if i am targeting black crappie my bait wont be larger than about 1.75 inches long , and it might be in the 1 inch range sometimes .
white crappie seem to take larger baits more frequently though , but to be sure you can ketch some big black crappie sometimes on larger baits .
on the big lakes here with the big blacks you might ketch a real large black on a big bait ,seen that a time or 2 .
to better understand the species i suggest you read up on them . in this part of the world some of the main forage items for black crappie are ghost shrimp and EVEN large plankton .
white crappie tend to target shad most of the time .