I caught my very first Crappie late yesterday afternoon. It was about 13 inches long and weight between 2 1/2 and 3 lbs. I was wondering if this is the normal size for a crappie.

In Mississippi it is  ;D, that's a very good size crappie anywhere.  You got any pics or is it already in the freezer?

Lol, well it is swimming again with his/her family in the lake. My wife made me put it back b/c she said it wasn't big enough to keep and seeing as it was my very first crappie catch I put it back! AHHHH now I wish I'd have kept it... :'(

This was the only picture that she snapped of it while I was taking it off the hook.

Almost looks like a bass, huge crappy there

Thanks!

2 1/2 pounds is a great crappie.  Did you weigh it?  in terms of crappie, 2 1/2 - 3 pounds like saying "I caught a bass between 4 and 12 pounds" lol.

but if it was that weight, it was a great catch, and def. one to get pics of next time you get it!

A 13" Crappie would typically weigh around a pound. Still  a GREAT fish. We catch a lot of crappie in the spring, and the largest we've boated was just less than 18"and weighed 3 pounds, 3 ounces.

Daniel, that's a trophy crappie for sure!

Last spring Dad and I were at Ky Lake slow rolling crankbaitsfor bass when he lands a nice 15" Crappie.  We notice fish hangin on structure and decide to take a minute and try out the Crappie situation (since Bass were really slow).  We tied on some White RoadRunner Jigs and cast them out and reeled em in like spinners.  I guess they were feeling aggressive, because we burned em up.  Fished the same structure all week, and consistently caught 13" and larger crappie, not a single smaller one.  Its my best Crappie trip ever... and was completely by accident.

Looks about like a redeye.

A 13" Crappie would typically weigh around a pound. Still a GREAT fish. We catch a lot of crappie in the spring, and the largest we've boated was just less than 18"and weighed 3 pounds, 3 ounces.

Agreed. I doubt a 13 incher, even on steroids, could ever attain 2.5 -3 lbs. My very biggest, a plump 15 incher, didn't weigh more than around 1.50 lbs. Still, it's a nice fish. Gotta love them big crappie!

If you ar looking to catch a good stringer full of crappie check out charlie brewer sliders they work wonders in the lakes that i use them in. We recently within the last year bought a farm with a nice 70 acre lake and the first 2 crappie we caught out of it were 18.5 inches long. they went from my elbow to the tip of my middle finger.I shoulld have had them checked for state record but didnt think about it at the time!! Havent caught any that big since but most range between 10-14