“mohawk” crappie

[KRW]

I did a search and read what has been posted about them. On Greeson we catch them pretty regular. Are they a cross between Black/White crappie? Caught one yesterday 14 1-2”. Best Mohawk I hav caught

[CrappiePappy]

I did a search and read what has been posted about them. On Greeson we catch them pretty regular. Are they a cross between Black/White crappie? Caught one yesterday 14 1-2”. Best Mohawk I hav caught

No ... they are not a "cross" or "hybrid" .... they're simply a normal Black Crappie that has a pigment gene that creates the black stripe. But, they can & do crossbreed with other Black Crappie (& White Crappie on occasion) and can pass on the gene that creates the black stripe.

[Ketchn]

there is actually a cross , done intentionally , a magnolia ....but in most of the world like stated they are according to the studies just a black crappie with a gene that causes the stripe
i have never thought the studies are totally correct myself as i see things that defy the science .
some lakes have none of them and have lots of black crappie .
and another i know has ONLY them .
if it were only a genetics thing at some point the lakes mentioned would produce one or the other is my thoughts .

[CrappiePappy]

there is actually a cross , done intentionally , a magnolia ....but in most of the world like stated they are according to the studies just a black crappie with a gene that causes the stripe
i have never thought the studies are totally correct myself as i see things that defy the science .
some lakes have none of them and have lots of black crappie .
and another i know has ONLY them .
if it were only a genetics thing at some point the lakes mentioned would produce one or the other is my thoughts .

Yeah ... the Magnolia Crappie (crossbred Blacknose Male & a White Crappie female) is a mostly sterile fish (triploid) and is present ONLY in small state owned lakes in Mississippi. But, you wouldn't know that from all the misinformation being passed around on the web.

And yes, there are over 13 states that have a "naturally occurring" population in one or more of their waters ... but, many other states have had them transplanted/stocked in many of their waters.

They were originally called Arkansas Blacknose because biologists found them in a section of the White River in Arkansas and used them for stocking & studies. Then it was found that they existed in many other states and then they were simply known as Blacknose Crappie ... although the Arkansas Blacknose moniker is still in use. They've also gained other nicknames, like Mohawk or Racing Stripe Crappie.

Another curious note about them is .... biologists are still not sure why the stripe exists, and there's still an ongoing debate as to whether the marker gene is dominant or recessive.

[Ketchn]

i know there is a bunch of misinformation on them around the internet in crappie circles for sure .
often in these parts they occur in rivers and lakes that the rivers feed .
in this area of the world a "striped " crappie aka Mohawk will typically hit WAY harder and fight WAY better than another black crappie in the same spot .
This in turn seems to make them run on the small side as most get eaten when they hit the 10 inch mark .
then to further complicate this scenario lots of folks here say its a different breed because you rarely see a large one and the aggressive quality they typically seem to have .
some here have chocolate milk colored stripes and some have a stripe as dark as a permanent black marker .
once in while one comes up that is so pretty it defies description .

[CrappiePappy]

i know there is a bunch of misinformation on them around the internet in crappie circles for sure .
often in these parts they occur in rivers and lakes that the rivers feed .
in this area of the world a "striped " crappie aka Mohawk will typically hit WAY harder and fight WAY better than another black crappie in the same spot .
This in turn seems to make them run on the small side as most get eaten when they hit the 10 inch mark .
then to further complicate this scenario lots of folks here say its a different breed because you rarely see a large one and the aggressive quality they typically seem to have .
some here have chocolate milk colored stripes and some have a stripe as dark as a permanent black marker .
once in while one comes up that is so pretty it defies description .

Yeah ... I read an article some years back where the biologists ("experts") from Florida, I think, said that the Blacknose didn't hit or fight any harder than a normal Black Crappie of the same size. I beg to differ, then and now, as those I've caught in Tenn in years past have shown that to be erroneous. In fact, I got to the point where even before I could see the fish ... I could usually call it as being a Blacknose, just from the fight. And then there were a couple occasions where the fish came out of the water a couple of feet (after the hookset), and in one instance the fish came up on the right side of the bow of my buddy's 17' Tracker and re-entered the water about 3ft past the left side of the bow. And believe me, the 5' UL & 4lb line I was using was not a factor in that leap, it was all that Blacknose's doing !! I was using my "Vertical Casting" method at the time & when slack went in the line about halfway to the surface, I set the hook, and out and over came the fish. Turned out to be about a 1.5lb Blacknose, and one of several caught, but the only one that went "Polaris Missile" on me that day.