# Crappie size



## archman

What is the minimum size crappie you keep? I fished a lake today where you can catch a crappie on nearly every cast. That's not an exaggeration. I only fished for an hour and got bored. Most crappie in there are about 7-8 inches, but sometimes you get a few bigger. I know it wouldn't hurt to keep as many as possible because I know there are too many in there, but will I get any meat on that size? By the way, I'm not the best fish cleaner around.


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman

I know a lake like that
 CJ Brown  Little ones one every cast, just like you

Even though the crappie there are thin as paper, I'll go as low as 8in. to clean one...

Once you get below that, its not worth it...
Unless your on Erie-then a 7incher thats thick will give off two times as much meat as an inland 8in... That lake is great :B


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## mepps_fisher

where im fishing we catch a ton around 7-8. But i dont like wasting my time on that. me and my buddies set our limit at lowest being 8.5 but its gotta be thick. i mean you hook 2 or 3 12 inchers and thats about 15 of them dinks meat wise


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## Bassnpro1

I don't keep any under 10.5 inches myself. Its just not worth my time. I would rather clean 10 11"ers than 30 9"ers, and I get the same amount of fish.


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## Smallmouth Crazy

Bassnpro1 said:


> I don't keep any under 10.5 inches myself. Its just not worth my time. I would rather clean 10 11"ers than 30 9"ers, and I get the same amount of fish.


Same here, many lakes around here have a 9" minimum but I try to take that one further and go 10-11".


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## leupy

While I would love to clean nothing under 11" I happen to love crappie and have a few fish fries each year so I will clean smaller fish taken from enpoundments where there are way too many, and I don't mind cleaning them.


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## chaunc

leupy said:


> While I would love to clean nothing under 11" I happen to love crappie and have a few fish fries each year so I will clean smaller fish taken from enpoundments where there are way too many, and I don't mind cleaning them.


Who doesn't keep 7 and 8 inch gills? Some good eatin there. Crappie are no diffrent. If the lake only produces 7 to 9" crappies, keep some to help thin out the population. We have some of the fattest 9" crappie here you ever want to see. 10 of them is more than a meal for me.


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## Pole Squeezer

chaunc said:


> Who doesn't keep 7 and 8 inch gills? Some good eatin there. Crappie are no diffrent. If the lake only produces 7 to 9" crappies, keep some to help thin out the population. We have some of the fattest 9" crappie here you ever want to see. 10 of them is more than a meal for me.


Hey, who're they kidding? When the icebox gets low, and the old stomach starts to growl, and the money is tight, them 7-8in crappie are going in the grease. I can get real selective too when the icebox's full.


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## F1504X4

We don't keep anything under 10-10.5, any smaller than that you don't get enough meat off of them to make it worth it. Also unless we catch at least 5 over 10" we don't keep them. I couldn't imagine trying to clean a 7" crappie, I would end up in the ER!


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## Slabs!

9" for me and then they still better be fat at that. They can be slim at 9 as well. I don't care how big they are, unless they're pushing the teens... If I don't get 10... I'm throwing them back!


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## bopperattacker

I'm sweet with a fillet knife. I have cleaned panfish as small as 5 inches, and got good meat off of them. On Crappies, I make the call at 9 inches. Most columbus lakes have a 9 or 10 inch minimum on crappies though. Out of private ponds, I make the call at girth, not length. A girthy 8 inch crappie, is better than a thin 10 incher in my opinion. If you suck at cleaning, stick to the bigger fish. In a few years those 7-8 inches will be 10-12 inchers.


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## sam kegg

im with bopper on this subject. i have pulled some fat 8'' out and there just as good if not better


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## JignPig Guide

I haven't fished much for crappie lately. And when I do, I normally throw the smaller ones back and only clean the nicer sized ones. 

They both measured 16-1/4-inches. They hit my crankbait while I was fishing for largemouth bass.


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## bopperattacker

those are some nice slabs. and your face makes the picture 100 times more sweet. That's the face of a man saying Hell ya!!!


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## AtticaFish

I keep em down to 7-8" on one reservoir that is over-populated near me. On cleaning smaller fish, just don't worry so much about the belly meat. Make your first cuts from as high up on the shoulder where theres meat down diaganol behind the pect fins. If you are gonna get bones, it will be in the belly meat.


Don't matter the size.... they all taste good to me!!


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