How about fishing at night time for them? I know people catch them at night during the winter, but how about in the spring time?
Have not tried much after dark, but some lakes will produce in specific spots just as the sun goes down to about a half hour to hour after. Used the smallest lighted bobbers we could find to fish them.
To be fair, thought I should post a picture without the fish on my arm. In reading. A crappie can reach 10″ in about 3 years. It takes almost 15 years to grow another 8″. That’s going to vary by region and lake. That’s why the walleye slot has been successful for big fish. If they would protect 12” to 18” crappies, you would have a lot better chance at a big one. Thats a lot of years to dodge a live well. Most Ozark lakes were built mid-century. 20 years later, they were still full of treetops. Being fished by locals and a few tourists. With first gen Bass Trackers, Jon boats and Ranger bathtubs. Fishen where they caught some last year. With electronics that couldn’t tell which way the bottom was. Now the treetops look like telephone poles at best in some lakes. With steep rock banks, you don’t get weed beds. Crappies school up on points and rock banks and get very predictable. A huge percentage of the current year class to reach the 10” size limit will be harvested that year.
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Lol what’s with the dinosaur Steve
Lol what’s with the dinosaur Steve
Think he was making a point about how rare they are.
Showing my arms without the fish!!!
The biggest crappies I’ve caught have been lurking in areas where I’d typically find Northerns. And they’ve been aggressive as hell, just like a small northern.
Alot of my bigger ones also come in on jerk baits while bass fishing.
X2 – We also catch a fair amount of Larger crappies in the summer while fishing Jigworms. Hard to believe that a crappie would eat a 7″ worm on a 1/8oz jig head but it happens often.
Have done alot of crappie fishing over the years and 14-1/2″ is my biggest.Consistently most all of the largest crappies I have caught have all been caught when trolling crankbaits,the big slabs have no problem choking down a #4 hornet or #5 shad rap.That being said I get alot of crappies around the 13″-13-1/2″ mark with not many over that size,caught a few over 14″ from Red back in the day.Plenty of 13″s around the metro and have seen a few bigger swimming in Tonka but catching them never panned out.The Mississippi River can produce big crappies/gills as well.My buddy got a 15″ in the river then headed to the bait shop to have it weighed,while he was gone I pulled an 11″inch gill out on a crappie minnow.The past few state record white crappies have came from lakes known to have plenty of crappies but also known for mostly smaller fish.That being said I would guess any lake with crappies in it has at least a few 15″ fish, but targeting and catching those fish would likely be pure luck.I think your going to have to spend a ton of time fishing crappies on lakes/rivers that you know have good populations of larger sized fish.Eat,sleep,breathe crappies,divorce the wife and sell the house time on the water might just get that 15incher for ya
I managed several 15-16 inchers last year fly fishing for pike. 4-5 inch long flies entirely in their mouths, maybe go big baits?
I like the “go big baits” idea. Only open water 15″ crappie I have caught in MN was bass fishing with a 4″ paddle tail. Right now is a good time of year to head to Lake Greeson in Arkansas. They have the 15″ plus crapppies you are looking for.
About 45 years ago ice fishing on a nasty windy day my brother in law, his brother, and I had nine tipups out with shiners fishing for northerns on a backwater lake. We had one flag and it was a 16.5″ crappie.
Looking at Minnestoa and Wisconsen state record crappie. 1940 and 1967 respectively may speak to increased fishing pressure and technology. 50 to 80 years ago, there were less people, that were far less equipped to find and catch fish. Fish were more likely to surpass 15 years old. I remember fishing 1,000 acre lakes, that didn’t even have paper maps available. Sitting in a 14′ Lund resort boat wondering were to start.
Bigger, deeper, and slower.
Ditch Minnetonka and start fishing the mn river
Gimruis, my advice is to change the bodies of water from which you are seeking these 15”+ crappie. If it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not likely ever going to happen from where you’ve been concentrating your efforts. If you’re on the right bodies of water, 15’s will come along annually.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, every 16”+ MN crappie I’ve ever caught (4) was in the pre-spawn while using a bobber with a gulp minnow…which is saying something since 85% of the time I’m casting small jig/plastics and mixing in the bobber presentation. Could just be a coincidence, but worth noting. Those are my go-to presentations.
You can catch nice males during the spawn, and the action can be awesome but the females are not there very long. Pre-spawn might be a good time.
As mentioned, the rivers have the best oppt locally for big crappie. The best part is it takes work to get to where you need to fish so not many people target those areas. During ice season it’s a long walk and the bite windows are narrow. In the summer a lot of the locations are near impossible to get a boat into when the water is low. Couple that with high water some years that forces fish to other areas and it’s challenging.
There are a few lakes that hold big ones but the rivers are where the big ones are.
We use to fish Rainy Lake north of International Falls** Memorial Day Weekend (Lilacs flowers are budding) using 2/0 gold TruTurn hooks with emerald shiners (size used for walleyes*) under pencil bobbers slowly retrieved (stop & go). Weight the bobber so only an inch is above the water, the bite is when it raises.
To locate them s-trolling the warmest water you can find with the same rig or large river or pearl #7 shad raps using your bow-mount motor along the shore. Look for large flat rock(s) running out into the water. Small bays produce better than the main lake.
*bait dealer was out of crappie minnows one year / we never went back to small bait!
** And Red Gut Bay
Best spring time is when the Lilacs are budding (starting to bloom). Crappies will be shallow looking to bed.
My spring quest for a big crappie finally paid off this year…earlier this week. A 17″ from a metro lake I didn’t think had that size of fish. It was a great surprise! Gimruis – you never know when your efforts will pay off.
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Some of the old pits have some BIG crappies in them…15″-16″ 
Nice fish!!
Nice crappie! Congrats! 
The first thing I’d do is stop fishing where you’re catching the so-so crappies. Big crappies have an entirely different character and the last thing they are going to tolerate is the competition from lesser fish. The so-so fish occupy water that is different from what the big boys use. You may be fishing the same body of water, just entirely different needs for those true slabs. Oh, and throw the minnows back in the lake…. they’re for the so-so and dink crappies.
My spring quest for a big crappie finally paid off this year…earlier this week. A 17″ from a metro lake I didn’t think had that size of fish. It was a great surprise! Gimruis – you never know when your efforts will pay off.
Very nice. Well done.
Some of the old pits have some BIG crappies in them…15″-16″
YEP…..my biggest came out of a shallow lake but my closest 2nd came out of an old abandoned sand pit that you could throw a rock across. following winter, I found a bunch of 14-15 inchers dead on shore. still hoping some survived that winterkill but not having much luck anymore.
Last fall during pheasant hunting time nice day and wasn’t hunting so went to pool 4 walleye fishing. Didn’t do so well. Pulling the boat out I noticed people in cleaning shack and thought somebody always figures it out and went in to see what they were cleaning expecting walleyes. They must have had 50 or so crappies making up the biggest bag I have ever seen. Don’t think any where 15″ but quite a few were 14 or pushing 14″. I definitely will be down there crappie fishing this fall. There also is a guy who fishes pool 2 that makes some you tube videos where he has caught several over 15″. Looks like he fishes around Grey Cloud back channel. I would target the river looking for a 15″.
I forgot to mention on Pool 4 take a vet fishing two years ago my vet caught almost a 15″ crappie. We were trolling for walleyes.
I forgot to mention on Pool 4 take a vet fishing two years ago my vet caught almost a 15″ crappie. We were trolling for walleyes.
We catch them accidentally dragging ringworms for walleye. I really need to just spend some time targeting crappies out there!
I forgot to mention on Pool 4 take a vet fishing two years ago my vet caught almost a 15″ crappie. We were trolling for walleyes.
Hey I was there as well and the vet and I were pulling salmo hornets and got in to a bunch of those big crappies on accident. We never seen one walleye. But 20 crappies all north of 12 to biggest was 15.25. He said he never seen panfish that big. It was a good feeling
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