# what is the biggest crappie ever caught



## chrystal529

I was hoping someone could tell me what is the biggest back crappie ever caught? My husband has been catching huge crappie, I've never seen crappie this big. He's caught over 40 crappie day before yesterday 18 and they weighed between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. He came home last night and had fished a couple of hours and had about 10 more two of them were the biggest crappie I ever seen. He said "Oh they probably weigh about 3 pounds." So I got the scales out and one weighed just over 4 1/2 pounds and the other weighed 4 pounds.


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## njsimonson

From the School of Fly Fishing Website, with citation to the IGFA hall of fame...I can't tell you exactly HOW OLD these stats are, but there's a good chance these big specks still stand.

Species/Weight/Water/Date/Angler

Crappie, black 4lb 8oz Kerr Lake, VA Mar. 1, 1981 L. Carl Herring Jr.

Crappie, white 5lb 3oz Enid Dam, MS July 31, 1957 Fred L. Bright


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## chrystal529

Thank You so much for your reply. I'm pretty sure that all of the crappie he caught was a black crappie and one of them weighs over 4 1/2 pounds. The scales that we have wasn't too good so I'm hoping to get an accurate weight on it today. Do you have any idea what the state record is for Arkansas? Thanks again and I'll keep you poasted.


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## chrystal529

I have a sad story to tell. I guess I could just say April fools. But I won't. My husband was closer to being right than I was. I went out and bought a good set of scales just for this occasion. The other set of scales said the biggest fish weighed 4 1/2 pounds. Well, It weighed 2 pounds 7 oz and the other one weighed 2 pounds 4 oz. We have ate the smaller fish he caught and all the bigger ones were let go in our neighbors pond. Our neighbor about had a heart attack when he showed him the fish and then let them go. My advice is make sure you invest in a good set of scales. Or you could have one bad April fools joke on you. So sad!


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## Quackkills9

As i read from the first two of your posts about 4 1/2 and 4 pound crappie, i knew youd be BS'ing us until the last post you said april fools, i still knew it BS...


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## chrystal529

No it really wasn't intended to be an April fools joke. I thought the crappie were pretty big, so it was my idea to weigh them and the scales said 4 1/2 pounds. My husband said "no way" so I went out and bought a new set of scales and we found out what they really weighed. I wasn't trying to play an April fools joke. What I ment was I didn't realize until later on that day when I made the other reply I looked at the date and realized it was April fools. But from what I heard is that evidently someone has caught over a 4 pound crappie. So far the biggest one my husband has caught was just over 3 pounds. I wasn't trying to B S you.


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## wtrfwlr

I would believe it, but I always thought the biggest crappie was up in the 5 -7 bls range. I've seen quite a few four pounders on peoples walls. Although my biggest crappie was just over 3 lbs


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## surperdood

I was on Grace Lake, Minnesota last summer fishing for blue gills and other fish like that and I cought a crappie that was 3.6 lbs. So i decided to go out in the paddle boat just after sunset and see what i could catch and i ended up catching 12 crappie over 3 lbs in a half hour. I let them all go because my dad said that they don't catch very many on that lake and he hadn't caught one since he was a little dude. I donno what happend but i must have hit a hot spot. it was awsome.


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## njsimonson

Superdood - you're right on! Somedays you're just in the right spot at the right time.

One day at the Sibley bridge on the north part of Lake Ashtabula, my brother, my buddies and I caught 225 crappies in a matter of 4 hours, and all of them were around 1.5-2 pounds, on a lake not known for big crappie.

But the kicker was, we caught 30 the night before and kept them for breakfast the next day...by the time we were done cleaning those, we said we wouldn't keep anymore for a looooong time!!! Sure enough, the very next day...BAM! It was the best fishing day of my life, C&Red 225 crappies between us, as well as some pike and white bass.


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## upland420

Im throwing a serious BS flag on that report of a dozen 3 pound crappies in a half hour on some lake in MN. A 3pounder is the crappie of a lfetime...a stringer of a dozen is quite a 'fish story'. And ya threw em all back?! LOL! :eyeroll:


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## qwakwhaker883

I have to agree with upland!


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## Quackkills9

*surperdood-* I have a cabin on Grace Lake that I go pretty much as much possible, its only 10 miles from my house. The cabin is actually my grandparents. Its hard to believe that you caught a 3.6 pound crappie and 12 over 3 pounds in 1/2 hour out on Grace :roll: . I have caught many in the 1-2 pound range but nothing like what your saying. Thats hard to believe since i have been around on that lake for 15 years. If you have some pictures that would be great. Man its hard to believe you threw back all "3 pounders", holy, dude that would be like the best fishing day in a lifetime. I call BS like the others.


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## njsimonson

A 13-year old's scales can be a bit off, I know my "mental scale" was a bit off at that time in life too! Cut the dood some slack 

"All anglers are born honest...but they get over it." :lol:


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## chrystal529

Sounds like someone bought the same set of scales I had! By the way when I bought the new set of digital scales they said they were water proof. Well they wasn't. At least I got my 30 dollars back. Wonder where I could get a good set?


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## njsimonson

The bogagrip is an excellent fish scale, with multiple models to help with whatever you fish, be it massive saltwater species, freshwater fish, or even panfish. Check out www.bogagrip.com. Since I'm a C&R fisherman, length is about all I need to check to validate a fish in my book. Maybe girth on some occasions too.


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## Quackkills9

well maybe its the scale he had, or hes just telling us some stories. Not giving him some crap, just saying that i have never seen one this big or heard of it, since i have been fishing that lake the last 10 years and grew on it for 15 years or so.

How about Rapala scales? do they work well, i have always considered buying the 20 lb max one.


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## njsimonson

The only experience I have had with a digital rapala scale was with an older one that was off by about 15% on the weight. So nothing positive to report there, albeit on a small sample size.

For me, I guess tape measure works just as well, since I do most of my fishing on a river, the fish are usually smaller than on the lake, especially bass. A 20-inch smallie is probably 5 pounds spawned out in a river, but in a lake it could be over 6 pounds. I may get a bogagrip soon though.


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## FishingQuinn

I have used a wide variety of scales and the most dependable one I use is a digital Normark scale. I have used it for the last 7 years and it is still dead on. As Nick said, the boga grip is a great choice as well and a plus with those is that they aren't digital so they can get wet and it won't bother them. Rapala has a good line of scales as well, digital and spring scales, they are durable and accurate, atleast with my experience. I have a Rapala 50 pound digital that I use and it is accurate at weights less than 5 pounds. One of the newer products are X-Tools, they float, are completely waterproof, and very durable. The X-Tool's gripNweigh is similar to the boga grip but is digital and works very well. The problem with most digital scales is they aren't completely water proof, so if you plan on getting them soaked, use a spring scale or go with the X-Tools. Another advantage of the newer boga grip style scales is the fact that they are fish friendly, you simply lock the grips around the lower jaw and it is much less detrimental than poking holes in their lips or messing with their gills. Hope this helps in your next scale purchase.


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## birddog131

Sorry, but I too will say NO WAY: especially on a stringer full of 3+ pound crappies off Grace: I know the lake well: I have caught a ton of fish there inclucing huge walleye: HOWEVER I have caught 14 inch crappie there, never a bucket full: A 2 pounder out of grace or any lake is huge! A 3 pounder is almost unheard of, a stringer of them and you break your.....at becoming a fisherman: Didn't happen....won't happen.
I fish crappies all year and got on a lake this winter with crazy big crappies! Many 15 inchers! The biggest one was still under 2 pounds......3 pounds...no way! :eyeroll:


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## chrystal529

"In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird. Now they take prozac to make it normal." Isn't that the truth! Where did you get that from? Sounds funny but it's the truth. Anyways, thanks for all the advice from everyone about the scales.


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## crappiehunter8

well the biggest crappie i caught was yesterday and i didnt have a scale but i had a tape mesure and it measured 12 inches

good times good times :beer: :beer: :beer:


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