The Grenada Effect

No doubt over the past few years Grenada Lake has been the destination of crappie fishers all over the country. There is good reason for this. Grenada Lake has produced more wall hanging trophy size crappie than all of the other lakes combined. So what is the reason that Grenada is the best crappie lake in the country? For one they have some of the most rigorous regulations. It is 15 fish per person with a 12 inch length limit. But is that the single reason that the crappie have grown to trophy size in great numbers? Perhaps it is. But is there another reason Grenada keeps producing numbers of big fish. It's no coincidence that places like Grenada produce so well. The lake was created to control flooding along the Yazoo River Basin. Living here in south Louisiana, flooding is a part of life. Over the years on the water, I have noticed that when there are years of high water during the spring, the next few years, the crappie populations tend to explode. This can hardly be coincidence. Perhaps Grenada has benefited from high water the past few years. After all, if you have an estuary that is benefical to spawning fish due to expanded spawning grounds, it can only help. Grenada is also an Army Corps lake and is very primative with nothing but a few boat ramps and no camps. Although the fishing pressure is immense during the spring, the fact that there is no one living on the lake can only benefit the fishery. Only time will tell if the regulations are the reason for the large amount of trophy crappie or if it is a combination of high lake levels during spawing times and regulations. No doubt that those flood plane lakes in Mississippi are some of the best crappie lakes in the country. Maybe other fisheries could take a page out of what makes Grenada the best. Maybe it is better regulations or Grenada and those flood plane lakes are just unique and can't be replicated. Adding to this scenario is food source. You cannot have a great fishery without the right food source. Places like Grenada and other fisheries that produce big crappie usually have large numbers of shad. These populations of bait fish are benefical for producing numbers of larger fish. We'll see if Grenada produces the incredible numbers of 3 pound fish next year like it did this year. If so, then Grenada just might be the model for making the best crappie fisheries. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water. Photo credit to Mike Boone

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