Fat Winter Crappie

[Capt Cormorant]

I do not believe the gerth of the winter crappies I'm catching. This is my first year pursuing these guys. I've been chasing them since April. I know they they bulk up for the winter. I would expect them to be thin this time of year. Is it normal for them to stay fat?

[SuperDave336]

Very nice fish regardless of when caught. Some of my biggest actually were caught in winter time. Spring before the spawn has some big slabs as well.

[Smitty39365]

Great catch! Yep they are packing on the pounds for their spring workout.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[RVG Fishing]

Great catches !

[Retired2Fish]

Bigguns for sure.

[Redge]

IMHO their just going to get fatter every day until the spawn.
Nice fish.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[chaunc]

I catch most of my fattest crappies in the fall on my home lake.

[skeetbum]

Nice fish, I agree with Dave. The size of some of the schools of Shad I’ve seen in the fall and winter make it no surprise. Literally had to move out of them to catch any fish.

[Ketchn]

fish metabolism runs slow in cold water ,baitfish struggle in cold water , predator fish gorge on them .
fat winter crappie are quite the norm , the fattest fish I see are right before the spawn every year males and females.
we have seen a few this winter with shad hanging in their throats and bellies that looked like they swallowed a baseball .
and STILL hit a jig