I'm on the Jersey coast about ten blocks from the beach and a quarter mile from a tidal river, but have a fair number of lakes, ponds and streams nearby. There's a little pond I used to take my grandkids to which is loaded with Crappies. There is an 8" minimum size on them. I've never seen one from that pond even reach 7", and I suspect that it is due to too many fish competing for the food supply. You'd think that predator species like Bass and Pickerel would be thinning them out, but it doesn't look that way. I've never seen either species caught there, or even had a follow-up by one.

Another example is the Winter Flounder population in the river nearby. The regulations allow two fish at 12" or larger. Some days you'd think that the bottom was paved with small flounder, but you seldom see a 12 inch fish. A lot of fish, competing for a finite food supply, so few grow very large.

So the size limits appear to be good for numbers but not for size. Where am I going wrong?

Are circle hooks less likely to snag? Crappies love cover; cover means snags.

Are the waters you fish state or privately stocked, or are the Browns there breeding? Pretty fish!