Crappie regulations on Eagle Lake, a shared waterbody between Madison Parish, La., and Warren County, Miss., have become permanent. The regulations include a daily creel limit of 30 fish per day and a minimum total length limit of 11 inches. A Notice of Intent to make the experimental regulations permanent was adopted on August 1, 2019 at the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) recommended the regulations to create identical regulations with other similar lakes in Mississippi, and potentially improve the crappie population in Eagle Lake, which has historically suffered from poor natural crappie recruitment. These regulations have been in effect on Eagle Lake since October 1, 2015, on an experimental basis.
Results of evaluations conducted by MDWFP over the 4-year experimental period were submitted to fisheries staff of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for review, and upon evaluation of the impacts to the fishery and acceptance by anglers, LDWF biological staff agreed that the regulations should be made permanently concurrent with Mississippi. Shared regulations on border waters result in less uncertainty for anglers, and will provide for easier enforcement by both state agencies.
