Originally Posted by GABoy
Identification: On first impressions, the black crappie looks black and white, but on closer examination it shows iridescent colors and sheens. Viewed from the front, its body is very compressed, narrow from side to side. Viewed from the side, it is deep-bodied, not as long-looking in its proportions as the white crappie. The back is olive to bright metallic-green, or a bluish gray. On its silvery sides are dark spots that are scattered or that appear in indistinct horizontal rows, not in vertical rows, as on the white crappie. There are also splotches that make a wavy pattern on its dorsal, anal and caudal fins. One way to distinguish the black crappie from the white is to count the spines on its dorsal fins. The black crappie has seven or eight spines on its dorsal fin. The white crappie has only five or six dorsal spines. Black crappies that live in clear, vegetated water have darker contrasting patterns on the body, while those from murkier water are lighter, appearing more “bleached.”
