4lb crappie

[fishuhalik]

i know the state record crappie is 5lbs, but i have a hard time believing it. i've seen lots of pics of 3lb fish, a few 3 1/2lb fish, a couple closer to 4, but i've never seen or heard of a legitimate, weighed on a scale with witnesses present 4lb fish from mn waters. i heard some old wives tales of 6lb crappies on url caught in a net or something, but i'd bet my paycheck that it was a bar tale told after a few too many drinks. does any of you personally know of, or better yet have a pic of, a legit 4lb+ mn crappie?

[reinhard1]

it was caught in 1940. i dont know what the standards where at that time or what scale was used or even if they have a picture of it. Wisconsin i think is 4 1/2 and Iowa is over 4 and i seen one state i think Missouri with one 5.2 lbs. didn't see any pictures of those. so a lot of huge crappies have been caught but rare. i seen a stringer of 7 once all over 3 pounds at a taxidermist i brought my pike to. they were not caught all at once, but the guy who had these mounted went somewhere in Oklahoma i was told and everytime he got one of similiar size he would bring it back to add to this collection. good luck.

[DTro]

Well, it has to be a 1/2 pound bigger than this one.

[reinhard1]

that is a HUGE crappie!!!!!!!good luck.

[toughguy]

My God! What a beast. That thing is awesome!

[R. Miller]

Wow! That thing is huge!

[smeese]

Catch that on a 10 inch bullhead in the MN DTro?

[fishuhalik]

i think the craziest thing about that guys day was the 3 1/2 & 3 1/4lbers that were also on his stringer...seriously, look up the news article

[KNIGHT]

Nice Bucket Mouth!!!

[randallt]

WOW

[BartmanMN]

Oh my Lord!

[ozzie]

those must be photoshoped rulers... just kidding that thing is amazing and I hope that in my life time I get the oppurtunity to witness or even better catch a crappie that big!!! WOW

[gopher_nation]

i think the craziest thing about that guys day was the 3 1/2 & 3 1/4lbers that were also on his stringer...seriously, look up the news article

Where is the news article?

[DTro]

Mike Zimmer was enjoying a phenomenal morning of crappie fishing. Then, it nearly turned historic.

The 33-year-old angler from Waterloo was fishing a lake in Southern Illinois on March 15 when he hooked a 4 pound, 5 ounce white crappie. That's two ounces shy of the state record caught by Kevin Dennis in a private pond on April 8, 1973.

Most crappie caught are in the half- to 1-pound range.

"It was unbelievable," Zimmer said. "It's probably like catching an 8- or 9-pound bass or a 70-pound flathead (catfish). Crappie fisherman know just how big something like this is."

The behemoth that measured 19 inches long and had a girth of 16 inches was part of a crappie bonanza for Zimmer. He started fishing that chilly morning -- the temperature was about 40 degrees -- at 7:20 a.m.

By 10:30 a.m., he was already at the dock with his limit of 25 crappie. Among the keepers were a 3-pounder and one that weighed 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

The previous day, Zimmer also caught his limit of 25 in under four hours. That's why he declined to reveal the name of the lake that harbors his crappie honeyhole.

"Next thing you know, they'll be people all over the place fishing for crappie," Zimmer said with a laugh.

Clad in his thermal duck hunting clothes, Zimmer was one of the few fishermen on the lake that morning. The nippy temperatures didn't faze Zimmer, who said he has been fishing since he was in diapers.

"For me, I've always caught my bigger ones early when it was cold," he said. "For most people, they would not even go on a day like that. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it was for me."

Zimmer was using a 12-foot crappie pole outfitted with 4-pound test and a slip cork. His bait of choice was a Grizzly jig tipped with a small minnow. Knowing the crappie were preparing to spawn, he was fishing in shallow water (between 2 and 10 feet) around some downed trees.

It didn't take long for Zimmer to realize he had landed on a school of crappie. Big ones, too.

"I had beaten my own personal record (3 pounds) on the 12th or 13th keeper of the day," Zimmer said. "The 4.5-pounder was the 23rd keeper. I knew I only had three more fish to go, and here I catch this one."

When he hooked it, Zimmer didn't think it was a crappie.

"I'm thinking that's a catfish because it stayed down low," he said. "It didn't want to come up. A muskie will do the same thing. They'll put a good fight up and not come up to the surface.

"After a little bit of fighting I started to see it, and I realized it was a crappie. All I could think of was that 4-pound test breaking, because I knew it was a big one. I don't know how long I fought it because all I was thinking was getting it in the boat."

Once he landed the papermouth, he collapsed into his seat due to a combination of exhaustion and excitement over his catch. After he caught his breath, Zimmer weighed the crappie on a hand-held scale. It came in just under 4.5 pounds.

Zimmer then had the fish weighed on certified scales at the Millstadt post office and a butcher's shop in Sparta. The fish is currently at a taxidermist, where Zimmer plans to have it mounted.

Coming oh-so-close to breaking a 37-year-old record didn't seem to bother Zimmer, who is a chemical operator at a plant in East St. Louis.

"It might even be better than catching the state record because I might have gotten more publicity than I wanted," Zimmer said. "Then, I would have really had to give up my spot."

News of Zimmer's near-record catch has been making the rounds.

"My brother, who lives in Waltonville, had someone come up to him saying 'Man, did you hear about this dude that caught a 4.5-pound, 3.5-pound and 3.25-pound crappie?'" Zimmer said. "He's like 'Yeah, I did. I seen them because he's my brother.' I guess news like that gets around pretty quick."

[smeese]

Limit of 25 crappies.....I forgot about those crazy numbers......that would be a smelly bucket

[fishuhalik]

Limit of 25 crappies.....I forgot about those crazy numbers......that would be a smelly bucket

with crappies that size, it'd be 3 smelly buckets

[gopher_nation]

Nice read. Too bad he didn't name the lake though. Could pick up some Illinois licenses and start a Crappie Caravan from here in Minnesota.

[griff321]

Nice read. Too bad he didn't name the lake though. Could pick up some Illinois licenses and start a Crappie Caravan from here in Minnesota.

Right!?

He did name the lure though. Recommend any specific size/coloring?

[mfreeman451]

I met some old timers in their 80s or 90s that showed me where the state record crappie was caught, they must have known the guy because they had been fishing down there for 70 years.

Having witnessed with my own eyes 17" crappies in the same river system, I am definitely not at all surprised that they're that big in there, and that the record still hasn't been broken. And I also think there is a good chance the next state record could come out of the same waters..