White/Black Crappie

[Bigby]

Is it possible for white and black crappie to spawn together? and will they try to destroy each others spawning location to be the main breed of crappie in a lake? The reason behind this sometimes during the spawn you will catch black and white crappie around the same area and I caught more black crappie out of Truman this year than ever before. Thanks Brian

[MOfishmgr]

they do hybridize on occassion so they will use the same areas. Blacks tend to spawn a week or two earlier than whites. Blacks like clearer water too. i've never hear of them destroying each other's spawn.

[Just Loosing Tackle]

i have seen some crappie caught out of stockton with black noses. is that a hybrid?

[Tmason]

I have never heard of them destroying each others nests either...the crappie you have seen with the black noses are most likely the black-nosed color variation...they have a stripe all the way from the tip of their mouth to their forehead, i think most of those are black crappie, if i am not mistaken...search black nosed crappie on the internet and a bunch of pictures show up

[Jigging15]

I have caught more and more black crappie out of Truman each year for the last two or three years. Still no where even close to the numbers of whites though. But sure is in catching the blacks and getting a little fight out of them.

[Bigby]

Thanks for the reply guys

[crappiedave55]

I have caught more and more black crappie out of Truman each year for the last two or three years. Still no where even close to the numbers of whites though. But sure is in catching the blacks and getting a little fight out of them.

I think we catch 50 to 70 % blacks up on the Pomme arm.But they run smaller than the Osage or the Grand.Good eaters .

[Jigging15]

I cleaned several from the Grand last year and from up in the creek. They sure have a thick fillet compared to a white of the same size. Sure fun to catch in the winter with a jig under a bobber.

[MBaylessTrumanMgr]

Our fall sampling information shows and increase in the number of blacks in Truman. White crappie are more tolerant of muddy water and higher temperatures that blacks, therefore more blacks are caught on the lower in of the lake. I mainly fish the upper end of the lake around Clinton. I'm also noticing an increase in the number of blacks up this way. One theory I have, and it's only a theory. With the high water years that killed much of the larger timber on the lakes shorelines, more dirt has been washed off the shore. Over time the rocks on the lower lake have shifted to less dirt and more exposed rock. If this is the case, clarity on the lower lake has likely improved as the lake has aged. The heavy siltation on the upper lake has also allowed for more plants to grow on the flat areas way up the lake. An example is the amount of willows and other plants on the upper Osage up and downstream of Osceola. If this truely is the case, more silt is being trapped in these areas allowing for clear water on the lower lake. This is just one of the factors that could be playing into the noticeble increase of black crappie.

[dfar]

Interesting theory I enjoyed the report.