What size do you consider a crappie to be a trophy? Every now and then I'll get one that looks like it belongs on the wall rather then a plate.
Where do you draw the like?
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What size do you consider a crappie to be a trophy? Every now and then I'll get one that looks like it belongs on the wall rather then a plate.
Where do you draw the like?
For me, personally ... 3lbs would be the least I'd consider putting on the wall. I've eaten many Crappie just shy of that weight, but haven't ever landed one over 3lbs.
... cp :kewl
I have no desire to mount one on the wall. To me a picture is just as good and Crappie taste too good to waste. If I wasn't going to eat it, it would go back in the water. Just me, tho. EB
I think it has a lot to do with where you fish and your personal feeling's about what is a trophy. Like Pappy down here I wouldn't even consider anything under 3 lbs. But from pictures I have seen of the Black crappie you guys have up there some of them would make a beautiful mount no matter how much it weighed.
Just took my 3.3 that I caught at nadar to the taxidermist this week, already told the wife If i ever catch a really nice black it is going on the wall too.By nice I mean, if it was from here in Illinois and some how weighed over 2
I dont know the weight, but I just put a 15+ incher in the pan for dinner. Wish I weighed it. She was a beauty.
19" is what I consider to be trophy. I am lucky enough to catch them several times a year in the 15-17" range but 19+ are rare.
15 inch crappie in New York is a good size. New York record Black Crappie is 3lb 12oz and White Crappie is 3lb 13oz.
I think that depends on where you fish. I had the same question a few weeks ago. I've decided to mount the first 17" one I catch. Caught my personal best Friday - 15 1/2" Attachment 160358
So far my PB is a 15 incher.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps130f238f.jpg
A trophy catch for me is anything bigger than the last big one I caught!
Any size will fit on my grill. Yummy in the tummy. I got ducks and bass on the wall cause they aint fittin to eat.
3lb, however i got lucky one day and caught four fish all weighing 2lb 12oz and almost got them mounted in some sort of group setting, but never did.
For me in the waters that I fish here at home, I'd mount a 16"er. I have caught numerous 15, 15-1/2 & 15-3/4 over the years but haven't hit the 16" mark yet. I hear local people say they have caught them that big, but I have yet to see one in person. Not talking about out of a pond or lake but an actual Ohio river trib in the Meldahl pool. I know there's one out there with my name on it & I'll catch it sooner or later.
3lb is what I am looking for.
The trophy is in the eyes of the fisherman I have a 2.5 black on the wall and caught several others that were 2 plus pounds I wish I would have mounted
Trophy is what a person wants it to be. I've mounted several crappie that were not even 2 pounds but they were special fish to someone. I refurbished a black crappie mount for a guy that was caught years earlier by his late father. It was nowhere near 2 pounds but was a world record in the eyes of the son. He teared up when I took it to him.
My personal best crappie were both whites, caught a few feet and a couple of minutes apart on Lake Barkley that weighed 3.0 and 3 pounds 4 oz. I filleted both. I wasn't doing taxidermy in those days. Either one would be on my wall now.
I guess I'm gonna have to get me digital scale or something because I have no accurate way to weigh them. For you guys that have boated 3 pound + fish.... How long were they? I have no idea how much a +15" would weigh
That would be really hard to say, since some lakes produce thicker or deeper bodied fish than others. It would also depend on whether it was a White Crappie or Black Crappie, especially when guesstimating weight by length alone.Quote:
Originally Posted by try'n hard
There are conversion charts for Crappie, but they're guesstimates that can vary as much as 1/2lb or more for a 15" fish.
You can also estimate the weight by taking the length & girth measurements .... multiply the length times the girth, then times the girth again, then divide by 800. (LxGxG/800) But, that rarely works for Crappie ... and is only going to give you a marginal average for Bass.
So, yeah ... a good quality scale is the one true way to know what your fish weighs, if it's important enough for you to know !!
... cp :kewl
Attachment 160500
my white from nadar full of eggs was 17 inchs or maybe a little more and she weighed 3 lbs 3 ozs and going on the wall
I caught my biggest this year at ky. lake and it was a 16 1/4" and weighed 2.4 And I ate that rascal.:biggrin
When you don't catch many like me, they are all trophies
Look on the Ms big fish thread the wt was 4lbs 8oz 18in long and 18 in girth. Gave it to a friend to mount. the 3s I have caught the length will be the same as the girth.
Here's a 3+ from Nader and I let him go. Caught it before a tournament. Caught 3 over 3 before the tournament . And 1 during the tournament.
It has to depend on where you live. I live in indiana and caught one in northern indiana that was around 2lb 3oz and got it mounted. Then went down to TN and caught multiple fish over 2 lbs and didn't even consider it.
Have the best of both worlds. Take a good pic, get a good length and girth measurement, fillet and have a good crappie dinner and get a replica mount made....
Any crappie over 3# is going back in the lake after I take pics, measurements and all info for a replica mount! Plenty of 11 to 13" fish to eat!Quote:
Originally Posted by hatchetman
This one was obviously not a trophy to most but it was to me and my daughter wanted this one to swim again. She put the rest in the well for supper.
Attachment 161621Attachment 161622
Mine too and it sat nicely on my stomach!Quote:
Originally Posted by kb2112
Interesting topic. When I was growing up in southern Ohio all of our fish were described by weight. We rarely measured how long a fish was. Having lived in Michigan for almost 50 years now, up here fish are almost always described by length only. With that said, if a guy in Michigan set the bar for a crappie to mount at 3 lbs he probably would never have one done. Slabs that heavy might be a lot more common "down south" but not this far north. In Michigan, the minimum length to qualify for a Master Angler award is 14". Such a crappie is probably well under 2 lbs. Because of the 14" limit for our Master Angler award, most guys I know who have a mounted crappie have one at least 14" long. As far as replicas, most of the fishermen I know won't settle for a bondo copy of a crappie that someone else caught.
Excellent idea for me too. Did just that with my 17 1/2" @ 3.25 lbs. and looking for a replica maker.Quote:
Originally Posted by hatchetman
anything over 16" is a trophy here.
I would agree with CrappiePappy. 3 lbs is a really good fish. I have yet to get a 3 lb fish. I've got close a couple times. My personal best is 18 inches. However if you live up north like Indiana a 12 or 13 inch fish might be a trophy. I hear they don't get real big up there.
Actually they do get just as big up North ... just not as many or as often. State records for many states in the Northeast US range between 3 & 5lbs ... but several state records are well over 40yrs old, and some don't even have state records for Crappie.Quote:
Originally Posted by superfly
And FYI .... Indiana's state record Crappie is 4lb 11oz from a private pond in 1994.
(statistics taken from : State Fishing Records )
... cp :kewl
Yeah, the world record bream came from Ketona Alabama. Near Birmingham from a rock quarry lake. I say it's just chance in both instances. Ecosystems are different and sometimes much better in small bodies of water. I like records from public waters that get equal fishing pressure. I'm just saying. :biggrin
Because of my lifelong hobby at fish taxidermy I have seen more than a few super slabs. One of my friends who lives in Indiana is a professional fish taxidermist. While visiting his shop several years ago I noticed one particularly HUGE crappie mount he had drying. I measured it and it was an incredible 21" long. It was, and will probably be forever, the largest crappie I have ever had my hands on. It was not weighed so it's anyone's guess. In case there are any among you (LIKE ME) who refuse to acknowledge claims of record class size fish without proof, here is a picture of the finished mount. It must be very close to the Indiana state record...eh?
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w.../20crappie.jpg
Well I have caught at least 10 that were 17" or better and wish I had mounted several of them. If I get another one 17" or more I will mount that one. My wife has 1 that was 17" and sorry I didn't get that one mounted too! Regret here that I didn't. I was catching at least one every year for a good while until about 3 years ago and since then 16 1/2" is my best. Biggest I have caught was 18 1/4".
That is a beautiful mount!! Probably the best I have ever seen. I wish I was closer, I have a 2.92/17" White in the freezer that I would love to let him do. Great job!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by crappietale
In New Jersey, every lake is overfished and it is very rare to come by huge crappie. Record white is over 3 and I believe record black is over 4. So its not impossible but my personal best is only 14 in weighing just over 1lb. I have never personally seen any bigger but Im sure they exist but are few and far between.
I've been in your boat...Quote:
Originally Posted by wilbur
You're just'a funnin to keep folks from following you around...
:biggrin
Rickie