Question about size of crappie to keep to eat during the spring spawn?

[jackie53]

What size is better to keep to eat during the spring spawn 10',11" keep the males throw back the females.What size is best to keep?

[CrappiePro]

I like a crappie 10-12 inches for eating best. I am going to release some big fat females to spawn, I am starting to feel bad about filleting them all. It bothers me to look at a 2-3 lb female full of eggs and thinking about the beautiful fish and all her 1000's of crappie fry im about to kill. I just cant do it anymore.

[luvpt]

Well said Russ...... X2 ! ! ! !

I like a crappie 10-12 inches for eating best. I am going to release some big fat females to spawn, I am starting to feel bad about filleting them all. It bothers me to look at a 2-3 lb female full of eggs and thinking about the beautiful fish and all her 1000's of crappie fry im about to kill. I just cant do it anymore.

[cache22]

A good question! A 10 to 12 inch crappie should have several more years left to spawn whereas a 16 to 17 inch sow may be nearing the end of its productive life. Those 12" do eat better for sure! I think that this time of year you should just take enough to have a good, fresh fish fry. Stock the freezer with limits after the spawn is over, not when it is easy to limit. You might have to go more often , but Limiting out is not that important...... is it?

[arkansasbowhunter]

I like 10 to 12 inch to fry but the bigger ones bake better

[petercreek]

It's a personal choice. Keep a legal limit of crappie and if you choose to catch and release on spawning females so be it.

[xring]

If you take a sow crappie in august,,or march, the results are the same..one less female to spawn.
A better idea would be to get rid of the trawlers dragging minnows and limit the SPORT of crappie fishing to a maximum of two poles, maximum of two hooks per pole. Another helpful idea, when you catch him,,you keep him..too many gilled crappie floating down the creek, turtle bait....Thats just my opinion

[BigKev77]

xring's first sentence is the way I look at it as well. I am keeping what I catch.

[arkansasbowhunter]

Oh here we go again. Its all the trawlers catching all the crappie. I see plenty single pole guys on here catching just as many fish. A limit is a limit xring no matter how they are caught with a yo yo, single pole in each hand, or 6 poles. You gonna ban the little old lady sitting on the bank or in her boat with 5 cane poles too? It doesnt matter the method used because there are guys fish 2 poles ad catch just as many as he rest of the trawlers. I guess we can next be limited to the number of day we fish too so we can only take a limit 1 day a week lol. Just my opinion

[petercreek]

My dad would keep the smaller crappie and bream to fry up whole and fillet the rest.