Hybrid Crappie?

[Jerry Blake]

It's been mentioned here before that crappie sometimes hybridized naturally and every now and then we catch one that makes me wonder if it's a hybrid.

The biggest crappie in this picture had six dorsal spines, the shading of a white crappie but no typical vertical bars (like the one on the right) and its body shape was more typical of our black crappie. I'm just wondering if it could be a hybrid. It sure was nice and fat - 15 and 1/2-inches long and weighed 1-pound 12-ounces.

Sure was a nice fish to finish a long slow day with.

[chaunc]

It's been mentioned here before that crappie sometimes hybridized naturally and every now and then we catch one that makes me wonder if it's a hybrid.

The biggest crappie in this picture had six dorsal spines, the shading of a white crappie but no typical vertical bars (like the one on the right) and its body shape was more typical of our black crappie. I'm just wondering if it could be a hybrid. It sure was nice and fat - 15 and 1/2-inches long and weighed 1-pound 12-ounces.

Sure was a nice fish to finish a long slow day with.

Did you take a picture of the hybrid by itself? I'd like to get a better look at that one.

[Jerry Blake]

Yea, but it didn't come out too good.

Shoulda gotten a better one before I filleted it.

It was a male by the way.

[chaunc]

Thanks.

[crappieseeker]

I dont understand the difference you are seeing from the others except the white one on the right. What do you mean by the shading? The rest all look the same in the pic to me.

[crappieseeker]

I can tell a little resemblance in the color tones of the big one and the white crappie, if thats what your talking about. I catch them here with so many different color shades, all I go by are the spines, the vertical bars and the length between the eyes to the spine to distinguish white or black.

[lovetofish]

Jerry, even down here in N. La. we have a crappie that some think is a hybrid but our biologists say are not. What you may have had it what some call the black nose crappie. It has a distinct (but sometimes faint) black line from behind the nose running down the spine towards the tail. I am like most people, I go by the number of points on the dorsal fin. Either way I like BIG FAT SLABS and it dosen't matter if they are white or black or some unknown. Good luck fishing




A Bad Day Fishing is better than a Good Day at Work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fishin3]

Checked a page for id and white crappie have a max of 6 dorsal fins and black one have 7 to 8.

[Jerry Blake]

No this wasn't an Arkansas Black Nose Crappie - we catch them every now and then - had two today. They have all the characteristics of a black crappie except for the "black racing stripe" under the chin and from the top lip to the dorsal fin.

The difference in this crappie was the lack of vertical bar pattern typical of all our white crappie. It is marked like a black crappie except for the shade and the specks were a little larger - all the other crappie except the one on the right are black crappie.

But with only 6-dorsal spines it has to be a white crappie (or a hybrid). Usually we can tell the difference real easy by the vertical bars on the white crappie and the random speckling of the black crappie. But this one looked like a black crappie. It’s probably just a white crappie that didn't get his stripes.

[Darryl Morris]

I see what you mean, Jerry. I would have identified the fish as a black by looking at it. But, with only six spines, it has to be a white. Interesting.

By the way, I ran across an article the other day that explained that the blacknose is not a hybrid, but rather a black crappie that has genetically mutated to get their stripe. It also said the black crappie males do not take on a blackened throat as do the whites during spawn. The picture on my website disproves that, unless it's was one like Jerry just caught.