Thanks: 
Reply With QuoteWhen the mouth starts looking like a bucket I consider those big crappie! For me so far, they're usually 12"+ and 1.25lbs+.
The crappie in Ketchn's pics is big by my standards. A whopper, if you will.
Trophy King II
Repeat, whatever is big for that area you are fishing in. Some lakes only produce up to 12”. Some produce 4 pounders. So a big fish for someone up in the northern states might be 1.5 pounders and someone in the southern states might be a 3 pounder.
So again what’s big in the waters you are fishing dictates that definition. Now a better question might be what size do you like to eat? And what size would you mount to collect dust. I don’t mount, take pictures, catch and release and eat.
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When the mouth starts looking like a bucket I consider those big crappie! For me so far, they're usually 12"+ and 1.25lbs+.
The crappie in Ketchn's pics is big by my standards. A whopper, if you will.
Keeper
In Northern Wisconsin anything over 12" is big in my book. Lot's of lakes full of little ones - then 10"er's look big after you been catching 8's all day.
Ketchn haha
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Crappie Wall Hanger II
A BIG CRAPPIE is more than just length and weight. It's what they can do that makes them big like break lines, straighten fine wire hooks, hit bass lures, pull kayak around a 360 twice, pull drag, and not be able to fit in my ice cream bucket size keep bucket in my kayak. Half the time they get away and some of the time, I land them.
Oh I could wrestle a monster fish
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17" is when they start to really start to have some heft to them. So 18-19" are really nice (worthy of a group picture, if I get several), 20" is what I would call big and worthy of a picture.
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All my fish are whoppers. Don't matter how big it is.
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I'd sure like to see a group photo of 18-19"ers, or even a solo 20Originally Posted by bfish
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Yeah Texas has some big crappies but your not going to see a stringer full of 16-18"ers. Heck I have never seen or heard of a 20inch crappie. I could retire with a fish that large.
Trophy King II
I have heard about 3 lb crappie ever since I moved To east texas in 1982. I have never seen one personally. Early on I fished lake tyler,
I can recall only one 2 lb crappie. I bought a house on lake Palestine in 1998. My biggest is 2.78. that was a big crappie in my book. A few years back , 2 lb crappie were common on Palestine. There were days when multiple 2 lb fish
happened frequently. Not so much lately,
I don't think I have caught a 2 lb crappie in the last couple of years.
Most of the big fish I have caught in the last couple of years have weighed around 1.75, still a nice fish.
When I look in the livewell after a good day, it seems there are 3 sized , barely legal ( just over 10 inches) Nice ones ( say 1 lb to 1 1/2 lbs) and
slabs ( 1 1/2 and over ) . I am assuming three different spawning classes. I suspect the biggest fish are loners , not in schools.
If I were targeting only big fish, I would be fishing in the standing timber near the river channel. But I like numbers , so I will continue to
fish the brushpiles in 14- 20 ft.
Your mileage may vary
Mo
