BIG Crappie, Not MN, but fun to look at anyways

[lots of luck]

Caught in a recent crappie tournament in Alabama.

18" long x 16" girth

4.19 lbs.

Wanted to post this to put the state record of 5 lbs. (Black Crappie) into perspective.

[The Grebe]

One of those bad boys would be all a person would need for a fish fry! "Crappie strips for everybody!"

[catmaster1557]

I most surely hope that big pig won the tournament

[Matt Johnson]

Nice slab! Thanks for sharing and that's definitely a sight to be told!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Corey Bechtold]

There are quite a few people who have posted that they catch all kinds of fish like that in our state... I wonder how they measure their fish???

Nice picture, thanks for sharing.

Corey Bechtold

[Chad711]

Was he using a Muskie lure? Wow!

[hanson]

The bigger they get, the prettier they are!!

That fish has a presence. Awesome!

[Oldtyme]

Wow. Awesome fish.

Never caught one that big before, but maybe this year???

What's that sound? Ice melting...

[CALVINIST]

Did he win the tournement?

[lots of luck]

Calvinist he won the overall total weight division and the big fish division. They believe it may be the largest crappie ever caught and entered into an organized crappie tournament.

It is listed as a white crappie.

Says he used a bait called a Charlie Brewer Slider, in blue and white. They were using the 14' B and M Crappie Poles.

[iland99]

That picture looks pretty fake to me. I saved that picture and blew it up to a scale where the crappie was 4" long on the screen. So 18" = 4" on screen. I then measured how tall the tallest of the two guys was, and the portion of his body showing was 5.25" tall, or about 2 feet. Unless he is four feet tall or has legs that are 5' long the scale just doesn't match up. Also, look at the guy holding the fish. Either he has some goofy knuckles or he has 8 fingers on his left hand. I know he's from Alabama, but......

[lars0926]

Hollywood pete, I totally agree. I did a scale in Microsoft Image Composer. Either the fish is 26" in length, or that guys's head is only 3.75" wide, which would mean that he recently had been attacked by head shrinkers from Fiji. I know pictures can sometimes be deceiving, but the math just doesn't work on this fish. I've caught and seen several crappies over 16" from Minnesota to Tennessee. It's unusal for crappies to grow such distended bellies as the one shown in this picture. You never know though?

About his left hand, my filter did show that in fact it was a normal hand. There is some obvious "editing" though above the dorsal fin. I believe in the fish, just not the picture.

[lots of luck]

Well here are the rest of the pictures they had posted.

Will these convince you? Or is this Louis Spray like?

Now that I think about it, these may be additional fish from his bag. I would think a 4.19 lb. crappie would be worth a photoshoot.

[juggs]

Pete and Lars--How do arrive at any kind of scale in a two dimensional photo when the fish may be as much as an arm's length closer to the camera? Don't most fisherman hold their prize as far away from them as possible to make the picture more impressive? If you look at the guy's hands, they seem to be much bigger than they should since they are in the foreground. Plus, I don't get the thing about him having eight fingers on his left hand. I count four. You guys don't work for the FBI, do you?

[BDR]

Why whenever there is a photo of a nice fish, some feel compelled to prove it bogus.

[lars0926]

BDR,

Maybe for some it's jealousy. For others it's boredom. For me, I read the previous post saying he expanded the image, so I decided I would too just to see if in fact this monster crappie was caught by a guy with 15 fingers. The rest of my feedback was just a bonus.

[hanson]

One thing to remember is this fish was caught in Alabama. That is reason enough for me to not even consider proving the photo is a fake.

Pick up an issue of Crappie magazine and it is full of large crappies. All fake photos perhaps?? Don't think so.

Just because they don't normally grow that large in Minnesota doesn't mean it doesn't happen in other parts of the country.

[Matt Johnson]

Well put hanson. Those southern slabs are in a class of their own. Warm water and excellent conditions allow those fish to grow rapidly and in all dimensions. I for one am not going to say that picture is a fake, because I've seen several 4 pounders caught down there so it's not too far fetched.

Again, that's one nice fish! Congrats!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[iland99]

I lived in Texas for a couple years, so I know how big crappies can get down there! I caught a 15" crappie when living down there and nobody even raised an eyebrow. I can believe the second set of pictures features an 18", 4 pound crappie. The reason people feel compelled to question stuff like this is because of the 56" Upper Red pike, the 121 lb "blue" catfish, etc. Believe half of what you see, but nothing you see on the internet!!

[hanson]

The 121 pound Blue Catfish is true though.

If it isn't, even In-Fisherman messed up.

[iland99]

The 121 pound blue is true, but I've gotten about a half dozen emails from different people with the correct story, but the wrong picture to go with it. The picture I've seen associated with the story is a huge Wels catfish from somewhere in Europe.

[lots of luck]

Here are the weights of the 21 biggest fish for the tournament.

Overhard during the event, "Just another 1.5lb fish, dangit!!"

Very similar results should be expected from the

Minnetonka Tournament , especially the FM guys.

4.19

2.50

2.48

2.35

2.34

2.22

2.16

2.07

2.03

2.01

2.00

1.98

1.91

1.88

1.85

1.78

1.77

1.69

1.65

1.34

1.1

[cabin boy]

If the #4.19 is legit, I sure hope it is still alive!

[Oldtyme]

Quote:

---

Says he used a bait called a Charlie Brewer Slider, in blue and white. They were using the 14' B and M Crappie Poles.

---

Yes. The Charlier Brewer slider is definitely on my "Too Buy" list. I'll just have to add in the blue & white now.

I hate to go off topic as I also seem too, but since it was in the quote. 14 foot rods. Does anyone use these? Seems like a lot of pole. I am stepping up & buying 2 10 foot poles but these are going to be used for slow trolling/drifting. Any advice on long rods? Are they useable for other purposes? Is my 10 foot too short? Should I go larger?

Again, sorry to go off topic, but I wanna catch a fish like that too. I'm due.

[Matt Breuer]

I would say the 4.19 is definitely legit. We just booked an open water crappie trip down South and they said numerous crappies over 16" come in to the resort. Also, I would say it's not swimming.

Good point on the Slider, it's probably THE best known crappie jig for open water craps.

I love those long rods, I don't know if there is any need for you to go longer though. A ten footer is great for dipping!