Page 12 - 2021 Lake Washington Tournament Issue
P. 12
Magnolia Crappie Club Adventures Magazine
Magnol ia Cr appie Club Adv entur es Magazine
Live-Scope is Changing Fishing in More Ways Than Just Tournaments!
By Shane Johnson, Magnolia Crappie Club
Hello, my name is Shane Johnson, from individual conservation duty to protect our
Madison, MS. I fish the Barnett Reservoir crappie resources. I know that preserva-
regularly. I’m a longtime member of the tion will allow great fishing for the years to
Magnolia Crappie Club, and I serve on the come.
weigh-in committee. I get to see every fish There are numerous measures we can
we weigh at our tournaments. or should consider. Things to consider are:
I’m a pro-staffer for ACC Crappie Stix what size to keep, how many total fish to
and Freaky Franks. I’ve used the Garmin keep, how many two- pounds or over 14
LiveScope inches, etc. As crappie enthusiasts, we must
for 100’s take on this responsibility ourselves and
of hours. encourage others to do the same.
I’ve learned Remember, every person has the privilege
Crappie be- (not the Right) to fish according to the state
havior from laws, so we
this time on must lead
the wa- by exam-
ter. Finally, ple. Proper
I’m not a manage-
professional ment is the
writer, so only way to
bear with preserve this
my writing. great pastime
In today’s of crappie
world, fishing. If you
people not like eating
only are catching more fish (Crappie) with Crappie, noth-
Livescope; they are catching more of the ing tastes
larger ones. We all get excited when we are better than
catching fish, no doubt, that’s why we love the 10” to 12”
the sport of crappie fishing so much. fish. The flavor in the smaller fish is amaz-
And man, when we catch big Crappie, ing.
we get thrilled. It is so gratifying to catch Some people enjoy showing off their
a mess of large Crappie, whether it be the catch on social media or just by texting
heavy tug on the end of the line or seeing pictures to friends. Showing your photos is
the thick large body and mouth coming out your privilege; there’s nothing wrong with
of the water. that. However, people could use the same
As fishermen, we are taking on more tools (social-media and photographs) to
responsibility now that we are Live-Scope show them being released. Some anglers
users. We see more and more of the huge are doing it already.
slab Crappie caught at just about every lake Catch and Release is our duty to show
we fish. As anglers, we must start practicing other anglers and our younger generation
more and more “Catch and Release” to help that we are willing to help preserve our
preserve the resources. resources. The Bass guys showed us how it
We can all make our own principles and works. My partner and I return our Crappie
protocols about what we should keep and over 2 pounds back to the lake after pho-
what we should be releasing. While we’re tographing them. It makes you feel good
waiting for evidence and data collected by knowing you are part of the solution instead
our Fishery Biologists, we must use our of the problem. Shane
12 - Adventures Magazine - Lake Washington 2021 Issue
