Hello,

Just got back from a Crappie fishing trip to Ky Lake. We caught 90 Crappie in 2 days (just the fish I kept).  The min size is 10".

The largest were 17"-18".

My question is what do you consider a "big" crappie?  

thanks

Larry

17"-18"?

Are you sure? :-?

Those are HUGE crappie!!

But to answer your question, I think a 12" crappie is pretty big.

POST PICS!!!!!

12" is a real good sized crappie, and anything larger than that is definitely what I consider big. I'd love to see some pictures from your trip.

Screw the Pix...When is the fish fry?  ;D

i've seen pics of 18" crappie before..... HUGE! never gonna see one of those up here in washington  :'(

9" is the minimum in most lakes.... 10" is a good keeper.... 12" is a REAL good fish. anything over 12" isn't to common  :'(

According to the reference chart developed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,

18" ~ 3 lbs 14 oz. In northern Mississippi that would be a "very nice" crappie. Four pounds is large. 5 lbs 3 oz is the World Record (white crappie); 4 lbs 8 oz for black crappie.

I start keeping them around 12 inches and I think 14 inches is a nice or big one.  

Twelve to fourteen inch crappie are good solid fish where I come from.  Around here, there are occasional seventeen and eighteen inch crappie and they usually weight more than 3 lbs.  I haven't had the privilege of catching one of these monsters yet.  

  You have done better than 99% of the people who are fishing for crappie this time of the year.   I know some people who are die hard crappie fishman and you beat them.   To answered you question a 17 or 18 incher is a big crappie.

Thanks for your replies.

If any of you are at Kentucky Lake, check out my guide, Andy Allen.  He is a heck of an angler and a nice guy.  

Larry

In south they have some of the biggest crappie. 12in in Kansas would be big crappie.

On Toledo Bend we catch a lot of 2 to 2 1/2 lb Crappie on Spinner Baits and Rat-L-Traps.

The lake record Black Crappie is 3.69 lb/17.75" and White Crappie is 2.88 lb/17.25".

A few 12" specks will make a nice little fish dinner.

i keep the daily limit worth, of all sizes but every time i catch a bigger one, ill throw a small one back.

id say 10in is pretty big, my biggest was about 11in. i thought i had a bass, but hey, it taste pretty good.

we have some good ones over here on the left coast too ! :-) Our best fishery for them, by far, is at Clear Lk.

In fact, I have been starting to chase them a bit. Haven't caught my 3.0 or better yet, but I did get a 2.3 and a 2.4 lb'er last week. I know of two 3-14's that have been caught this Fall already, and the Ca. state reord of 4lb 8 oz came from Clear Lk. also.

Around here, a 3.0 will be 17 to 18 inches. A 4 might be 18" to 19".

Peace,

Fish

Twelve to fourteen inch crappie are good solid fish where I come from. Around here, there are occasional seventeen and eighteen inch crappie and they usually weight more than 3 lbs. I haven't had the privilege of catching one of these monsters yet.

Totally the same here.

My biggest this year was only 13 1/2".

caught on my fav. red/white tubie 8-)

Only hope to get one like that off the ice this coming season.

The biggest i ever caught was 15" on a medium sized husky jerk, with about 2/4 of the lake still frozen. Only the shorelines were fishable. Anyways, in michigan, 14-15 inches is pretty big. I dont think i ever caught one uner 10 inches ever, because i always accidently catch them on bass lures.

I dont think i ever caught one uner 10 inches ever, because i always accidently catch them on bass lures.

         Same here,caught a 15" this year on a deepdiver and several over 10"all by accident

I am not exactly sure how long my crappie is but, i know for sure its 2bls 2oz.

Re: What do you consider a large Crappie

Statistically speaking, any crappie over 2 lbs is Trophy-Class.

A 2 lb crappie will average about 15" long and be about 8 years old.

A 3 lb crappie is Record-Class and average about 17" long (Age-??).

Roger

Well, I certainly wasn't trying to beat up anyones's catch, it's just that in this region, BIG crappie are REALLY BIG.

I'm not a crappie fisherman, so I'm NOT bragging about any fish I have caught. Crappie around here are for EATING,

they are NOT considered a TROPHY fish.

I'll stick with 4 lbs for what I consider a LARGE CRAPPIE, but I have never caught one.

Roadwarrior,

That's calispeak!!   ;D

Our records (Tx) are:

black crappie  3.92 (Fork 03')

white crappie  4.56  (caught in 1968)

Biggest I have ever seen is 3.5 lbs., biggest I have ever caught (on a 1/2 oz spinnerbait no less!)  was right at 3 lbs., and they were tanks!  Both at Hide-a-way's 3rd lake.  (and both caught by accident while bass fishing)

Here is a 14 incher from Eastern WA ;D

flechero,

You're right. Maybe I can get Bud to take me crappie fishing at Kentucky Lake next spring, I'm sure that would give me a much better perspective on what crappie fishing is all about. The few times I have fished for them, they were not particularly exciting. I'm not saying that a mess of "slabs" isn't a good day, but the fight is weak, even on ultra light tackle. The comparison might be to speckled trout: B-O-R-I-N-G, but good to eat!

The few times I have fished for them, they were not particularly exciting.

Right there with you... only fished for them on purpose for an upcoming fish fry.  I find that my miller lite cans 'empty' much faster when crappie fishing!   ;D