On the right track

Starting back in 2008, a cooperative study between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the University of Mississippi was begun to target and study the seasonal movements of crappie in the local reservoirs.

The crappie-tracking project was aimed at learning more about crappie spawning areas began at Sardis Reservoir where biologists, who knew tons about fish but not as much about fishing, ran into a problem with collecting enough fish for the study.

“I maintain a fishing report message board that covers Sardis Lake on the Crappie 101 Web site,” crappie guide John Woods said. “I saw some posts from a biologist, Glenn Parsons, asking for some guidance on where to find crappie for a study, so I responded.”

Rather than tell him where to fish, Woods offered to go catch the fish for him, and the cooperative study now includes a couple of local guides.

As part of the study, legal 12-inch fish were caught and tagged with sophisticated homing beacons. Radio transmitters were inserted in the fish and orange identification tags with a contact number were secured to the dorsal fin.

“The things we learn through this project are important for having a better crappie fishery,” said Dr. Glenn Parsons, who heads the research team for Ole Miss. “We may be able to identify changes in behavior with weather, as well as changes in behavior with season, and we may be able to identify places around our lakes that are particularly important crappie spawning habitat.”

The study has been widely successful with three years — 2008, 2009 and 2010 — having been dedicated to Sardis Lake. During that time, Dr. Parsons and his staff tracked the tagged fish throughout the spring and summers.

The GPS locations of the fish were posted on the MDWFP Web site and regularly updated.

In 2011, the research cooperative moved over to Enid Lake where the Ole Miss crappie research team — again aided by guides John Woods and Tony Willis — recently tagged and released 28 crappie into Enid Lake.

Any angler catching a tagged fish is asked to call the number on the tag, report the location and date of where the fish was caught and return the transmitter (if the angler wants to keep the fish) so it can be placed in another fish.

Prizes are being offered for certain tag numbers.

Crappie anglers catching tagged crappie are urged to call Dylan Williams at 662-501-6547 or Glenn Parsons at 662-202-8013.