Crappie limits lowered at Grenada and other popular MS lakes due to live sonar

‘They just don’t get a break and LiveScope comes into play now. It’s just a lot of pressure on them right now and has been for the last few years. Something had to be done about the limits.’

The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks voted to reduce the daily limit at four popular crappie lakes and at the heart of the matter is technology.

Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes, along with the Arkabutla Lake, which is currently closed to boating for dam repairs, are among the top lakes in the nation for crappie, but anglers and biologists alike say that would have changed if the current 15 crappie per angler per day limit remained due the use of live sonar, commonly called LiveScope.

“We did a 3-year study on Sardis, Enid and Grenada looking at if they were catching fish with a single pole or trolling,” said Keith Meals, regional fisheries biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We also looked at if they were using live sonar.

“In that 3-year period we saw our fishermen using live sonar increase from 20% to 70% and it’s probably higher than that, now.”

MS deer hunting: Here’s what’s new for the 2024-25 season

LiveScope called a “game-changer”

Live sonar is unlike traditional fish finders. It offers live images that are detailed enough to determine the size of a fish and anglers can see their lures in the water, too. That allows anglers to place their lures or bait right in front of a fish.

Meals said the study revealed that anglers using the new technology were catching two to three times more fish than those that did not and have created a situation that is no longer sustainable for the fisheries.

“Used to be you went out there and hoped for the best,” said Jennifer Ratcliff of Canton, who uses live sonar for crappie fishing. “Now, you feel like you can catch a few any day.”

And that’s what Ratcliff and her husband, John, do. The two live near Ross Barnett Reservoir, so the two can conveniently go fishing and with the aid of live sonar, catch a few for a meal whenever they want.

“It is a game-changer,” Ratcliff said. “There’s no doubt about it. If you know how to use it and they’re biting, you can kill them.”

Mississippi venomous snakes: How to identify them and what to do, and not do, if bitten

Situation unsustainable at Grenada, Enid, Sardis and Arkabutla lakes

However, that technology is having a negative impact on the North Mississippi lakes. So, the commission opted to reduce the limit on the lakes from 15 crappie to 10 crappie over 12 inches in length per angler per day and no more than 25 crappie per boat per day.

“We’re trying to maintain a quality fishery in terms of size,” Meals said.

John Harrison of JH Guide Service who guides fishing trips on Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes said he supports the change.

“Something had to be done,” Harrison said. “The boat ramps are full all year long.

“They just don’t get a break and LiveScope comes into play now. It’s just a lot of pressure on them right now and has been for the last few years. Something had to be done about the limits.”

The new limit on crappie goes into effect July 24.

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.