Crappie targeted for tags to provide info for biologists

With prime crappie time approaching in northeast Kansas, anglers should be aware that some of these fish have special tags that will provide important harvest information for fishery biologists.

From 2003 to 2005, Wildlife and Parks biologists tagged crappie in Clinton, Perry, Hillsdale and Melvern reservoirs. The 2003 tags were blue, and the tags from ’04 and ’05 were yellow. When returned to Wildlife and Parks, these tags are worth $5, $20 or $100.

Anglers who catch these crappie are requested to return the tags with a short survey card. These cards are available at local Wildlife and Parks offices and area bait shops. They must be returned to the office in Emporia to be eligible for the rewards.

Forms for each lake also are available on the Wildlife and Parks website.

So far, only about 30 percent of the tags have been returned.

Anglers who have tags from past years are encouraged to return them so staffers can get a better picture of how many have been caught.

For tagged fish caught in 2003-2006, exact dates of catch are not necessary if the month and year of catch are known.

The most important information is the tag return.