http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/mar/12/think-youve-seen-3-pound-crappie-its-not-likely/ If you've spent much time hanging around bait shops and marinas, you've no doubt heard someone spouting some form of this particular statement: "Me and my buddy caught 25 crappie the other day, and every single one would have pushed 3 pounds." Let me tell you something about the guy who made that statement. He may be the best guy in the world. But he 1) doesn't know what a 3-pound crappie looks like or 2) likes to play a little loose with the truth when it comes to crappie fishing. Three-pound crappie are rare, folks. In my mind, I've always equated a 2-pound crappie with a 5-pound largemouth bass and a 3-pound crappie with a 10-pound bass -- an absolute trophy that most folks catch once in a lifetime if they're lucky. Turns out, 3-pound crappie are even rarer than that. I talked to a fisheries biologist the other day who said a recent study showed that a 3-pound crappie is basically the equivalent of a 12.8-pound largemouth bass. Think about how many 12.8-pound bass you've seen in your lifetime. I've caught thousands of bass from some of the best public and private lakes in the country, and I've covered bass tournaments all the way to the highest level at the Bassmasters Classic. Not only have I never caught one, I've never actually seen one in person. I shudder to think how many crappie I've caught in my lifetime. Since my dad and I discovered dock-shooting back 10 or 12 years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if the number has topped 15,000. He and I took a vacation back in 2002 when dock-shooting was just starting to catch on. We fished four days and caught more than 1,000 crappie. Out of all that, I've caught exactly one 3-pounder -- and it weighed exactly 3.0. If I had caught it before its most recent meal, I'd still be looking for my first 3-pounder. I fished Thursday with an excellent crappie fishing guide named Capt. Darryl Morris of Hot Springs, Ark. He fishes Lake Hamilton, DeGray Lake and Greeson Lake. He said he's been a guide for seven years, averaging 175 trips a year, and he's only had one 3-pounder in his boat. It weighed 3 pounds, 1 ounce, and still stands as his boat record. Keith Meals, the same Mississippi fisheries biologist who gave me the amazing stat equating 3-pound crappie to 121/2 -pound bass, said people often grossly overestimate the weight of crappie. "We have people come up to us on the lakes all the time, asking us to weigh a fish they believe will be 3 pounds," Meals said. "A lot of them just can't believe it when they find out the fish weighs closer to 21/4 than 3. But that happens a lot." Some people even get fighting mad when the scales don't reach that magic number. "I talked to a bait store owner one time who said a lady came in just convinced she had landed her first 3-pounder," Meals said. "But when they put it on the scales, it wasn't even close. The guy said she actually got up in his face, claiming the scales were wrong." Obviously, that's silly. There's no rule that says you have to hit the 3-pound mark to have a crappie mounted -- and if it weighs 2 pounds, 13 ounces, but you want to put 3 pounds on the engraved plate, go ahead. It's your fish, your money. And like I said, most people won't know the difference anyway. WANNA SEE A THREE? If you'd like to get an idea of what a 3-pound crappie really looks like, make plans to visit Grenada Lake on the last weekend of March or one of the first two weekends of April. The Crappie USA tournament trail will visit Grenada on March 25-26, the Crappie Masters trail will visit April 1-2 and the Magnolia Crappie Club will hold a one-day event on the lake April 9. Those tournaments draw some of the best crappie fishermen in the country -- and when you turn them loose on a lake that's known for big fish, they usually bring multiple 3-pounders to the scales. To reach reporter Bryan Brasher, call 529-2343; e-mail: brasher@commercialappeal.com. ================================================ Fishing reduces stress and gives you a break from our modern world where everything is going a million miles per hour 73 Check & Clear 6 LOC: 38-54-14.60N / 097-14-09.07W |
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