Net survey shows Jordan’s crappie on the rebound

Biologists Jessica Baumann and Corey Oakley of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission conducted crappie surveys using trap and gill nets in October and November 2012 after a 2011 shad die-off and resulting crappie mortality.

The loss of threadfin shad in the lake stressed crappie — many of them starved — during a period of extreme heat and rising water temperatures.

The two biologists collected 2,247 crappie, with trap nets taking fish along the shoreline and gill nets collecting black crappie offshore.

“We were concerned before the (2012) black crappie survey about reported decreases in the number of larger fish being caught,” Baumann said. “We decided to include the use of gill nets after we caught lots of black crappie using this gear in 2010.”

Of the 1,221 crappie caught in trap nets, 11 percent were of harvestable size, 10 inches or better, down from the 32 percent in the 2010 survey. But of the 1,026 fish caught with gill nets, 45 percent were 10 inches or longer.

They also checked body condition of black crappie — the weight of a fish compared to its length — and discovered Jordan’s black crappie have average body conditions for a Piedmont reservoir. The largest fish they caught measured 14 ½ inches and weighed 2.2 pounds.

The 2012 survey showed Jordan’s black crappie grew a slower rate in 2012 compared to 2009. In 2009, fish grew to 10 inches in two to three years, but in the 2012 survey, 10-inch fish were 4- to 5-year-olds.

The slower growth rate was pronounced in fish older than two years. The survey showed a large percentage of 2-year-olds, meaning good reproduction. The 2012 crappie also had similar growth rates to 2-year-old fish caught in 2009.

“The threadfin shad population is recovering through stocking and natural reproduction,” Baumann said. “We hope it’ll lead to increased growth rates of crappie in future samples.”

A large percentage of 2012 black crappie were eight to nine inches long and in good condition. These fish were 10 inches or longer in 2013. Even more and bigger fish should be in Jordan Lake this spring.