Jordan Lake Crappie

ToddT

Guest
I was curious how the crappie fishing is nowadays on Jordan Lake. I used to fish there years ago, and at one time, I knew local guys who would go down with a pontoon and catch around 1,000 crappie in a weekend. And we always did very well, never that number, but over a hundred on most trips. But as it has been around 20 years since I have fished there, and things change, I wonder how the fishing is now. I don't hear of anyone talking about catching fish like they once did, but also realize that a lot of this may be due to the fact that the law was changed to a limit of 20 fish several years ago.

But with the fishing as good as it was back then, I would think that the limit has only helped the population as well as the size of the fish being caught. So any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. And if someone doesn't want to provide particular advice, it would be great to even know if the crappie fishing is still good, or rather great, on Jordan Lake.
 

Shine

Six Pointer
Contributor
Went a to jordan a couple times in feb and saw a bunch of people catching them non stop. so if I had to guess its still good.
 

ToddT

Guest
Thanks for the reply. It seems tough to get a reply on this site. As mentioned, I am assuming that the reason no one talks about coming down like they did several years ago is due to the limit. I can consult the regulation book, but if someone happens to know off the top of their head, isn't the limit 20 fish with a 10 inch limit? Thanks again, I look forward to getting back down there.
 

fishinRod

Ten Pointer
ToddT said:
Thanks for the reply. It seems tough to get a reply on this site. As mentioned, I am assuming that the reason no one talks about coming down like they did several years ago is due to the limit. I can consult the regulation book, but if someone happens to know off the top of their head, isn't the limit 20 fish with a 10 inch limit? Thanks again, I look forward to getting back down there.
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this is correct
 
sky hawk

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
ToddT said:
It seems tough to get a reply on this site.
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That depends on what you're asking. It might be that guys who fish there aren't keen on helping someone come "down" (from ???) to carry back a big haul of fish with them.

No offense, but if a man tells me, "yeah, we used to come down there and load up coolers full of hundreds or a thousand fish", and then wants to know if the fishing is still good... Nope, fishing sucks!

But, I don't fish Jordan, so I can't help you.
 
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ToddT

Guest
I get what you are saying. We are coming down from Hudson, between Boone and Hickory. The thousands of fish, that wasn't me, that was what I used to hear other guys talk about - but don't hear about it anymore. Now the talk around home is Falls Lake, but they don't mention the numbers that they used to spout about way back when. As for myself, the most we caught, two of us, was around 120, for a couple days of fishing. I simply assumed that catching and keeping a lot of fish back then was normal and most everyone did it. From what I understand crappie are pretty prolific, but even with that said, I wondered how the lake could support those kind of numbers being taken from the lake, but for several years, it did.
 

ToddT

Guest
Also, as far as everything goes, we will be there in a few weeks, I think the last of April, and we will be fishing regardless of how the fishing is. I was just curious if a lot of fish were still being caught on Jordan. I have taken my little boy around home and we haven't caught anything yet, and I have been telling him about all the fish we might catch when we go on our trip, and he has been very excited. I hate to let him down, though I am certain he will have a fun time either way.
 

Shine

Six Pointer
Contributor
haven't gone for crappie yet. waiting to get my set up but I bass fished there yesterday and got a small 12" bass then about a 4.5lb lmb. Fishing should pick up this week
 
darkthirty

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Speaking strictly from what I heard in the past from other fisheries professionals, the night time crappie fishing boom on Jordan really put a dent in the crappie for a time. A lot of people were completely ignoring limits and many still do. Yes, crappie reproduce and grow very quickly, but when you have literally hundreds if not thousands of fish being taken out every night, plus what the daytime anglers are taking out, it's hard for a big lake, much less a lake the size of Jordan, to keep up. But, last I heard, the fishery has picked back up with a good mix of age and size classes.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
darkthirty said:
Speaking strictly from what I heard in the past from other fisheries professionals, the night time crappie fishing boom on Jordan really put a dent in the crappie for a time. A lot of people were completely ignoring limits and many still do. Yes, crappie reproduce and grow very quickly, but when you have literally hundreds if not thousands of fish being taken out every night, plus what the daytime anglers are taking out, it's hard for a big lake, much less a lake the size of Jordan, to keep up. But, last I heard, the fishery has picked back up with a good mix of age and size classes.
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this is exactly correct- except when the night time action started there were no limits thus the greed.

it'll level out- it's good now but the pressure will kick it back- there is not an unlimited amount of 10" crappie in the lake.

For the op - crappie .com and ncangler will have better fishing reports than this site, the fish reports here are scattered and limited.
 

ldunawa

Guest
You could also try Harris Lake; great fishing there as well. Although it's got a lot of pressure on it the last few years too.
 
koszman

koszman

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Crappie haven't moved into the coves yet. Some fish were being caught under the bridges. The old timers who have mastered the art of crappie fishing caught some nice fish.
 

ToddT

Guest
Thanks for the advice. As mentioned, I wondered how the lake could keep up with that kind of pressure, but it seemed to hold its own for many years. Nice to hear that it is back to "normal." I don't have to tell anyone here, but it is nice to take off for a day of fishing and actually catching fish.

I can be on Lake Hickory in about 10 minutes, but I have never found much of anything on that lake. It would be really nice to be able to get on the water in just a few minutes and actually catch something.
 
koszman

koszman

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Ncwrc biologist conducted a check on the lake last year and the numbers are great even after the fish kill a few years back. Crappie are good and strong. Even with the ignorant fishermen who don't follow the size and creel limits.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
ToddT said:
Thanks for the advice. As mentioned, I wondered how the lake could keep up with that kind of pressure, but it seemed to hold its own for many years. Nice to hear that it is back to "normal." I don't have to tell anyone here, but it is nice to take off for a day of fishing and actually catching fish.

I can be on Lake Hickory in about 10 minutes, but I have never found much of anything on that lake. It would be really nice to be able to get on the water in just a few minutes and actually catch something.
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i would take your questions here and go to crappie.com or nc angler and ask about the crappie at hickory. No way you should have to bypass those crappie to get to jordan.
 
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