white crappie ?

[slabsrus]

I know the white crappies are here because 2 years ago we pulled 2 nice 12 inchers through the ice, but those are the only white crappies I have ever seen. Am I wrong to assume that there should be more here. And if they are here, should I be doing something different to find them compared to how I fish for the blacks. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I would sure like to see a few more white crappies, and possibly put one on my wall. Thanks

[wbl2014]

All I know is white crappie are harder to come by than blacks.

[Supracerxtreme]

I don't think there's an actual way to target just the White Crappies, it just depends on which one grabs your bait first... I guess :o

[NIMROD]

They each perfer different habitat. You find more whites in murky fertile waters and blacks do better in clear less fertile waters. We have more Whites here on Nimrod and the blacks average much smaller. Nimrod lake is a shallow murky fertile lake.

[luvjign]

They each perfer different habitat. You find more whites in murky fertile waters and blacks do better in clear less fertile waters. We have more Whites here on Nimrod and the blacks average much smaller. Nimrod lake is a shallow murky fertile lake.

Bingo. The white crappie thrives in murky/muddy water, as opposed to the blacks, which prefer clear water. A good example of this is Grenada. Grenada is murky at best. Muddy is common, with the exception of a long dry spell, such as now. According to a fisheries biologist, Grenada has approximately 1% black crappie. Within that 1%, 10% of those are the Black Nose Crappie (the ones with the black stripe from the nose to the dorsal fin). Slabsrus, I think we have may have opposing water conditions. Does that prove the black/white ratio/population is the way it is at your lake and mine?? I can't answer that.

[M R Dux]

Here on KY and Barkley Lakes the whites will be found around deeper structure and on ledges up to 30 feet deep. The blacks are usually found on much shallower structure and on rocky banks and points. Not always exactly like that but most of the time it's worth checking out those habitats. The blacks have become much more prominent over the last several years.

[TacoBender]

I agree with most of what's been said. Each lake is different, I believe it depends on the make up of the lake. I do think that white crappie do better in shallow muddy lakes most of the time with exceptions. I fish a couple of lakes around the DFW area that have both black, whites, and black nose crappie and one of them is a shallow muddy lake that has all three. Another lake is a deep clear water lake where there are no blacks just whites. In lakes with docks it seems that the blacks can be found much shallower than in lakes without docks. But I also find blacks and whites in the same lake. On the deeper clearer end of the lake I catch blacks and on the shallow muddy end I catch mostly whites. I think it's the make up of the lake the fertility and what's been stocked that determines what causes crappie to thrive in any given lake.
GoodLuck

[Crappisaurusrex]

i have read that while they both will eat minnows the whites prefer them and the blacks will also take insects and worms readily. I would troll cranks to target the whites. Good luck!:D

[slabsrus]

thanks for all the input. sounds like i am going to have to just keep searching more of the main lake deep water structure, although the deepest spot in the lake is only about 18 feet. as far as the clarity of the water goes it is terrible, on a good day i can see my lure about 3 feet down, which has probably happened 3 times in the last 3 years. most of the time it is 1 foot or so of visibility so i guess i would considere this muddy water. maybe there just really are not very many here and i am just wishful thinking. thanks again and i will be sure to keep you all posted on my quest.

[poppop]

supra how is the process coming along?