12-14-2006, 02:25 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks...I think.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As an angler who "experienced" Pineview in the "olden days", I fondly remember the times of lots of largies and unlimited crappies for the taking. That was before they got to messin' widdit.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The current "balance of power" in Pineview is not attributable solely to the top predator...the tiger muskie. True, they munch a bunch of fish, but they are often not selective. They might ordinarily prefer perch, but they will not turn down bass, crappie carp or bullheads. Equal opportunity munchers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If I were to point a finger of blame, for the decline in crappie numbers, I would assign combined blame on the perch and the smallies. Perch spawn before crappies and their young are just waiting for the eggs and newly hatched fry of the crappies. Smallies are right behind the crappies in spawning, but their young also suck up a lot of the zooplankton and other invertebrates that all fry need to make it to the next level. And, they grow faster. Smallmouth grow about twice as fast as young perch and crappies and begin eating the other guys as soon as they get big enough to pull it off.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]So, in addition to having big muskies to eat the larger crappies, there are hordes of competitive perch and smallmouths that compete and eat in the smaller stages. If there is only so much fish chow to go around, something's gotta give. Crappie are more fragile and they often are the losers in the survival game.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Same story in Willard. Before shad and wipers there were vast schools of crappies all over the lake. Now the baby shad eat the zooplankton that crappie fry need to survive and wipers eat those that do make it to munching size.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It's a jungle down there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As an angler who "experienced" Pineview in the "olden days", I fondly remember the times of lots of largies and unlimited crappies for the taking. That was before they got to messin' widdit.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The current "balance of power" in Pineview is not attributable solely to the top predator...the tiger muskie. True, they munch a bunch of fish, but they are often not selective. They might ordinarily prefer perch, but they will not turn down bass, crappie carp or bullheads. Equal opportunity munchers.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If I were to point a finger of blame, for the decline in crappie numbers, I would assign combined blame on the perch and the smallies. Perch spawn before crappies and their young are just waiting for the eggs and newly hatched fry of the crappies. Smallies are right behind the crappies in spawning, but their young also suck up a lot of the zooplankton and other invertebrates that all fry need to make it to the next level. And, they grow faster. Smallmouth grow about twice as fast as young perch and crappies and begin eating the other guys as soon as they get big enough to pull it off.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]So, in addition to having big muskies to eat the larger crappies, there are hordes of competitive perch and smallmouths that compete and eat in the smaller stages. If there is only so much fish chow to go around, something's gotta give. Crappie are more fragile and they often are the losers in the survival game.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Same story in Willard. Before shad and wipers there were vast schools of crappies all over the lake. Now the baby shad eat the zooplankton that crappie fry need to survive and wipers eat those that do make it to munching size.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It's a jungle down there.[/#0000ff]
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