The Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, is a member of the sunfish family,
along with Bass, Bluegill, and Yellow Perch. They have seven or eight spines on the
dorsal fin. The dorsal and anal fins are almost identical in size.
Their color is silvery to light green with dark blotches all over.
Crappies have compressed bodies, small heads and arched backs.
It has a large mouth with an upper jaw extending under the eye.
Crappie prefer fairly warm water, 70 to 75 degrees, and can be found in all types of cover.
They like clear water with moderate vegetation.
They average 6-11" fully grown, however with enough food and cover they can
reach lengths up to 17". A large crappie is referred to as a "Slab". In most waters,
crappie with a weight of 1/2 to 1 pound are considered good fish. In other waters,
crappie are not considered large until they hit the 1 1/2 or 2 pound mark. They can,
under ideal circumstances, reach weights of up to 6 pounds.
Feeding Habits: Primary food items are crustaceans, aquatic insects and small fishes.
Adults mainly eat small fish, particularly open-water forage fish.
Black Crappies are excellent game fish and are highly regarded by bait fishermen
and artificial-lure anglers alike. They are easily caught during pre-spawning
periods when the fish are congregated in large schools. Trolling with small,
live minnows or a spinner-fly combination is very productive. They will also
strike subsurface flies, small spinners, jigs, and tiny crankbaits. Crappies
tend to suspend in midwater, so you may have to experiment to find the right depth.
When you find a school and you are in a boat just put your jig or bait in the school.
If the Crappie are not biting change baits or colors.
Water filters colors out of light and certain colors disappear first.
Think of a rainbow that has red hues on one side and gradually fades to
blue colors on the other side. The colors on the red side are filtered out
first and the colors on the blue side are filtered out last. Consequently,
as water begins to get deep it looks green, but really deep water looks blue.
Because of this natural law, red lures are visible only in shallow water,
orange a little deeper, yellow even deeper, green deeper still and blue lures
are visible in the deepest water. Black is also a good deep-water lure color.
White is visible at many depths, because it reflects any available light.
Crappie is a tasty fish to eat. Many cooks deep fry the filleted fish.
Many of Idaho's lakes and reservoirs hold Crappie. Brownlee is a favorite
for this schooling fish.
The Idaho state record Black Crappie of 3 pounds 8.96 ounces was caught on
Brownlee 6/08/03 by Jason Monson.
If you have a Crappie fishing tip please send it in. We would all
appreciate it.
Crappie Fishing Tips
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Fishing Tip
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From: Bud
Fishing Tip:
When fishing for crappie minnows work good.
Or fish in the brush.
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Fishing Tip
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Name: David Allen
The Fish: Crappie
In fall when crappie fishing with a bobber crappie sometimes
will move bobber along the surface without totally submerging the float.
Try setting hook while bobber is being moved horizontally by fish. Set
hook in opposite direction of bobbers movement to catch more of those
fish biting lightly.
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Send in a Crappie fishing tip.
