3.07lb Crappie

Just another reason I want to move to TEXAS

If you want a 3lb crappie then move to MS. I-55 is called the “crappie highway” because Enid, Sardis, and Grenada are there and all within about an hour of each other. 3lbers are not totally uncommon there.

Been to Grenada 3 times, 2nd time been there 5 minutes and I pull out a 2lb 10oz knee shaker. Lots of fun for the fishing and to experience the backwoods MS culture. Much different than MN!!!

I moved here FROM TX. I strongly encourage you to re-think your position on moving there……

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I moved here FROM TX. I strongly encourage you to re-think your position on moving there……

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X2 besides, our state record crappie is 5lb…. And you don’t have to fight water moccasins for the best fishing spots!

I call shenanigans on our 5lb state record…Dont buy it for a second.

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I call shenanigans on our 5lb state record…Dont buy it for a second.

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You’re within an hour’s drive of where it came from and the record is solid.

I know where they say it came from. Just can’t imagine a slab that big coming from here, seeing as the biggest I’ve ever seen or heard of was only in the 3 lb neighborhood. Add in the weight…5 lbs even? Really?

The influence of the river may have something to do with its size. I’ve seen a graphite replica of this critter and its impressive to say the least.

Good grief! Do they even sell crappie minnows down there, looks like a guy needs some jumbo shiners to get those pie pans

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I know where they say it came from. Just can’t imagine a slab that big coming from here, seeing as the biggest I’ve ever seen or heard of was only in the 3 lb neighborhood. Add in the weight…5 lbs even? Really?

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Then you really must have an issue with the 7lb brown bullhead record! That one baffled me until I saw a guy caught a 7# in FLA to set the state record.

Personally I assume most record fish are genetic mutants, especially the ones where the gap between a trophy and the record are substantial.

I rented a boat on the St. John’s river in Florida a while back, going for bass and when we got to the marina there was this old man filleting crappies.

They had a certified scale on the fillet table and he slaps a 3.75lb crappie on it (the biggest of many monster crappies he had) and pulls her of and starts to fillet it up. I was shocked. Biggest crappie I’ve ever seen in my life and he’s filleting it like it’s no big deal.

Sidebar, this inspired me to buy some crappie minnows so I rigged up a rod to drag a minnow along as we flipped the shore and out of the corner of my eye, I see the rod mode, look back and I think I see this monster bass jumping behind the boat and realize it’s on the crappie rod. Well, reel it in and it’s a 16″ crappie…but no where near as big as the 3.75lber.

Yeah, not going to say it’s impossible, just hard to swallow. The bullhead I don’t doubt at all, I’ve caught some giants. Just seems fishy that it’s stood for soo long, and had an even number with no ounces.

If you look at other state’s records for Black Crappie they are all in about the same range… The average state record crappie is 4 lb 8-oz and MN is just above that. A 21″ crappie can have a large weight range depending on girth and time of year, so it’s likely that the fish was legit.
http://www.landbigfish.com/staterecords/fishrecords.cfm?ID=12

Very Awesome Fish, I havent done much research into the crappies of the South but had a friend from College that was from Southern Missouri and they use to catch some slab-Os. I would road trip to MS in a heartbeat if someone had a bead on some 3 pound plus slabs. – QB

Thats no understatement Ben. If your close to the water table everyone builds on stilts or blocks because concrete doesn’t hold up, the ground moisture heaves the concrete too much and makes it crack, then you’ll have fireants coming up through the cracks in your livingroom.

Its not uncommon to have a nest of cottonmouths nest and hatch right under your house and you not even know it. You can’t just go for a walk in the woods because of all the venomous snakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, rattle snakes and even a few coral snakes, and that doesn’t include the venomous spiders, scorpions and fire ants. A walk down the concrete walkway to the asphalt boatramp into your boat and you’d be halfway safe. That’s why alot of guys wear snakes boots if their in the woods much. I’m not afraid of snakes or spiders but there’s way to many of them and you have to be on the lookout allll the time or your going to get bit, I lived there for a couple years, I know.

Exactly why I feel my 3 1/2 years in Texas was more than long enough Dan! Sure glad I’m back in the northwoods of Ely where my only worry is what lake to fish, and for what species!

Ya Ben, we were pretty glad to get back to the green grass of Iowa. A person just doesn’t decide to take a nice walk in the woods down there, you have to safely prepare and even then bring along a snake bite kit which alot of people have in their homes anyway and never take a walk in the woods, like you can do up north here.

When you see poisonous snakes that are as long as from the centerline to the edge of the road that were run over, you know there’s a serious snake population around, and they get big. I met a guy down there, Jeff was his name and he lived in one of these elevated houses and seen cottonmouths since he was big enough to walk in his yard, and they were hatching under his house.

Jeff was something else and one day we decided to go fishing in one of the bayous. Too make a long story short he spooked a huge cottonmouth by walking if front of me and I happen to look down and this cottonmouth was coiled tightly and If I would have put my foot down he would have nailed me.

Jeff seen this cottonmouth slide down the bank and get into the water and he chased that thing and finially grabbed it. Here he come up the bank with this 5′ long cottonmouth, proud as a peacock. He had his hand squeezing tightly around this snakes throat so he could control it some. He asked if I ever seen the fangs and venom from a conntonmouth and I said no. He pulled his t-shirt out, forced the fangs through it and there was so much venom that it ran down the sides of this cottonmouth almost to the tail after he did it 3 or 4 times. He finally let it go because they kill the rats that live down there, no one kills a snake, only if they have too because the snakes eat the rats because the rats do the most damage. Its an unreal place to live if you can take the opressive heat and humidity and the snakes and spiders. Theres so many rats that they are everywhere, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, you have rats running around in the bushes in your yard…

That’s an incredible fish, I can’t imagine pulling up a crappie that big, if there were more fish that size around the ice belt I think I’d have to use a 10″ bit when ever I was chasing crappies!

Sweet Fish