Crappie size.

I know this will open a large can of worms and my intent is not to start trouble, but what is everyone’s considered keeper size for crappie.
My wife likes to keep anything over 8”.
My preference is nothing under 10”.
Am I being too picky or to easy?

I’m with you Tom. 10-12 inchers are good for me. Under 10 ain’t worth it and over 12 go back.

I assume you’re talking about filleting them. I think some people scale them or just toss them into a grinder if they are small.

Agree with the above. If I’m keeping any they are 10 1/2 to maybe 13.

10-to 12.If their biting well the 12’s go back.

10 to 12 is perfect. If having a hard time will keep down to 9.5. Or twice a year 8 to 9.5 for my 96 year old grandma. She just guts them and scales them.

What’s cool about catching a 15” is that thing has been a keeper for years, and gets fished all year. Not alot of catch and release in the panfish world. Catch a big bass or ‘ski the thing probably has been caught a few times-by July & August you see hook wounds in the fish you catch in the metro.
I keep smaller ones and throw back ones over 12.

If you watch the ice fishing forum guys brag on here about hammering 8 inchers and keeping them.
Personal for me. 10 to 13

A fat 8 inch crappie can have a fine fillet on it. The thicker fillet of the larger ones is just more mushy and worse.

At my uncles cabin we keep 11-12 inchers. The bigger ones go back. I don’t really crappie fish anywhere else.

I just have a hard time cleaning the smaller fish.
It’s a little disappointing when the meat on the fillet is only a little more than the meat on the carcass.
I have often wondered why there isn’t a size restriction on pan fish.
Texas has a minimum size for crappie. I believe it’s 12”
On a separate note, I don’t think I would be keeping many fish as I’m a lousy crappie fisherman.

I look for 11″to 12″ fish in some of the waters I fish for the table but if a very large crappies hits deep in the gills and is going to die, I will keep it. Some waters have a hard time producing crappies much larger than 9″ to 10″, with 8″ being the primary size offering. I avoid those waters.

The Mississippi River has some outstanding large crappie angling if one puts the time in. I’ve spent a lot of time on pools 4, 5, 5A, and six and without a doubt pool 5 has the largest crappies I have seen of those four pools.

Crappie size and what one wants to keep is an interesting study, but those 10″ to 11″ crappies are fine eating.

I’ll keep some 9” on some of the local lakes because they have so many in that size class.

With the smaller ones we’ll use them to make fish tacos. Put all those small filets on a piece of tinfoil and grill up with peppers, onions, cilantro and some seasoning. They work great for that

I went part way down the rabbit hole on this.
Black crappie live on average for 7 years and as long as 11, I believe.
The MN DNR say they grow about 2” per year.
That would put a 14” crappie in the old folks home of the fish world.

I think, taking that into account, I will keep my crappies, assuming I ever catch one, if they are 14”.
My feeling is better to be eaten by me than to die of old age.
But my boat ruler for crappie will still have a 10” minimum.

I would rather keep a limit of 8.5”-9” crappies than a half-limit of goodies(10.5”+) on most metro lakes, just to help with stunted populations.

My thought is keep what you’re willing to clean.

Years ago I was keeping 12-14″ sauger on LOW ice fishing. Group I was with didn’t keep any “small” fish. They certainly didn’t hold back after I cleaned and fried them…

Growth rates in different waters can be a huge factor in crappie size. Taking a scale from the middle of the body on crappie you’ve cleaned can be pressed between a couple sheets of paper. When its dry one can use a good magnifying glass to count the growth rings to determine the approximate age. Where there’s adequate forage thru all of the different life stages and decent genetics, crappies can grow large in fewer years than, say, one who’s had lots of competition for food and the genetics aren’t just right.

I know of waters where an 11″ crappie is of mythical proportions, while the average fish is around 8″. I also know of waters where a 11″-14″ fish is about the norm while the smaller fish just don’t seem to be around.

I don’t judge anyone who keeps smaller crappies, or smaller sunfish for that matter. I just don’t practice it myself. On waters where those 10″ crappies or 6″ sunfish are being kept because people can’t seem to find any larger, I often wonder if they are aware that they may be stripping the top of the genetic pool for that lake. I am a firm believer that people need to decide what size and how many of each fish they want to keep. Most often I keep just enough for Ma and I to enjoy a meal. Sometimes that equates to three crappies, sometimes it’s 6 crappies. All depends on what’s available.

Turtle Flambeau Flowage has a minimum 10 inch on crappie and 10 bag limit for panfish . Personally 8 inch where its legal .

8 to 10 is the norm for local waters for myself at least. PIA to clean u betcha, fry up quick to absolutely delicious lil fish chips, he!! Yeah

Inner Diameter of a 5 gallon pail is about 10.75 inches – that is my benchmark.

I keep crappies 10” to 13” if want fresh fish dinner.

Personally I usually let them swim vs fillet and freeze. If you keep them then eat ‘em.

I would like to ask the DNR if their lower fish limits are designed to have people keep less fish? Or is it an end around to have people keep fewer small fish?
If I can only have 5 fish I certainly don’t want to keep 7” sunfish.
If the idea is to keep fewer small fish, why not put a size restriction on them?

Do you know if this ring counting thing works on sunfish?
I fish a lake close to my home that is hard pressed to find a sunfish over 7-1/2”. Would be interesting to see how old they are.
Can’t really tell if they are stunted, or if they get caught faster than they can grow.
This lake gets tremendous fishing pressure.

Baitwaster wrote:

My thoug

Years ago I was keeping 12-14″ sauger on LOW ice fishing. Group I was with didn’t keep any “small” fish. They certainly didn’t hold back after I cleaned and fried them…

This…..

The small pieces are always the first to go! For crappies, 9-10.5 is perfect.

^ I’ve never heard someone say a fish tastes too small

I fish em in deep water so I keep them all, even if they are potato chips.
I turn them into fish taco’s.

I keep crappie 10 and over, but I’m sure I’ve kept 8’s and 9’s because I’m not measuring every single one. I just look at the fish and think “will I get good meat off this?” If not then back it goes.

KPE wrote:

I just look at the fish and think “will I get good meat off this?” If not then back it goes.

This! I have cut up as small as 8 inches and as large as 15. Perfect eaters are agreed in the 10-12 range there just easier to clean.

…and some smaller fish fall victim because “the knife is dirty now”…

If I only kept 11″ or bigger we wouldnt be eating many. Cleaned some 9″ers last week and they were delicious. Plus if I threw them back my 5yr old daughter would have thrown me in.