Crappie numbers improve at Wappapello Lake

WAPPAPELLO, Mo. — Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries Management biologist Dave Knuth wrapped up his annual crappie trap netting survey on Wappapello Lake the last week of October and was generally positive with what he saw.

Knuth and fellow biologist Jason Crites used 20 trap nets over the course of several days, set between 5 and 10 feet deep, from the Chaonia Landing area all the way down to Redman Creek.

"We caught 1,923 crappie Tuesday. That's the most I've caught in one day in several years," Knuth said.

As a reference, he said, in 2019, he caught 1,400 fish total over three days.

The duo's best catches were on the flats near the river channel in the mid-lake region, Knuth said, with the lower lake seeing much poorer numbers.

Catch rates slowed the last couple days of the survey because of rising water and weather conditions, Knuth said.

"Weather and water levels really influence fish movement, which greatly affects our catch rates," Knuth said. "The first day's catch is likely the most representative of the population."

The catch rate above 9 inches, Knuth noted, was 6.4 per net, which was "double what it was the last three years."

"That could indicate a higher density of bigger fish than we've seen," he surmised.

Knuth also noted there are a "fair number of fish in the 10 to 12 inch range."

There also is a large number of 7- to 8-inch crappie in the lake.

"There's a large year class in the 7-inch range," he said. "If those are 2019 fish, they're growing slow. If they're 2020 fish, they're growing very well."

At this point, Knuth said, he has not been able to determine growth rates from collected fish scales, and he expects that to be done over the winter.

A positive trend Knuth noted was a growing percentage of white crappies in the lake. In recent years, slow-growing black crappies, which rarely reach 9 inches long, made up around 50% of the total population. This year, faster-growing white crappies made up considerably more of the catch.

"We had about 65% white crappies, which is great," Knuth said.

Still, he said, black crappie numbers remain too high and he would like to see them lower.

"I encourage anglers to keep some of those small, short black crappies," Knuth said.

Knuth also surveyed Wappapello's gizzard shad population, which is the primary food source for the lake's crappie population.

"It looks like there are a lot of shad in the lake, and everything over 9 inches had shad in their bellies," he said.

Unfortunately, Knuth noted, the average size of the lake's shad is larger than normal, which can create a feeding problem for smaller crappies.

"Our average last year was 3.56 inches," Knuth noted, "but it appears the average length of the young-of-the-year shad is a little bigger than last year, which can impact growth to some of the smaller crappie in the lake due to (mouth) gape limitations."

Essentially, smaller crappies cannot fit the larger shad into their mouths, forcing them to find other food sources.

Still, at this point, Knuth said, the lake's crappie population looks healthy, and its "physical condition is pretty good."

Next year's survey, he noted, should be able to determine just how this year's shad size affects the lake's fish.

Anyone with questions or comments about Wappapello Lake's crappie fishery may reach Knuth at Dave.Knuth@mdc.mo.gov, or call him at the Southeast Regional Office at (573) 290-5730.