Personally, JC ... I think T-ville is a much better Crappie lake, now, than it ever has been. I've fished it since it opened, and can remember the years you'd rarely see a >9" Crappie, and those you did catch were thin enough to almost see through. They introduced the Threadfin Shad into the lake, and it's gotten better since then.
We really don't have another lake of its size/type to compare it to, so yeah ... the "other" lakes are bigger & different types of lakes, that are better suited to Crappie numbers/size & reproduction. BUT, for its size and popularity, T-ville is still a pretty good lake for Crappie.
The "bad reproduction years" are killer on ANY lake, as that's usually due to flood conditions during the spawn. And it seems like Taylorsville Lake has a bad history in that regard. And in fact, after nearly 4" of rain over 3days, the lake is now up 7+ feet over Summer Pool. The spawn was already behind schedule, especially for the Black Crappie, and now it would appear as though it's going to be delayed for another week or better, until they can get the water level back down to pool & hold it there. That is, of course, unless there's even more rain/cold weather coming to further mess with the situation.
FYI ...
Crappie were not only taken from Boltz lake & put into Taylorsville, they were also taken from Taylorsville & put into Cedar Creek. It's just cheaper for the KDFWR to do that, than to hatchery raise them & dispense them.
... pappy




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