April 30, 2012

Crappie limits for Weiss Lake often go ignored

By SCOTT WRIGHT

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CENTRE — A few weeks ago, a woman showed us a photo of dozens of filleted fish carcasses lying in the edge of the water near Yellow Creek Falls. She said few, if any, of the crappie were larger than Weiss Lake's 10-inch minimum legal length.

Unfortunately, according to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officer charged with preventing such crimes, this sort of thing happens entirely too often.

“We have a fair amount of people keeping short crappie,” said Conservation Enforcement Officer Keilan Lord. “Most folks want to blame it on out-of-state fishermen, but the majority of the citations I write are to people from Alabama.”

According to information provided by Circuit Clerk Dwayne Amos's office, Lord has written 79 “short fish” citations since January 2007. Lord said most of those were handed out to either Cherokee County residents or Georgians with weekend lots on the lake.

“The majority of short fish arrests come from folks fishing from the bank or at a cleaning station at a marina,” Lord said. “A lot of people like to keep short crappie they catch from their piers, too.”

He added that, given that Weiss Lake has been in existence for over 50 years, there is no excuse for not knowing what is permissible when it comes to catching the marquee attraction in the “Crappie Capital of the World.”

“People know,” he said. “They know the rules.”

For the uneducated, Weiss Lake is the only reservoir in Alabama with a 10-inch limit for crappie. Every other lake in the state has a 9-inch minimum.

“That happened in October 1993 because a group of people from Cherokee County came to our Advisory Board and requested the limit be raised,” Lord said. He added that the regulation is a “possession law” which means that simply having short crappie in your basket is grounds for a citation.

Regardless of the change, it is never hard for Lord to find someone who figures the rule doesn't apply to him. Since being assigned to Cherokee County in 2006, Lord said he has figured out the best way to catch anglers determined to break the short fish rule.

They'll come in [from fishing] and then wait until after dark to get their crappie out of the boat,” Lord said. “I try to work most of my hours on Saturday and Sunday because that is when everybody is out fishing.”

After Lord turns the citation over to Amos's office the legal system takes over.

“Most people plead guilty to the judge and either pay the fine or get put on a payment schedule,” Amos told The Post last week. “If you have three or fewer crappie, your fine is $75, four to six is $150, seven to nine is $200, and if you have ten or more you have to see the judge.”

Amos explained that the fines do not include court costs, which can run as high as around $200. Of the 79 short fish citations mentioned earlier, a random sampling showed total fines ranging from $170 to as much as $305.

Lord said if anglers on Weiss Lake will show a little patience, they'll be glad they did in a year or two.

“It takes about three years for a crappie to grow to maturity, so if the majority of fish are short this year, it means last year or the year before we probably had an excellent spawn,” he said. “If they'll throw them back this year a lot of them will be legal to catch next year.”

But until everyone gets the message, Lord said he is determined to make sure the law of the lake is followed. He urges anyone who sees illegal fishing activity to call him at 256-846-0498 or the Alabama Game Watch hotline at 800-272-4263.

“Time is an important factor,” Lord said. “If someone sees something and calls me as soon as they see it happen, that can make a big difference. That's when we have the best chance of getting something done about it.”