18" black crappie

[B. Amish]

I caught an 18" black crappie this spring (sorry won't tell u which lake) and let it go as i already had enough for supper that night

Anybody know the approximate weight of a fish like that?

i don't have a picture of any other measurements besides the length.

[Matt Johnson]

Excellent fish! Congrats!

A fish like that, this time of year will go about 3 pounds.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[huskiesplayer15]

heck of a nice fish?
Best fishes
chris

[uffdapete]

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing.pdf

If you follow the guide in the link above you'd be at about 4 lbs. with an 18" crappie. The largest they list is 17". You'll notice the increase from 14"-15" is .4, from 15-16" - .5, 16-17" - .6. Logically (not mathemetically) the increase to 18" would be then be .7 lbs. I assume this was probably a female carrying eggs and the additional weight from that would be a question for a fisheries biologist.

Thanks for releasing it. I wouldn't divulge the location either!

I would hope no sportsman in this day and age would even think about keeping an 18" crappie in this state. There are plenty of smaller fish to be keep anyone happy. Snap a few pics, get a replica and release her to grow a few 18" kids!

If you have a picture you can send it in and get a master angler award from In Fisherman.
Check out their HSOforum to print out an entry form.

[Mayfly]

That Crappie would of looked great on my wall...

[knoppers]

my uncles crappie he caught this winter was 18.5 inches and 3.1 pounds. so if you caught it this spring open water, it probally was bigger. nice fish!

[black max]

I think I would have to put that fish on the wall. I've been fishing URL for a few years in the winter and my biggest up there was a 16.5in. A 18in slab is def. a mounter in my book.

[B. Amish]

I don't really care for mounted fish, they seem to lose their attractiveness in a few years...

i may get a replica made some day, right now i'm just a poor college kid, so i let it go.

[Mr. B]

B. Amish

Great fish! I am glad that you released it but if you would have decided to have kept it it would not have bothered me.

Can anyone explain to me how come everytime someone catches a big fish someone has to jump in and say all big fish have to be released? I have a 10 plus walleye on the wall and I have also released a 53" inch Musky. I have no problem with someone keeping a trophy and and 18" crappie would be a trophy. If someone is keeping limits of those fish then I have two problems. The first is it would be wrong (to me) to keep that many large fish and the second problem would be I would want to know where that lake was so I could see a crapie that large.

I am just curious to hear everyone's opinion.

[Diggs]

IMO<With repilicas looking as good or better than the real fish, I say throw it back. That my be because I fish for the love of the sport not to brag that ONE time I got lucky, I would rather show pictures of my continued success. Plus it is always good to keep genetically bigger fish in the lake.

[osakisresort]

Every year i have caught at least one 18inch crappies but i always seem to catch them just after the spawn, and without the eggs, they weight almost 2 lbs. That is a great crappie though. Nice catch

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[lars0926]

I've been coming to FM almost every day ever since joining. However, I'm mostly here for reports and insight. This time though I need to comment. If you ever want to keep a crappie over 17" for trophy or food, I highly recommend that you feel comfortable in doing so. I do believe in CNR for preserving populations, and even selective thinning of middle-sized classes of fish by keeping them, but crappies are entirely unique in Minnesota sport fishing.

The crappie, especially populations and year classes, move in cycles. Irrelevant of these cycles is the overall possible length of any premium specimen. I discovered many years ago in a In-Fisherman book on crappies how long crappies get (in total length) and that relationship to their age. An 18"+ fish is most likely 12 years or older. As can be assumed, the likelihood of a fish surviving past that age class decreases. Likewise, the breeding/spawning success of fish the old/large decreases because of stress on this fish in form of age. Thus, keeping a large crappie is ok, and should not be scrutinized to any extend beyond keeping a smaller fish in any size-class season.

I have caught, in the past eight years, over six crappies that were 20" in length. These fish, two donated to the DNR, were estimated to be 14-16 years of age. They were caught from a late-stage mesotrophic lake in West Central Minnesota. The keeping of these fish were, interestingly enough, good for the waters as they actually allow for a more diversified "survival of the species" in the next larger year class (those fish apprx. 4 years younger) because they no longer had the competition for premium (larger) spawning beds/grounds.

I have been working this lake for my entire life. By working closely with the DNR, it is believed that this body of water is producing the largest known crappies in the State of Minnesota.

P.S. For those of you interested, the body of water is under 50 acres in size and has produced (by a survey of fisherman and catch) 62 crappies at 19" and 37 crappies at 20" respectively. Of those fish surveyed, 82 weighed over 3lbs. 4 oz., with 2 fish nearing the 4 lb. mark.

[CrappieMagnet]

I like your attitude lars!

i agree 95 percent.

i just wish people would release the LARGE fish,not keep them.Replicas are the.. in ..thing.Or take a picture next to a tape measure.

CM

[This message has been edited by CrappieMagnet (edited 05-07-2004).]

[lars0926]

JlM. I do have some pictures, but nothing digital right now. I'm going to scan some of the many pictures of the crappies from this body of water and I'll try to post them in the immediate future. I will be fishing this body of water this weekend. Because it is mesotrophic, it remains cold until late in the season. Most of the crappies are still in a mid-depth pre-spawn period and will not move very shallow until late May for the spawn. I just bought a digital camera last month and I'll take that up with me to document the catch. BTW - the body of water is within 5 miles of Camp Ripley. No public access, and only three homes on it. It's a fisherman's paradise. In the last year I've caught several 20" crappies, a 23lb. northern, and on a trip this same time last year I took a friend who caught a largemouth weighing over 8lbs. He has a picture with the fish located at:

www. kiosk .com /bigfish

[jlm]

It just goes to show you what a lake can produce if the fishing pressure is controlled. So, do you think a state record is inevitable? I would love to see the pics, a 20 incher is a fish of many lifetimes, I hope you know how fortunate you are! I suppose I will have to go out and by a chopper so I can get access to the lake now! LOL! Good luck!

[jlm]

Lars-
You would not happen to have a picture of a 20 inch crappie would you? If so, would you please post it, I need something to get excited about today!