Thread: 4 1/2 lb Crappie???

hasn't this been around a few times before??

I caght 1 day with a cast net that would have stuck out of a 5 gal bucket, had to release them.
Over the years I've 5 that would have been over the 4 lb mark, all in a cast net.
All were caught I Feb while looking for shad.
Crappie nd shad were found in the presence of Carp in shallow water.
The carp had the water muddied (clear water all around)
I know they're here but I've never saw one over 15-16" caught, where do they go?
Water temps had to be in the low 40 's
When the watr is clear and cold I looked for shallow areas where carp had it stirred up, only way to find gizzard shad when it's cold, I always find crappies with them

Only thing I can think of is the really big ones stay deep most of the year.

Originally Posted by algenco

I caght 1 day with a cast net that would have stuck out of a 5 gal bucket, had to release them.
Over the years I've 5 that would have been over the 4 lb mark, all in a cast net.
All were caught I Feb while looking for shad.
Crappie nd shad were found in the presence of Carp in shallow water.
The carp had the water muddied (clear water all around)
I know they're here but I've never saw one over 15-16" caught, where do they go?
Water temps had to be in the low 40 's
When the watr is clear and cold I looked for shallow areas where carp had it stirred up, only way to find gizzard shad when it's cold, I always find crappies with them

Only thing I can think of is the really big ones stay deep most of the year.

I don't know as they "stay deep" most of the year, as much as they're likely "loners" once they get up to that size. They don't have as many predators, but they also don't have as many "schoolmates" as smaller fish. There's just not that many of them that survive to get that big, so they're kinda left all alone.

As to "where (do) they go" ... pretty much anywhere they want, but they're likely out cruising in open water more often than not, except during spawning season.

And thanks for being a true sportsman & releasing those fish. That's the epitome of a Crappie.com member

I've fished live bait exclusively for Stripers on Cumberland for over 30yrs.
Most of of that was using large gizzard shad, but I've spent a few thousand hrs using Alewifes (4-6")
primarily in opn water from the surface to over 100'.
I've had incidental catch's of everything in Cumberland except crappie(except in a cast net)
Now that I'm old and decrepit it's hard on me to Striper fish as much as I once did.
I've decided to devote more time to Crappie and Walleye.
I hope to solve the mystery of where the really big crappie go.
Cumberland is a different Lake after the Dam repairs, it has gone from a deep open water lake with very little cover to one with hundreds of acres of trees/brush.

pictures without certified scales are meaningless when claiming weight. move the fish close to the camera and it grows exponentially. based on hand size comparison of the ones above, the little one does not impress me as being a 2 pounder either.