biggest crappies?

[PYROPAL]

i've been to red lake and caught a 14 1/2 incher...i was amazed! anyone know if they are bigger down south? it would be amazing to learn that the folks in georgia can pull them out 17" like we get the 14 inchers!

[Lostit@theHole]

They catch them upwards of 17" round here. Check out the Photo Sharing heading on the main forums page. There are some huge slabs on there. Biggest i've caught was 14.5", but my neighbor once got a 17.5" on mille lacs years ago. Nothing better than a bunch of slabs!

[Tonka Boy]

I got a dandy 14.75" on Tonka last night. I've been fishing the lake for years and that is one of the biggest.

On the Mississippi, pool 4, I've caught numerous 14-16" crappies. They are in the metro here, but you're better off going to the northern portion of the state on big waters (URL, LOW, Rainy, etc.) for numbers.

I can't imagine what it would be like to fish them in the south! Yet another trip to put on the list.

[CrappieJohn]

I'd pit the Mississippi River backwaters from pool 4 on down against the "big waters of the north" anyday, especially in the numbers catagory.

[MNRiverRat]

One mexican kid I had working for me a couple of years ago told me of them consistently catching 4-5lb crappies out of a farm pond near his home when he was a kid! Now that would be a fun afternoon....

MNRiverRat

[Matt Breuer]

Tom, I'd take that bet...

[Ely Lake Expert]

The biggest I have caught on red was 16 inches a couple years ago. I have also caught one that measured 15.25 off my dock.

[eyepatrol]

I don't know how long this crappie would be, but on Northwest Bay of Rainy Lake I caught a 2lb-14oz crappie. I was about 11 or 12 years old and I was so excited that I had a fish on, that I realed it in real fast...came in skipping like a big flat rock across the water. Didn't know what the heck it was until we got it up to the boat. Wish I would've mounted it, but it sure did taste good.

[poutpro]

Biggest one I ever caught was on Long lake in Fergus Falls. It was 14.75 inches but had a huge scar on one of its side, so instead of ending up on the wall it was on my grandmas diner plate.

[fisherdog19]

caught one when I was living in Oklahoma that went 18.5" and weighed over 3.5lbs. Had a pond I fished down there where I never caught one under 16". If I every go back to do some fishing, you can bet one of those large slabs will be going back with me to be mounted.

Fisherdog

[PLfisherman]

My Dad has pictures from 1978 on i think third crow wing of him and a buddie with a stringer of crappies all are 14 inches or bigger with the two in the middle going 18 inches and three pounds. it just floors me when i look at it. i will see if i can put it on here.

[Sergeant Slabber]

I pulled a 15 1/2" White out of Tonka about 6-7 years ago. My dad told me that I would catch a bigger one than that someday, so I filleted it up and ate it. Those were some dinner plate fillets. After razzing him over the years about making me fillet that thing up, he had a replica made for me, but it just didn't do it any justice. I pulled a 15" Black out of URL this January. That will be the original on the wall this time!

[bdiddy]

I caught a 14-3/4" crappie last night. Let me tell ya...what a rush!!!! Then, maybe 30 secs after I took it off and put a new minnow on and popped the same line down the hole...A 15 incher!!!My question is to anybody out there-Could these fish have been mates? One looks like it has eggs in it(female) and the other looks a little different(male). I think that both are going on the wall, it was like when one came up the other had to as well

[walleyeking#8]

I know of a local lake within 30 minutes of me where people would be amazed at the average size of the crappies. I wouldn't be pulling anyones leg when I say they can average 14-15" and it isn't uncommon to catch them 17"ers. I have fished them craps every spring now since I don't remember. The thing that puzzles me is that you hardly catch any under 8 or 9 inches. Ever. It is a shallow lake and I think they grow fast, very fast. To answer your question, I don't know how long it was but it weighed 2lbs 7ounces, caught on that lake. Looking forward to getting out there as soon as the ice is gone.

[CrappieJohn]

bdiddy....

To answer your question: no these fish are not mated. Crappies are very much social fish and are a lot like humans in that they will hang with their own age/size group. It is not likely that any pairing will occur on most waters in this state until the water temps have reached about 58-62 degrees for most of the crappies. And very shortly after dumping the eggs, the female takes a hike leaving the male to watch the nest until those eggs hatch.

[bdiddy]

Thanks for the info Tom!

[Mr Special]

The biggest I've ever caught was 14.75" on the St. Croix a couple yrs back. There hard to find, but I've never caught a crappie smaller then 11.5" and many in the 12"-13.5" on the Croix. The biggest out of a metro lake is 14.25" on Med last season. Weird thing is I've seen plenty Big White's come out of Med, but this was a Black.

[Chad711]

I have not yet broke that 15" mark. Been at 14 and 7/8" but thats it. I will though, even if I am dreamin