Year-Class Contribution of White Crappies Stocked into Lake Chicot, Arkansas

Abstract

White crappies Pomoxis annularis were stocked into Lake Chicot, Arkansas, to evaluate year-class contribution. Between 1998 and 2001, approximately 271,747 white crappie fingerlings were marked by immersion in oxytetracycline and later stocked. Marking efficacy was 97%. Handling mortality of stocked fish ranged from 0% to 67% and averaged 23% after 24 h. Year-class contribution of stocked crappies ranged from 0% to 3.1%. Stocking of fingerling crappies in Lake Chicot is unlikely to markedly increase the number of harvestable crappies available to anglers. Other management options should be explored to increase crappie population abundance. Stocking is often used as a public relations tool by managers but should be reserved for situations where it is biologically warranted.