Do Crappie Exceed 20 inches in Length?

[BASS302]

I was looking through the 2023 Master Angler section in the July issue of In-Fisherman magazine, and for crappie the longest listed is 22 inches.  Is this possible?  That's longer than my PB Largemouth Bass!

How much would a crappie that length weigh?

[MN Fisher]

18 minutes ago, BASS302 said:

How much would a crappie that length weigh?

Kansas Angler Catches New State-Record Crappie

Outdoor Life

https://www.outdoorlife.com › ... › Crappie Fishing

Feb 7, 2024 — It weighed 4.63 pounds and was 22 inches long. Angler Hazel Fey caught the crappie out of Woodson State Fishing Lake. For bait, Fey was ...

[gim]

53 minutes ago, BASS302 said:

I was looking through the 2023 Master Angler section in the July issue of In-Fisherman magazine, and for crappie the longest listed is 22 inches.  Is this possible? 

I was also reading that edition the last couple days and looking through the 2023 entries. Some impressive fish on that list.

 

Biggest crappie I’ve seen here in person is 18 inches. I don’t know if @Team9nine measures any of his monstrosities but he’s weighed many of them and they are some serious slabs. I believe he is in the south where they would grow bigger than up north though.

[Team9nine]

7 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

Biggest crappie I’ve seen here in person is 18 inches. I don’t know if @Team9nine measures any of his monstrosities but he’s weighed many of them and they are some serious slabs. I believe he is in the south where they would grow bigger than up north though.

A 20+ inch crappie is a seriously big and rare creature. It is also, most likely, a white crappie. Black crappie, which all my big ones except one have been, are shorter but fatter - weighing more than a white crappie of equal length.

 

I have measured several of my bigger fish, and they tend to run between 15”-18”. Here’s a couple pics. One is obvious; the other, look closely at the length number in the depression/middle of his tail. 
 

 

[throttleplate]

MS reduces crappie limits because of FFS

---

Best solution imo. Limits are set based on the maximum the biologists feel the system can handle and the catch rate of anglers. Catch rates go up, limits come down. Fair for everyone. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing some waters where technology is restricted for those who want that experience but I wouldn’t limit that to FFS. No wake, no sonar, no spot lock, no electric anchors, no trolling motors. Bet a lake like that would be very quiet.

The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks voted to reduce the daily limit at four popular crappie lakes and at the heart of the matter is technology.

Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes, along with the Arkabutla Lake, which is currently closed to boating for dam repairs, are among the top lakes in the nation for crappie, but anglers and biologists alike say that would have changed if the current 15 crappie per angler per day limit remained due the use of live sonar, commonly called LiveScope.

"We did a 3-year study on Sardis, Enid and Grenada looking at if they were catching fish with a single pole or trolling," said Keith Meals, regional fisheries biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. "We also looked at if they were using live sonar.

"In that 3-year period we saw our fishermen using live sonar increase from 20% to 70% and it's probably higher than that, now."

John Harrison of JH Guide Service said he supports a reduction in the daily limit on crappie at Arkabutla, Enid, Sardis and Grenada lakes, but feels more needs to be done to protect the fisheries.

Meals said the study revealed that anglers using the new technology were catching two to three times more fish than those that did not and have created a situation that is no longer sustainable for the fisheries.

"Used to be you went out there and hoped for the best," said Jennifer Ratcliff of Canton, who uses live sonar for crappie fishing. "Now, you feel like you can catch a few any day."

However, that technology is having a negative impact on the North Mississippi lakes. So, the commission opted to reduce the limit on the lakes from 15 crappie to 10 crappie over 12 inches in length per angler per day and no more than 25 crappie per boat per day.


"We're trying to maintain a quality fishery in terms of size," Meals said.

John Harrison of JH Guide Service who guides fishing trips on Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes said he supports the change.

"Something had to be done," Harrison said. "The boat ramps are full all year long.

"They just don't get a break and LiveScope comes into play now. It's just a lot of pressure on them right now and has been for the last few years. Something had to be done about the limits."

 

[TnRiver46]

I think it’s funny the guy in that article uses livescope to catch crappie and he’s concerned about people using livescope to catch too many crappie 

 

[keagbassr]

Wow! My pb black crappie is 22" give or take maybe 1/2"( i.laid it against rod and measured when I got home). Never thought anything about it being huge or maybe a record, to me it was 'just a little bigger than normal for where I was fishing' as I have caught more 16-19"ers there than I could count. P.s. caught it on a spinnerbait and when it hit I thought for sure I had an 8+ lb. Bass on as the fight was pretty good. Thing looked like a Thanksgiving serving platter with head,tail.and fins. Never got a pic as it was raining pretty good and I only weigh bass. 

[Bird]

On 6/22/2024 at 10:41 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I think it’s funny the guy in that article uses livescope to catch crappie and he’s concerned about people using livescope to catch too many crappie 

 

That's the problem.

Crappie are more vulnerable to FFS because they are a schooling fish.

A buddy of mine is a diehard crappie fisherman and uses FFS and will sit on an area until they completely quit biting.

 

The other issue is, crappie usually end up in the frying pan.

I eat fish too but in moderation.

[TnRiver46]

4 minutes ago, Bird said:

That's the problem.

Crappie are more vulnerable to FFS because they are a schooling fish.

A buddy of mine is a diehard crappie fisherman and uses FFS and will sit on an area until they completely quit biting.

 

The other issue is, crappie usually end up in the frying pan.

I eat fish too but in moderation.

Yet the guy who is worried about FFS and crappie uses FFS for crappies……..

 

that’s what I meant. If you are truly concerned, don’t use it? I know that’s a complicated math equation 

 

seems more to me like he wants to use it but doesn’t want anybody else to 

[FryDog62]

On 6/22/2024 at 8:44 PM, gimruis said:

I was also reading that edition the last couple days and looking through the 2023 entries. Some impressive fish on that list.

 

Biggest crappie I’ve seen here in person is 18 inches. I don’t know if @Team9nine measures any of his monstrosities but he’s weighed many of them and they are some serious slabs. I believe he is in the south where they would grow bigger than up north though.

Here's an 18 incher a buddy of mine caught from my boat in 2021. Biggest I’ve seen in person too. I believe a White Crappie, caught very fittingly on "Whaletaill" Lake.

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

Here's an 18 incher a buddy of mine caught from my boat in 2021. Biggest I’ve seen in person too. I believe a White Crappie, caught very fittingly on "Whaletaill" Lake.

I haven't caught any near that on Whaletail - might have to hit it more often as it's just down the road from me...about 15 minutes drive.

[FryDog62]

11 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I haven't caught any near that on Whaletail - might have to hit it more often as it's just down the road from me...about 15 minutes drive.

Yes, this was caught on Mar 31 - actually in 2020 - before the "bass" season opened up. It was the only fish we caught that day (it was approx 30 degrees and yet crawling with boats due to the Governor telling everyone to go fishing during Covid lol). The DNR survey from 2016 to 2021 noted previously that White Crappie were present and large in size, but by 2021 had almost vanished. Again, due to much of the Covid pressure I'm sure. It looked like Mille Lacs on opener...  in only 400 acres of water, not a good scenario ~ 

[Eric 26]

On 6/22/2024 at 9:41 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I think it’s funny the guy in that article uses livescope to catch crappie and he’s concerned about people using livescope to catch too many crappie 

 

Please don’t take this the wrong way and I’m not trying to defend the guide but I don’t get that from his comments at all. I think he’s showing concern that his business is going to go belly up and probably has slowed down considerably since ffs has become more common. I think it’s a serious concern especially as pointed out that crappie have become far easier to catch due to their schooling habits and a reputation for being aggressive feeders. I’m reading the ffs debate as someone who doesn’t boat/kayak fish or fish for food but still finds this conversation very interesting as it’s the biggest fisher person advantage I’ve personally seen in the way it’s changing how fish especially crappie can be caught imho.

[gim]

6 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

The DNR survey from 2016 to 2021 noted previously that White Crappie were present and large in size, but by 2021 had almost vanished. Again, due to much of the Covid pressure I'm sure.

 

Could be due to partially increased pandemic pressure, but may not be either.  Crappies take a beating here, I'm sure you know since there is no closed season.  In the age of immediate communication, everyone knows where a good crappie bite is all the time.  Best to keep that info to yourself if you get on one otherwise the vultures move in quickly and the population is decimated until the next good year class.

 

When I fish Minnetonka in the spring and get on a decent crappie bite, it doesn't take long before other boats start moving in.  That occured in early May this spring.  Start catching 12 and 13 inchers with no one around and within 30 minutes there are 7 boats and a canoe just out of casting distance.  I used to encounter this issue years ago on Mille Lacs when you could keep walleyes too.  I rarely encounter it when targeting bass though.  Its almost completely exclusive to fish species people intend to harvest, aka the meat hunters.

[Texas Flood]

My HS girlfriend use to catch over 20" crappie all the time. But she's from Canada, so you wouldn't know her.

[WRB]

World Record Crappie is listed at 5lbs 3 oz and 21” long.

Tom

[gim]

16 hours ago, WRB said:

World Record Crappie is listed at 5lbs 3 oz and 21” long.

Tom

 

The MN state record is listed at 5.0 pounds even (no length).  Its been desclassified as a historical record now because it was submitted before 1980 when no witness, photos, or other proof was required.

 

5 pound crappie in MN?  Lol that's so far fetched its ridiculous.  No chance anyone caught a slab that big here, ever.

[Bluebasser86]

The first fish in the Kansas article was DQ'd because the guy put steel bearings in it's stomach 🙄 

 

The old record that is reported to have been 22" is old enough that the accuracy of the measurements is probably pretty questionable. I know our state record "spotted bass", is very likely a largemouth bass that was mistakenly identified as a spotted bass instead, wouldn't surprise me if they messed up that crappie also. 

[Alex from GA]

I caught a 2-8 and a 2-9 a few years ago @ Lake Lanier.  Didn't measure them.

[Munkin]

My brother caught one on the Potomac when we were teenagers that measured 21.5". At the time I didn't know anything about crappie it was just the biggest one I had ever seen. We threw it back along with everything else we caught and didn't think much about it. When we went to the local bait shop they had pictures on the wall for a biggest fish contest. The biggest crappie so far that year was 17" and when I told the owner what Justin caught he said we probably just threw back the state record. I have caught a lot of 16-19" ones all on jerkbaits in the spring fishing for bass at a small local  lake.

 

Allen

[GreenPig]

My PB is 3.1 lb at 17 &1/4 inches. So 22 inches for some of the record fish sounds right to me.