A 14 inch crappie in your waters might be 5 or 6 years old. May not be able to grow 15 inchers. IMHO.
Last spring and summer i tugged over 150 crappie out of one of my favorite lakes. The biggest ones were 14 inches and i made it a point to try to catch a 15 incher or better and it never happend. my question is. What the heck is goes on? Why does it seem like ther arent any crappie over 14 inches in that lake? Maybe you guys could offer some insight into this. Thanks
Happy Hooken.....
A 14 inch crappie in your waters might be 5 or 6 years old. May not be able to grow 15 inchers. IMHO.
I dont know where your fishin at my brother but in MO 15in crappie outta lakes are just about as big as it gets. Farm ponds will produce your 16 to 18in crappie but if you want studs pretty regular I think Kentucky lake and several in Mississippi are were you want to head.
I've been fishing my lake here in Nashville for the past seven years and have only caught one 15" crappie, but have gotten lots of 14's, your lake may just not produce fish that large.
Waterboy1
Alot has to do with the waters you fish. In the south the baitfish thrives all year and the crappie feed on them all year. In northern waters the water gets much more colder and from all the reports catching 15+" fish gets hard to do. Gotta move south for these big boys.Thumbs Up
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
They are probably a few there, but not many and those are hard to find and catch. Catching even a 14 inch is a great crappie by most standards! The southern states normally have larger fish. Just look up the crappiemasters tournament weigh-ins and see where they are fishing and the weights they are catching. Good luck to ya.
If you're keeping those 14's, there's no chance for them to get to 15. You want a 15 for the wall, throw those 14's back to grow another season. But if you see the birds of prey swooping down and taking big DEAD crappies off the surface, your 14's have probably been dying from old age. Your lake just may not be able to grow em bigger. Here in Pa, we take lots of 15's from my home lake and a few 16's every year.
Some waters grow bigger fish, there are too many factors involved to list. Relax and enjoy what you can catch; 14 inchers are a great catch anywhere.
I see your from Indiana as am I. There are 15" fish there but very few and when you come across one it's a true trophy for most of our lakes here in Indiana.
Good luck in your search and when you land one we all want to see the picture because we are addicted to seeing big crappie....LOL!
Tom Hankins
Lake Fork Trophy Lures
Whisker Seeker Tackle
Moss Back Fish Rack
Cumberland Crappie
G3 Boats
I have caught a few 15" fish this year and they weigh about 2 1/2 lbs. That qualifies as trophy material to this boy and consider myself to have had a good year. I've been fishing for Crappie about 4 yrs and this is the first year I can make that claim. I have always bumped around 14 to 14 1/2" and wondered where the big fish were. I was told by an old timer once" when you go to the park you'll see the old folks off to the side of where the kids are playing". This kind of made sense to me and changed the way I approach a given piece of structure. Dominant fish will have the best spot on the pile because of their size. That may be on the outside edge or on top, you get the idea. Try a little stealthier approach from a greater distance, or stay back and cast to it, try a different approach to your better spots. This may not make a difference, but think of how happy you'll be if it puts that 15" in the boat. I hope this helps some, good luck in the quest.
Creativity is just intelligence fooling around