How old is that crappie

[Large6er]

I have been curious about the life cycle of a crappie and I hope the biologist the crowd can fill us in with facts. So from hatch to a 12" crappie how long does the fish take to be table fare. And about how long has a 16" crappie been roaming the waters of our local lakes. I know the growth rate here in Ohio will be a little slower than the southern states but I'm sure there is a ball park time frame.

I guess when you work third shift sometimes you think about crazy things like this.

Large6er

[CrappiePappy]

I have been curious about the life cycle of a crappie and I hope the biologist the crowd can fill us in with facts. So from hatch to a 12" crappie how long does the fish take to be table fare. And about how long has a 16" crappie been roaming the waters of our local lakes. I know the growth rate here in Ohio will be a little slower than the southern states but I'm sure there is a ball park time frame.

I guess when you work third shift sometimes you think about crazy things like this.

Large6er

I worked 3rd shift for over 30yrs, so I know where you're coming from (and it's probably the reason I'm still up at this hour, answering your question )

You're right ... the northern Crappie grow slower, but live longer (on average) than their Southern cousins. The lake they happen to be born into has a lot to do with how fast they get big, & how big they get (in numbers). I don't know if it's a median statistic or not, but I've always heard that it takes about 3 yrs for a Crappie to reach 10", and Crappie have a average lifespan of around 6 years. (but, that may just be a Ky statistic)

It also makes a difference whether you're talking about Black Crappie or White Crappie ... as their lengths differ, even when the same age, due to their inherent body shape. White Crappie (where present) tend to gain length faster than Black Crappie.

I'm no biologist, and certainly no expert on anything ... so consider that when taking my opinion on these facts.

... cp

[bee]

I caught a 17 in. last year and person who mounted it removed the ear bone. I took it and some scales to a Bio and he said it was about 5 years old. He also said in our waters they can be as old as 10 or more.

[yankee doodler]

They live longer in them clean, clear Maine waters, eh Bee?!!!

[river scum]

years ago, in an infisherman article, they quoted a study. the study showed the oldest crappie on record at 22yrs from skinner lake indiana!

[crappie1133]

Large6er- I think B&M makes a crappie checker that measures the length and gives the approx. weight. The far right side gives the approx. age. I think you can buy them from places like Grizzly Jig Company. May not be 100%, but close.....crappie1133

[M R Dux]

The 1st fish I took in for a customer when I started my taxidermy business was a black crappie that was caught in an impoundment near here. It weighed 4 pounds even and was 20.75 inches long. When the customer told me he had a 21 inch crappie, I said "BS! there's no such thing as a 21 inch crappie". I guess I was wrong. I've talked to several wildlife professionals about that fish and to a person, they told me it would have never lived to be that size had it been in KY or Barkley Lakes. They said it would have eaten itself to death before it would have reached those proportions. BTW, it was so skinny you could see light thru it.

I have no idea how old that fish was but its size was a direct result of it living in a closed environment where it probably had to work much harder to survive but it lived much longer because of it.

[Team9nine]

Around here (central Indiana), a whole lot of crappie live their entire life and never make it to 16". From the surveys I've read, a fast growing fish will usually make it to 10" at 3 years old and 12" by age 5. Don't recall ever seeing any 16" fish removed and aged by IDNR, but I have seen several 15"-15.5" fish that aged between 8-10 years old. These data were for white crappie.

-T9

[Large6er]

This is some great info, and what makes it great is the range of states it covers. From what I am hearing the 3 year old crappie becomes a keeper in about all regions. It also sounds like the crappie get bigger but have shorter life spans in the south as where they live longer but a little smaller in the north. Then Maine screws up the whole theory with the pictures we see post of the 16 -18 inchers. I wonder the age of those slabs.

Keep the info coming

[Crappitier]

Here in PA a 10" keeper size crappie (white or black) is about 3 years old. They seem to be a pretty fast growing fish when they have deep water and a lot of food.

A 12"er about 4 years old. They seem to peak around 15" here in PA, maybe 5 or 6 years old.