Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Let's see some big Crappies....

Been a pretty good start to the year at the local watering hole. I've been fishing this lake since I could ride a bike... and had no idea it could produce this kinda slabs.

Got me thinking... how big is a big Crappie?

So.... let's see some BIG crappies....

Last one of the day today.... went 15":




14" from the other day...

There have been two caught here in Missouri in the past month that went over 4 pounds...

Nice slabs. What rod are you using? Line?

Top fish was caught on my wife's 6'6" Light Action Fenwick HMX running Seagar 6lb fluorocarbon.

Bottom fish was caught on my St. Crois Legend Elite 7' Light/Fast Action running Cabelas Pro-Series 6lb fluorocarbon. It is quite simply the finest fishing rod I've ever used... hand down.

Both rods wear Abu Garcia 1000 series reels.

Both fish were caught on a 1/8oz pink jighead and 3" Berkeley RippleShad in the Smelt color.

I have two St. Crois light actions, but in 6'. I do wish at least one of them was 7'. I have a Browning Airstream 7' that is close, but not quite as good. All of them strung with 4 lb mono.

I fish around Truman Lake a lot, and a 15" white crappie is when they start to be big. My wife's best is a 16.5", mine is 17.5". Getting close to being 3 lbs at that length.

At my local lake (50 acres) they are all black crappie, and anything around 13-14" is big. I've caught several 14" black crappie, but I don't remember catching one bigger than that.

I'd love to see a 4lb crappie. powdr

Good stuff, Davet I have the 4.5, 5.5, and 6.0 BA rods, the 7 has a much different feel than 6'6" - I have enjoyed mine.

Thanks for the rod info DS - FWIW, I run alot of CX P-Line in 6 and some 8. Not run straight floro....yet. Running mostly 25 sized Pflueger's and some Shimano 1000s for Crappie. I do have a 20 size but for extended casting sessions the retrieve per crank is more demanding over a day.

Any memory issues with your lines? It seems lighter weight lines have less memory, so it appears.

Thanks.

I just bought a 7' st croix light extra fast panfish model. Love it. I broke a 6'2" Shimano clarus the other day that made me sick. Had a ultra light tip about 12" and the rest of the rod was like a medium. Broke my heart. The St croix is nice. Perfect tight line jig rod.

My daughter got in the mix last night with a couple of 14"+ slabs... her grin says it all.



Pretty good night with the girls....

Crappie fishing is about to kick off big time here in N.Tx due to unseasonably warm weather and a early spawn. They are my favorite fish to eat out of all the fish I catch personally.

My 20 year old nephew has a Lure Company, and I pretty much fish exclusively with his crappie lures. I've also caught tons of bass & bluegills on them too. Anyhow, you can see pictures of some of my Crappie I've caught and a huge bass he caught on his web sight, if your interested.

https://www.brushlunker.com

My grandson's love the crappie and bass fishing at our duck hunting lake.

That's a really nice Black Crappie your grandson's holding!!!

That's about the age I started crappie fishing with my PaPa. And of course, I was hooked for life! Good job by you starting your grandkids out right!

https://www.facebook.com/anordbye/videos/1857509744504949/

Saw this posted a couple weeks ago. Been too busy chasing gobblers but may sneak in a trip or 2 if the rain stops soon and doesn't muddy the lake too much.

After todays rain I imagine most of the larger impoundments are going to come up a few feet.