Define BIG crappie please

So many with that there stalk them down gear nowadays makes me wonder if the definition of BIG crappie might be changing .....
We used to think 2 lbers in our area are BIG crappie , and even though we have lots of stalkers in the mix in these parts , 2 lb. crappie still seem to remain what we call BIG ....
3 lb. crappie used to be BIG and exist in a few spots east of dfw , but sadly they stalked all them down and we have about zero of them now ......:banghead
but here in lies where the debate might get dicey , if you just pitch your jig in the river ....
and ketch a few in the 2 lb. range ....are them BIG ?
for sure YES , the state fisheries guys tell me they NEVER seen a 3 lb. crappie in my area
always thought we might see one sooner or later and some are in the upper 2 range rarely ...
thought for sure LS would take them all out, like fork and a few other lakes ....
but as of now .....nope .....cause the never existed here in the first place ....
so when you define BIG crappie it has to be relative to the spot you target is my thoughts
some spots will NEVER grow a 3 lb crappie from what I hear ,,,,
that far left top fish was a for sure BIG for a river fish ,just saying
and yes KABOOM is still the word :highfive

Those are BIG good ones anywhere. KABOOM!!!

Nice shirt, I'm gonna need one soon enough...:Rofl

I agree. "big" is relative to the body of water being spoken of, IMHO. But when you go talkin "statewide" or "regionally", then the size factor needs a bit more "splainin". Also may have to take into account "who" caught it, as in if a 5yo kid catches a 8" Crappie ... that might be "big" in his eyes.

For me ... a "keeper" is "big enough", while anything between one & two pounds is "big", and anything between two & three pounds is "HUGE". And three pounds and over is a "MONSTER" :ThumbsUp

2lbder big for martin

Anything bigger than the guy I'm fishing with has! :Rofl

I agree with Pappy!

I determine size by length.

10-12 inches eater
13 inches solid
14-15 inches slab
15+ inches monster

If they spill over the side of my dinner plate they are bigguns

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My take on a big crappie is what the waters you fish produce. And what is very interesting about that is just this, you may fish a lake or river for that fact and a slab is only a one pound fish. You may go ten miles down the road to a different lake or river and slabs in it are three pound crappie. As for my fish toco’s I had rather eat an eleven to a fourteen inch crappie. But I will occasionally take larger especially if it’s a male due to life expectancy of a crappie. As for the forward facing sonar, you can very well once you learn it hunt down bigger fish, but it want make them bite. And if you are just hunting trophies, you may spend your day burning batteries and fuel and most of all precious time. At approaching 65 I am more interested in catching fish and enjoying life rather than looking for a trophy. But that’s just me. If I get one fine, but I had rather have rough fingers and hands. I personally do a lot of catching and releasing, because a young 65 year old married couple can only put away on the table on a good day 6 or 7. And I only keep a limit when I know there is going to be a big gathering. And these days that doesn’t happen that much anymore. I say keep fishing. I watched my 14 year old grandson catch well over a 100 in the river this past weekend catching and releasing. As most were nine or ten inch fish. He and his Dad were in my boat fishing live minnows. Their challenge was who could catch the most on a single minnow. I think the winner was what they called the zombie minnow, I think it got a total of six. That’s fishing and fun.


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It's all relative to how they bitten. if'n all you ketchn is 9"ers, and a 12" comes along, by lordy, it's a biggin'...

BIG is truly in the eyes of the beholder as stated , some folks have never held a 14 inch crappie .
and for sure in lot's of spots they just never seem to grow up to larger size fish as well .
I have a pretty good idea in the spots I frequent what defines a nice one .
as far as a BIG one goes , any crappie close to the lake record is for sure a BIG crappie on that lake in these parts

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Those are BIG good ones anywhere. KABOOM!!!

Nice shirt, I'm gonna need one soon enough...:Rofl

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the top left fish was likely over 2 lbs. and in the river a bit over 2 lbs. is the water body record :cheers2

Tidal River fish never reach 2 pounds here. That last fish I posted was only 1.803 pounds at over 16 inches long. Tidal river Crappie are the best eating in my opinion as they never get a chance to store fat, always swimming in some kind of current. If you get in a oxbow off the river systems you pull a Stud now & then but usually the bigger fish, fish not part of the food chain anymore, they stay out in the main rivers dining on the buffet of food washing by.

I know a spot where you can possibly ketch a black crappie over 16 inches long and it will likely only be 1.5 or so ....
that same black crappie in some other spots might be pushing 3 ....
pretty interesting for sure , the lower weight fish in one lake are built like white bass
the other fish at the next lake are built like a fat bluegill on steroids ....
both lakes seem healthy and both are large water bodies ....
my guess is that the shrimp in the larger fish lake have some play in it
the skinny fish lake is basically shrimpless :dono

I'd agree with Grainraiser's list. I don't keep anything under 14" unless it was injured & unlikely to survive in most bodies of water. One lake I fish doesn't seem to produce anything over 12". I've caught thousands of crappie out of that lake over the decades that I've fished there and never topped 1.25 pounds. If they're there, theyre hiding pretty well.

Jim

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Originally Posted by Yak Fish

I'd agree with Grainraiser's list. I don't keep anything under 14" unless it was injured & unlikely to survive in most bodies of water. One lake I fish doesn't seem to produce anything over 12". I've caught thousands of crappie out of that lake over the decades that I've fished there and never topped 1.25 pounds. If they're there, theyre hiding pretty well.

Jim

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Jim, I'm just the opposite. I rarely keep them over 14". I figure if they get that far, I'm going to let them go and see what they'll turn in to (hopefully). From a biology standpoint, some lakes wont produce 2lb+ fish regularly because folks won't keep smaller fish, and would rather keep bigger fish. The smaller fish get so numerous and out compete.


That said, a big crappie to me is 2lb+. There are some exceptions. Take Lake Norman NC for instance. I've caught a few 16"+ fish there. Only weighed one of them on decent scales, and it was 1.85lb. The others were long ago before I had decent scales. The cheap scales I had were cheap spring scales and they said sub 2lb. Those were still big crappie. A 16" black crappie from this lake is a long, broad fish, but these were thin.

This past winter, I caught two over 2lb out of Norman. Although I said 2lb was a big fish, both were right at 14.25". While they fit the "2lb" club, they just weren't "big" to me. I still want to catch one that is 16"+ and built like those two were.

Most of the Yadkin (river system in NC) fish in late fall through early spring hit 2lb around 15". 15" starts kind of being the "big" crappie definition for me, but I still think they're just 'nice' fish.

I caught one in Wylie on New Years Day this year that was 16 and change that fit the bill. Was 2.34 on my scales, and my scales tend to weigh 0.1-0.2lb lighter than tournament scales in that range. I had one that was 2.17 on tournament scales that was 2.06 on my scales a few days later during that tourny. Had one the following month that was 2.09 on my scales that was 2.21 "officially".

Now I'm just rambling but yeah, 2lb unless theyre built like footballs. Otherwise 15.5-16"+

The lakes I fish have both black and white crappie but you seldom see a black over 13inches. The blacks are better fighters but it's the whites that put on the weight and grow over two pounds. Lake Fork has some monster white crappie and decent black crappies.

To me it's 15" or bigger or 2# or more.

They are big enough if I reach for my phone to take a picture. Last couple trips I caught over 30 crappie. Pictures taken, 0. Normally catch some 14" plus crappie every year but not this year. Top crappie this year is a couple 13".

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Originally Posted by JUNGLEJIMJIGS

They are big enough if I reach for my phone to take a picture. Last couple trips I caught over 30 crappie. Pictures taken, 0. Normally catch some 14" plus crappie every year but not this year. Top crappie this year is a couple 13".

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I typically take a quick shot of all of them , or used to , it's my fish counter ,since they get tossed back most of the time ....
lately I just pitch them if there are chips in the mix ....too much wasted time ....
you ever come down this way , we could try to cure that there 13 inch max program , it could happen ....just saying :Rofl

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.

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 :).

16" or better 2 1/2" pounds here is a show"er not a grower!

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.

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.

All my fish are whoppers. Don't matter how big it is.

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Originally Posted by bfish

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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I'd sure like to see a group photo of 18-19"ers, or even a solo 20

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Originally Posted by TreednNC

I'd sure like to see a group photo of 18-19"ers, or even a solo 20

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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.

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

For me it depends on where I’m fishing. On my local lake ( Barren) anything over 12” is a good one. Those 14&15” fish are in there but not a lot of them. Over at KY lake, I consider the 14” and above a good one.


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Once they start to pull drag and bend my L to ML bass Rod, I call them big. Just like this one about 14” or so 2.14lb caught last night with a few of 12” ones. I only caught this size once in a while this time of year make if feel and look even bigger lol.

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Originally Posted by TreednNC

I'd sure like to see a group photo of 18-19"ers, or even a solo 20

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I'm with you. Longest crappie I ever caught was a spawning male at 19 1/2" long he may have weighed a 1-1/2 # at best, very thin. Was at the very end of his life cycle. Probably 6 years old or so. I've caught several 17" to 18" in the 3# or better range. A 20 is almost unheard of, atleast for me and I fish in the land of the giants! A 19 to 20 inch crappie is definitely picture worthy!

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I asked a buddy of his definition of a big crappie and he said; "One that's to big the reach your hand around back to belly. I couldn't disagree with him.

Jim

I had to add another definition of big. I thought this was fitting as me and my fourteen year old grandson was catching some crappie this weekend. I asked him what does he consider a big crappie and I think you all will like his answer. Or at least get a laugh out of it. Because no doubt this has happened to everyone who has ever fished for very long.
He stated “ when you set the hook with a 10 foot or longer pole and the crappie doesn’t fly over the boat like a ballistic missal”!
I thought that was fitting. Of course he does and always had a hard hook set.


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