John Riddle, Region II biologist, said, "Water levels and nutrients are very instrumental in reproductive success. Spawning habitat is too, but it is not completely defined as cover. Because there is plenty of cover along a bank doesn't mean it's suitable habitat for spawning."

Spring and Fall creeks on Priest are where TWRA catch the greatest abundance of young crappie. In most lakes, the back ends of large embayments are the best crappie-producing areas.

"Spring and Fall creeks are nutrient rich," Riddle said, "but there seems to be some relationship between young crappie and mud flats. It may be that those mud flats are very beneficial to over-wintering of young crappie. Again, we don't know the mix of factors; these are just things we've seen. It's all so interconnected; it's difficult to say what's doing what. We're just not that smart yet."

Percy Priest is a productive lake that astounds fisheries biologists because it gets extreme fishing pressure but, like a Timex, it keeps on ticking. The reason Priest is so prolific is because of the sewage treatment plants upstream in Murfreesboro, Smyrna and LaVergne. The water quality in Priest is rated good because the treatment plants meet EPA standards.

Wilson said Tims Ford Lake is average for black crappie but below average for white crappie; however, it is a lake where you can catch large crappie.

Riddle said, "In a lake like Tims Ford, crappie just don't do very well. It's not necessarily being deficient in nutrients because there are plenty of nutrients in the upper end. But the lack of habitat and what the water does during the spawning season affects the spawn. There are many factors that influence the spawn. These factors aren't black and white but gray areas. We don't know all there is, but we are learning through our studies.

"When we trap-net for population sampling, they always find more at the upper ends of the lakes. They are catching young-of-the year, 3-inch fish. This doesn't mean the angler will do better in the upper end, because by the time these small fish grow to catchable length, 10-inch fish, they have dispersed in the lake. They don't know if the spawning takes place there or if it is a nursery area."

Cheatham Lake ranks average. Normandy Lake ranks below average because of poor recruitment of black crappie and white crappie. Old Hickory also ranks below average.

PLATEAU LAKES: REGION III
"Lakes that stand out in Region III are Chickamauga, Dale Hollow, Cordell Hull and Watts Bar lakes," Wilson said. "Chickamauga is better for black crappie and average for white crappie. Cordell Hull should have some good white crappie fishing and black crappie should be fair. Center Hill ranks average. Nickajack comes in as average"

Dale Hollow has blacknose crappie because that reservoir has abundant aquatic vegetation that makes it a suitable habitat for that strain.

Years ago, Center Hill was chosen to receive the blacknose because it was a relatively small reservoir. Dale Hollow is almost twice as large but has become as popular as Center Hill among the blacknose crappie a-fish-a-nadoes.

The initial experiments with blacknose crappie began in Center Hill Lake to learn if crappie could be stocked successfully. Center Hill had suffered a severe decline some years ago because there was little to no recruitment. No babies, no fish.

After several years of low recruitment, anglers were having a difficult time finding enough crappie to make a trip to Center Hill worthwhile. We can thank the efforts of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for the popular crappie fishery that is now in that lake. Anglers no longer go just crappie fishing, they go specifically for the blacknose crappie.