A Day Off

[Jerry Blake]

Darryl and I were both off today so we decided that with a cold front coming we should do a little scouting to see if we could catch a fish or two. They were in a typical pre-front feeding mode and willing to thump a jig pretty well. Of course we're always in competition for the biggest and most fish but it all balanced out pretty well today - I let him pretty much keep up with me on numbers (not counting the white bass I caught) :

And he let me catch the first, the last and the two biggest - both close to 16-inches and weighing 2-pounds even and 2-pounds, 3-ounces:

The bigger one was a male and I think it's the heaviest male white crappie I've ever seen that wasn't longer than 16-inches. They seem to just keep getting fatter and fatter. Also, it had a tinge of dark spawning colors so I know what's on their minds even though it's another 2-months away.

[ad1974]

Great catch....What a day off!

[FishnLine]

Nice catch Jerry. How deep were ya'll catch them?

[GRIZZ]

You guys need a third. I have someone in mind. That is one fine mess of fish. The guy holding them looks a bit suspect though. I'd keep an eye on him if I were you. :D

[gabowman]

Them are some hawgs Jerry. Looks like you guys know where the big ones are at....maybe your own personal stock?!?:D I'm assuming the white crappie get much bigger faster than the blacks? I wished we had white crappie here on my local lake. Great catch guys. Looks like fun!

[wannabe fisherman]

Where does a fishing guide go on his day off???

FISHIN

Nice catch
Louie

[Charlie K.]

Looks like a Photo Shop picture to me! Especially those in the first picture with that shady looking guy. Nice fish wish I could have made it.

[crappiekid24]

Nice catch guys! Those are some monster slabs!

[Jerry Blake]

Nice catch Jerry. How deep were ya'll catch them?

They were 20 to 24-feet deep in 24 to 30-feet of water. We caught all but one on jigs - 1/16th-ounce orange/silver/chartreuse and chartreuse/silver/chartreuse Shinee Hinee Hair jigs, some tipped with Rosey Red or Shiners.

[Jerry Blake]

Them are some hawgs Jerry. Looks like you guys know where the big ones are at....maybe your own personal stock?!?:D I'm assuming the white crappie get much bigger faster than the blacks? I wished we had white crappie here on my local lake. Great catch guys. Looks like fun!

Thanks gabowman:

We fished the same area yesterday and only caught one but they were showing up on the graph so I was hoping they were just being stubborn and would be in a better mood today and they were.

Usually our black crappie are heavier than our white crappie for the same length but the whites right now seem to be a lot more interested in bulking up. I've seen a lot of white crappie that were 16 to 16.5-inches and only weighed a pound to a pound and a half. It's normal for both whites and blacks to bulk up real good before the spawn but the whites are really getting serious this year. They both are in a lot better overall shape than we usually see them too - hardly any split fins or tails like we usually see.