I'm just glad to see a crappie
must agree about how to truly identify the fish..counting the dorsal fins.....but that fight thing....those big white crappie on the point this week were pulling drag...flying out the water like tarpon...think when they are full of roe..they are sluggish..other than than that...they pull like a freight train...
I'm just glad to see a crappie
Blacks are a meatier fish compared to whites of equal length.
Ive never seen an instance anywhere at any time that the distinct bars vs scattered black spots wasnt a DEAD giveaway.
Are black crappies the male white crappie that have turned black because of the spawn
No ... but that is the most common misconception & misidentifying factor. Black Crappie are spotted on their sides, and White Crappie have vertical bars down their sides. When White Crappie males put on their spawning colors, they "can" become marked so heavily that the black pigmentation runs together and the bars are not as discernible as they normally are. Male Black Crappie can also have their black spot pigmentation cover so much of their body, that they can be confused with the over-pigmented male White Crappie.
Here's an article that has some good identification pics/info : http://www.tnfish.org/SpeciesFishInf...latus_TWRA.htm (and, yes ... I do have permission from Jim Negus to post those pictures)
... cp
They all look the same to me after you put them in the grease.
God bless Charlie Brewer and Bobby Garland.