Thread: I caught a 16 inch.

We have a lake just 12 miles from home that is a classic northern crappie lake and 14" fish are not uncommon. Like Bob mentions, you can catch a lot of lesser fish in with the larger ones. We've found that the larger fish don't really hang with smaller fish and prefer very specific water to exist in, but the smaller fish encroach on the water the larger fish prefer, hence catching them along with larger fish. Even at the spawn the large fish have different needs for getting that job done. For the most part the fish under 12" like to spawn on shallow shoreline water - water two to four feet in depth and where shade is almost constantly present. The larger crappies spawn at depths down to 6 to 8 feet and on sunken bars or break-lines next to much deeper water. The water's depth in this case provides the protection from direct sunlight. The water temperature at the deeper depths is way more stable and actually is warm enough to see spawning taking place maybe a week before the shorelines get active. The larger fish seem to prefer to spawn about 4 degrees cooler than those using the shallow shore-line water too.

Every body of water is different and the crappies in different digs behave different too. Its interesting to see how one body of water will require certain tactics to get crappies while a similar water on the other side of the road is entirely different.

I don't know tom I see the same things here in Alabama. I've fished a lot of lakes and they all have similar traits. They will be a little different but I still look for the same things.

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What Alabama is likely to have is consistently warm waters for spawning where we can get a cold front that will slam 10 degrees out of shore line water in a heart beat. Its not unusual for the crappies up here to simply not spawn when conditions are up and down and water temps are all over the place for a month on end. Alabama doesn't get the Canadian clippers like Minnesota does so there's a huge difference between the two states.

You are right about the weather for sure. I was referring to where they spawn. Bigger fish spawn a little deeper. I think it's more for safety form predators down here. The young small fish don't know about birds yet so they spawn right on the banks. It seems like no matter the lake they spawn in the same places.

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You can bet that every lake that has natural crappie reproduction in it has historical spawning areas.

Birds don't bother spawning beds up here much. Anglers are the greatest threat to the spawning fish and males tending nests. On our local lake spawning has maybe a four day window where spawning activity gets done. The males stay on the beds until they eggs hatch and almost immediately the fry group up and hit open water where the plankton are thick. By fall we see those young of the year crappies looking at wintering areas long before the masses move to them. But its not uncommon to have the shores beat half to death when the fish are up on them. Personally I'd be ok with the state closing the crappie season for the month of May. When the crappies are on beds I hit the river and play tag with bass using top water baits....love the hits that come on tops. We get some huge pike at the same time....15-25 pounds. Lets those crappies get done with what they need to do to keep the future happy.

Originally Posted by snake River

A good size crappie and Oregon Mike could range from 8 inches all the way up to 4 pounds it's quite common to catch a lot of three-quarter pounders in the snake River and that varies from year to year most of the state of Oregon has crappie in depending on the area of the state will depend on the size of the fish of course the eastern part of the state where I lived will produce a lot of fish in the snake River most the time they are running from 8 inches on up to 3 to 4 pounds most likely that you will catch a lot of small ones I mean you will catch 300 a day is quite common most of them are released least I do here is a link to show you the state records for warm water game fish this is through the club that I belong to ever since I was 16 .Fish Records

I can see why you want to go back to Oregon my friend. Catching 300 and releasing 275 crappie a day sure sounds like fun to me. The other 25 I would transport to Lake Crisco. LOL

Originally Posted by CTom

What Alabama is likely to have is consistently warm waters for spawning where we can get a cold front that will slam 10 degrees out of shore line water in a heart beat. Its not unusual for the crappies up here to simply not spawn when conditions are up and down and water temps are all over the place for a month on end. Alabama doesn't get the Canadian clippers like Minnesota does so there's a huge difference between the two states.

You said a mouthful there my friend. That is exactly why I moved to Alabama from Ohio. I caught a lot of dinks sometimes in North east Ohio. Don't get me wrong. They were 10-12" and I was proud of them and they sure tasted great. I was proud of them too. BUT WHEN I MOVED TO THE SOUTH...I found out those were called "Dinks" as I regularly bagan to catch 14-17 inchers. Just sayin....

A lunker, and how fun to catch on a bait you poured!