subject: Bait Fishing : A83 Amazing Fishing Information On Determining Age Of Crappies And Papermouths! [print this page] Crappie are a very fast growing species of fish and they go by many aliases such as calico bass, speckled perch, speckled bass, white perch, pole crappies, strawberry bass, and paper mouth. To determine the age of a speckled perch You catch while you are bait fishing is not an exact science but there is a way to calculate your strawberry bass caught with a variety of different crappie baits. Age and growth rates for crappie caught while bait fishing can be attributed too two factors which are the environment and genetics.
In our article today we are going to discuss the method of determining the age of strawberry bass. The next time you catch a crappie while bait fishing take a look at it's scales. You can determine the age of any crappie you catch if you learn to read it's scales. The theory behind reading scales to determine age is based upon assuming that the scales grow proportionately to a fishes length, and this relationship nearly always holds true.
During the slow or no growth periods such as in the cold water winter months the rings or what is called the circuli will be narrowly spaced. Fast growth periods will generate a widely spaced circuli. Year marks called annuli show clearly if you use a magnifying glass for inspection. To take a measurement, you want to measure from the center of the scale called the focus which is horizontally located at the bottom of the scale. The focus point looks like a circle and is your starting point for your measurement. You measure from the outer circumference of the focus and start counting the annuli until you come to the furthest most outer. Annuli. Count each annuli as 1 year.
There are some pole crappies that scale counting is not accurate. For example in warm climates such as Florida counting scales will not work because of the accelerated growth rate. In warm climates it is better to read the otoliths bone. This is a extremely accurate way to determine the age of a speckled bass but is much more difficult because the bone must be dissected to determine the age. You may need to use the otoliths bone also when there is a extremely slow growth rate.
We hope the information in this article about crappie baits. Have a great day and the the best of luck to you on your next fishing trip
