Possession Limits and General Guidelines for Fishing Country Place Lakes

Good lake management requires achieving and maintaining a balance of desirable fish varieties and sizes. Stocking and harvesting of fish are the primary tools used by lake managers.

The possession limits stated in theoriginal CP Restrictions are no longer meaningful and should be replaced with the limits given below. All limits are per person, per day.

We were forced to drain Lake 2 last year. We restocked it this year, and there should be no fishing allowed in Lake 2 until September, 2016 at the earliest.

What follows applies to Lakes 1, 3 and 4 only.

Bass:
All three lakes are overpopulated with small bass, and these compete with medium-sized and larger bass for food. This overpopulation leads to stunted growth and a reduction in the numbers of medium-sized and larger bass. Here are the limits:

All bass under 14” in length should be removed from the lake where caught and should not be placed in any of the other lakes. Eat them. They taste better than the big ones anyway. If you don’t want to eat them, toss them. Sounds harsh, but you will be improving the quality of the remaining fish. Bass 14” to 18” are the most productive and should be left in the lakes. Only 1 bass over 18” may be kept.

Catfish:
Limit is 6. We particularly recommend removing catfish over 22” in length. Small catfish should be returned to the lake.

Bream (sunfish):
Limit 15.

Crappie:
No limit. These should be removed from all the lakes. Most are stunted, as our lakes do not adequately support these voracious predators. Crappie are excellent table fare.

All limits are subject to change as needed.