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Just as the title stated: What in your mind is considered a slab crappie as far as length? Sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but I had a guy last year at the ramp who said he a mess of slabs. Honestly from what I saw he didnt have anything bigger then about 10", I've was always under the impression that anything over 12" or am I wrong. I hear the term being used as much as doormat for flounder, but again everyones idea of a doormat varies.
14" up for me anything smaller is a Sammich mmm
Depends on where you are fishing. Some lakes I fish a 12in is a slab some lakes a 14in is a slab.
X2!Quote:
Originally Posted by Gobob
In Ohio if I am catching all dinks (6-8") and then bring in a 9-10" I am calling it a slab, lol but for the most part up here I would consider a 12"+ Crappie a slab
I would have to say in my neck of the woods a 12"er would be a slab. Now when I go to Miss. that is not even a keeper. Has to be over 12 so I'm looking for a 16plus down there. :twocents
:dono but maybe the "guy at the ramp" was using the term "slab" to mean simply "Crappie" ... in the same way some call them "Specks" or any of the other nicknames we use. Then again, those fish may have been larger, on average, than what he normally catches.
But, as far as your "definition" question ... IMHO it depends on the lake & what the average size that lake can produce, and anything "over" that average size I'd consider a "Slab".
On a local lake I've fished for decades, that has a 9" size & 15/day creel limit ... we used to jokingly refer to any 10" Crappie as a "Lake X Slab", since you normally had to catch close to 50-100 fish to get your 15 fish daily limit of 9" fish. Now, however, the fish are averaging an inch or two longer than those 10" fish we joked about being "slabs". So, now we still "jokingly" refer to the smaller fish as "Lake X Slabs" ... but, just for the sake of nostalgia, or trash talking/ribbing each other about catching a dink or "just barely" keeper sized fish.
... cp :kewl
13 to 14 inches depending on its girth in our area of the planet I would say maybe ?
depends a lot on what lake and etc etc
In TN, the TARP (Tennessee Angler Recognition Program (I think)) is 14". So, that is what I consider a "slab" here.
Plate size is a slab down here for me. Head and tail fin hanging over. My 2 cents.
Where I live anything over 12 inches is a slab and 14 is a monster
I would say 12 inches for a Black Crappie and 14 for a White Crappie.
I would say it's all in the eyes of the fisherman. One mans trophy might not be the next guys.
I like to see a big mouth and head when it surfaces on the way to the boat. Bigger fish behave different sometimes and won't lay on their side for the skiing lesson we like to give them. That's when thickness comes into play. If he's 2 fingers thick or more, now you have my attention. Now and then I get one that is almost 3 fingers thick and I get real excited. A slab is a term that is purely in the eye of the beholder. Who am I to say that a fish is small when the fisherman is used to catching dinks and whatever is on the end of his line has him more excited than his first lucky date. I say the eye of the beholder.
1 3/4 lb or bigger :biggrin
2# .....
Here it is 2 lbs or 15'' in my opinion .:biggrin
If it's as wide as my hand with my thumb laying against my forefinger, it's a slab. If it's wider than that, it's a pig.
HERE on our lakes anything Bigger than "RCC"'s:biggrin:yikes is a Slab!!!!:highfive
If the fish seems to have low self esteem, I will call an 8 inch fish a slab just to help with self esteem issues later in life. If this doesn't seem to help, I will take said 8 inch slab out of the gene pool to prevent the spread of such issues.
12" mark is what I'd call a slab but a lake I fish a lot in the spring has a ridiculous amount of crappie in it but a 10" crappie is above average and I'd call that a slab in that little lake.
If I am taking a kid fishing and they catch it the size only has to be as big as my hand ....What a SLAP you caught there boy ~ girl . High 5 me !
Some adults I take fishing only need a 2# bass to get excited .
I throw anything under 15" back round these parts,,, everything's else is just a dink,,lol
Depends on the lake, one lake I fish several times a year if its 14 inches its a slab. On my home lake of Grenada if its under 16 inches its just another fish, location, location, location.
Where I fish 11-12 inch would be a slab. Majority of the fish are in the 7-8 inch range with a good number of 9 inch fish but only an occasional fish over 10. Not to say there arent a bunch of the bigger fish I just havent been able to get over them consistently.
12'' would be a nice slab 14" better personal best was a 17" eyepopper!! .
lately .....?any crappie...LOL
I guess it depends on where you live. Some guys up north must think the nickname for crappie is slabs, as every one they catch, no matter what size it is, is a slab. A nice one to me may be a slab to someone else. So be it. Ask MR DUX, he catches SLAB gaspergoo. :highfive
As so many have previously stated, I think it depends on location and perspective.
My wife and I are just getting into crappie fishing and at this time in our development and on the lakes that we fish 12+ is a “Slab” for us. We have an 8 inch 20/day creel on the lakes we fish. We usually refuse to keep anything less than 10 inches unless it is badly hooked or has a lot of meat on it.
Based upon fishing reports, ramp conversation and “show and tell” we know that there are bigger fish in the lakes, we just have not enticed any of them to come visit us.
My wife wants to go to either Kentucky Lake or Grenada and have a guide show us what really big fish are. I am sure after that trip our definition of a “Slab” will change drastically.
The state of Tenn gives a award for those 14 inches and over.
Every fish that comes in my boat is a SLAB! hahahahaha just kidding, but If she is a 2 pounder.....she is a slab.
Chaunc, if I ever caught one the size of those in your profile pic I would drop dead on the spot.
3lbs and over in the lakes I fish but in other places and lakes it might be 1 1/2lbs. I think it depends on what part of country your in!
for me, anything 1/2 inch over the size limit, which doesn't happen very often
Exactly rightQuote:
Originally Posted by Joey Clark
While we do have some killer crappie fishing here in Alabama, our minimum everywhere I'm aware of is 9" so you'll have guys keeping everything they catch and limiting out on what I consider dinks. Last year I decided not to keep anything under 10", but I broke my own rule on my last trip because I was having a fish fry with friends and wasn't landing the big ones I was after. I don't keep as many now, but I'm hoping it helps the crappie fishing in the long run. I think if more people did that then it'd help for sure. But, it's my understanding that some years the crappie run small, then others they decide to get bigger. Last year on one of my lakes they ran small, only about half being keepers of 9"+, but on my main lake they were 10"-11" on average and I rarely had to toss one back. My biggest last year was 15". I played Rock, Paper Mouth, Filet Knife on that slab.