Monster Crappie

[Mud-Dabber]

New to the forum and absolutely love it. Wife is about to kill me for going thru the archived pages, but I can't help myself.

I have only observed one crappie over 3 pounds in my neck of the woods and very, very rarely hear of any larger than that in my part of Texas. Lots of bragging about a 3 lber., but they almost always end up a 2 lber. that is large, but far from a 3 or over 3. Anyway to the questions, What area of the lake are the really huge, monster crappie normally taken?? Are they solitary fish caught in the spring only or can they be located and caught during other parts of the year? Where should a crappie fisherman concentrate to catch a fish like those monsters caught in some states?? Finally, is there a particular bait that has caught the majority of those large, monsters or is it just mainly the luck of the draw? Lakes I fish are largely off colored due to the red clay type soils, have any of these moster crappie been caught in a muddy type of lake??

Thanks for the information, I appreciate your responses.

Mud-Dabber/Abilene, Texas

[J White]

Hi Mud-Dabber. I was hoping someone closer to Grenada would chime in
on this, but anyway, my thoughts on your questions: Up here in the NE
corner where I am, 3 pounders are not that common - lots of 2, 2 1/2's,
but not a lot of 3's. The big ones I have caught (over 2) have been on
all sorts of lures - from 1 1/2" tubes in cold weather, to big bass-type
crankbaits during the hot weather. The only help I might could be on
where to catch them, is to fish the same type of places the other crappie
are, but look for isolated spots that don't get as much fishing pressure.
If there are a lot of crappie fishermen on a lake, the "community holes"
are at least a lower probability spot, in my experience. As for water color,
I think some of the bigger numbers of outsized fish come from waters with
some color to it, Arkabutla from what I've been told, is muddy enough to
plant 'taters in, but has big fish. Hope I was some help, Jeff

[CrappieLips]

Welcome Mud-Dabber;; I like Jeff Catch my Slabs mainly in the winter months, Mainly cause there is not as much pressure on the fish.Most are in the same spots i usually fish in the spring just out in the deeper channels. in the spring spawn i too look for the isolated spots where you just about can't get to. Hope it help's

[slabbandit]

Hey there Mud-Dabber, here on my home lake (Nimrod), we average catching several 2 to 2 1/2 pounders during the late winter/early spring time frame.

I heard of a few 3 pounders caught over the last couple of years and the guys that caught them KNOW what it takes to be a 3 pounder.

Nimrod is an old manmade lake that has a lot of the natural cover disappearing. A lot of the fishermen are adding their own brush and canebeds.

On average if you limit out (20 fish) you'll have a good number of 10 to 13 inchers. You'll also have culled at least that many 6 to 8 inchers.

You want a good chance to catch a 3 lber? Go fish Grenada Lake in Mississippi around the end of March to the middle of April!!!

[FalconSmitty]

LUCK is a big part of it but not all of it. My biggest was long line trolling out the back of the boat using a 2" tube/roadrunner head tipped with a minnow 2/16/05. Caught in 18' deep 54 degree water about 20 yds behind the boat. 45' deep water close by.
Bigger bait=bigger slab. Not always but crappie are kinda lazy so they want the most meal for effort. I caught a 2 1/2 lb on a bass spinning bait 20 years ago. My friends laughed, they said even when I fish for bass I catch crappie.It was spring 6' deep water, temp I never knew back then. Back of a slough.
The 3lb 2oz white crappie I caught in august was on a 2"-3" dead shad tightlining with a drifting figure 8 over cover in 22' water. Water temp was 86 degrees.50+ deep water nearby.
Crappie are easy to catch here so I really try to find places with bigger fish. I've noticed the bigger fish like bottom changes more than smaller ones.

So how do you catch a monster crappie? Go fishing every moment you can fit it in. If you keep bait in the water long enough you are bound to get a biggun at some point.

Tightlines to ya!
Smitty

[abarkley]

the monsters are usually prespawn when the females are loaded up with eggs. i concur on the grenada crappie. they are flat some of the biggest i've ever caught. we caught the lake in between a cold front and warm front and the fishing was sorry those three days, but we did catch 4 maybe 5 three pounders and that's no exageration.

[Crappie Reaper]

Dang Slabbandit, I just drove past Nimrod yesterday! And, I had my boat with me! I saw two boats achored in the middle ( was on hwy 60). I told my friend that they were prolly crappie fishing.

Mud, I have been looking for the Monster fish all summer and have not come across one. I only see them in the spring, used to hunt the fall/winter.
Now, your home lake is constantly stained from the red clay. Eufala lake in Oklahoma is the same way most of the time.

http://www.toddhuckabee.com/ Check this guides site out and read up on his articles. Eufala is known for Monster Crappie. Todd thinks, the muddier, the better. He also fishes the shallows alot. Mainly brush, stumps that are shallow, close to a main channel or deep water. I have met two people that have taken guide trips with him and both said the guy is amazing. He does not used conventional methods to locate fish. I think you will enjoy his ploits. By the way, how did those jigs do that I sent you?

[rango]

Its mostly luck. if it could be predicted where the momma jommas could be caught, everyone would be fishing the same holes. a hole that produces 3 pound fish could not be kept a secret, no matter how hard you try.. a lot of folk overestimate the size of their crappie. a two lb fish is a big fish, bigger than most folks come in contact with and when one that size is caught, the inexperienced catcher will estimate it as a 3 lb crappie and brag about catching one... when scales are put on em, they dont wanna beleive the scales. and it remains a three pounder. Ive fished all over my home lake and i catch big fish at most of all the locations, at one time or another, depending on the season. so i think its all luck if you catch a 3 pounder. I dont think nobody can CONSISTENTLY catch fish that big. I dnt mean a limit of three lb fish on outings. One three pounder an outing would be enough to convince me it could be done consistently. I know If I could do it id be fishing all the tournaments as id know it was a sure thing i was gonna win and take home the cold hard cash......... dance, parker, and martin would all be beggin to fish with you and get you on their shows...... granted, catching bigger crappie requires some knowledge and skill, but the three pounders,, thats purely luck

[Crappie Reaper]

Agreed Rango, the only time I have consistently hit bigger fish (2-4 lbs, mostly 2+lbs), is during spawn, and usually it is WAY earlier than the smaller fish spawn. I have caught spawning crappie in February if January had a few warm windy days. I start fishing the shallows in early february just to see if any earlybirds are in there. Most of the bigger fish tend to spawn allot earlier around NE Okla. That is just my personal experience.

[Mud-Dabber]

Great feedback with some interesting ideas about the monster crappie potential whereabouts. I wonder if there are any crappie fishermen that pursue a record breaking crappie for record purposes like the bass fishermen do at Lake Fork or the Southern California Lakes somewhere other than a private lake or pond? I wonder if there has ever been a published study by wildlife biologists on the larger crappie and what it would take to grown a new record fish? I certainly appreciate everyone's knowledge and willingness to impart your information.
Thanks,
Mud-Dabber