(Photo of fish being put in lake)

Crappie Restocking Program

Known as The Crappie Capitol of The World, Weiss Lake attracts fishermen their family and friends from all over the country to enjoy the area and to pursue its large and abundant Crappie.  Drought conditions in the state in 1997, 1998 and 1999 resulted in a very poor crappie spawn and fishing declined at Weiss Lake.  Crappie fishing at Weiss Lake in Cherokee County contributes a significant amount to the economy of the area.  Out of state and local fishermen buy food, gas, tackle, pay for boat launches, hire fishing guides and stay in motels owned by local businessmen that depend on crappie fishing for their livelihoods.  If people don’t catch fish they don’t come back to fish so something had to be done.

The news from fishery experts was not good news to Weiss Lake.  It would take years with good spawns for the fish population to recover.  Future drought and poor spawn conditions could decimate fishing at Weiss Lake.

In 2001 Weiss Lake Improvement Association established a Crappie Restocking Program.  Fishery experts were skeptical that a restocking program would benefit the lake due to poor survival rates, however Weiss Lake Improvement Association contacted a private hatchery  and decided to move ahead with the program.  It was determined that 300,000 Black Nose Crappie would be stocked over a three year period, 100,000 each year with a cost of $75,000.00.  In 2002 through the generosity of local business, their vendors, local municipalities, elected officials, concerned residents, and fishing enthusiasts enough money was raised to stock 100,000 3 to 5 inch crappie.  An additional 100,000 crappie was stocked in 2003 and 50,000 crappie was stocked in 2004.  Personnel from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division marked al the crappie before release.  Marks allow Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries personnel to differentiate between crappie from a natural spawn and those stocked by the association when reservoir sampling is conducted each fall.  About 5% of the fish that were sampled after restocking efforts were stocked fish according the state fisheries officials.  If was thought the first creel surveys showed too many stocked fish to be possible however additional surveys showed this percentage to be possible.  To date results provide some evidence that supplemental stocking during years with poor crappie spawn can enhance the crappie population.  In 2004 crappie fishing began to rebound at Weiss Lake and 2005 proved to be even better.  The stocking efforts of Weiss Lake Improvement Association has remarkably improved Crappie fishing at Weiss Lake.  After 3 years of study at Weiss Lake on the stocking project in an effort to continue evaluating the effectiveness of supplemental stocking The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division raised and stocked 40,000 crappie in Weiss Lake in December 2005.  This is the first year of the four year stocking program that the Department of Conservation provided crappie.  The department will continue evaluating effects of supplemental stocking in Weiss Lake until results are conclusive. As we look to the future Weiss Lake Improvement Association in cooperation with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources hopes that a program can be put into place that would allow stocking crappie on poor spawn years at Weiss Lake to maintain fish level in the lake.