, many of the old resorts around the lake were built to accommodate the crappie fishermen. The fish became so popular that most resorts had crappie cleaning machines, which resembled large clothes dryers. You put a quarter in the slot and the machine would scale the fish. In those days there were plenty of bass in the lake but most of the fishermen were after the tasty crappie.
Clear Lake holds two different species of crappie. Both species of crappie are nearly identical. However, counting the spiny rays on the dorsal fin can identify them. A black crappie has seven or eight spines and a white crappie has six spines. As the name implies, the black crappie is normally darker overall. The white crappie usually has markings arranged in vertical bars. They spawn during the months of May and June. Like all members of the sunfish family, the male guards the nest and young fry. The young feed on zooplankton for their first two years. They mature in two to four years and their life expectancy is eight to 10 years but most don’t live past four years.
Crappie aren’t native to Clear Lake or even the West. Actually, Clear Lake was the first lake in California to be stocked with crappie. It was back in 1908 when crappie were brought to the lake from Illinois. These were of the black crappie species and Clear Lake offered ideal habitat. The fish flourished. In 1951, white crappie were planted in the lake.
Crappie, both black and white, can grow to large sizes. The world record for black crappie is 6 pounds. For white crappie, the world record is 5 pounds, 3 ounces. Clear Lake holds the state record for white crappie with a 4-pound, 8-ounce fish caught in 1971. Two-pounders are common and even an occasional 3-pounder is caught.
Crappie are nearly always found in schools and some of the schools can be huge, holding up to 500 fish. Crappie seek out docks to hide beneath and that’s where most of the fishermen concentrate their efforts.
The downfall of crappie is their table quality. Few fish can match a crappie for eating and that’s one reason most of the fishermen catch and keep the 25 fish-per-day limit. Biologists say that in most cases catching and keeping a limit of crappie probably has little effect on their population. But with the number of crappie being every year it could have an impact on the fishery.
A few years back the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee voted to send a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) to send a letter to the California Fish and Game Commission to reduce the daily limit at Clear Lake to no more than 10 crappie per day per person with a possession limit of also 10 crappie. Five years ago the BOS sent a letter to the Commission asking for a daily limit of 15 crappie but the Commission turned down that request.
The crappie fishing will start up within a few weeks and hopefully fishermen will release some of those fish.
