In-Fisherman editors sat down to talk crappies several times during the formulation of this second crappie book in our Critical Concepts series. The roundtable discussion centered on a series of questions: Where are the biggest crappies, why are they there, and how long will they persist?

“First you have to determine what constitutes a big crappie,” says Editor In Chief, Doug Stange. “Two pounds is big wherever you go. In Texas, Minnesota, Florida, or Canada, a 2-pounder is not only considered big, but quite possible to catch. Do we have another species like that?”

A 10-pound largemouth might be considered big in Florida but impossible in Minnesota, where the state record is currently 8 pounds and some change. Walleyes, which range much farther north than either crappies or largemouths, become progressively smaller as you approach the far northern edge of their range. In Minnesota, an 8-pound walleye is just big, not special, because numbers of 10-pounders are caught every year. In northern Manitoba or Saskatchewan, an 8-pound walleye is huge beyond belief, and a 12-pounder would have to be flown in from someplace way down south like, well, central Saskatchewan (Tobin), where 15-pounders are registered most years.

Most species have easily identifiable zones where giants can be targeted. For smallmouth bass, In-Fisherman recently mapped out a trophy rectangle, which basically covers Tennessee and parts of surrounding states—where all of the specimens weighing 10 pounds or more have been caught. The biggest largemouths persist in Florida, California, and specific lakes in Texas and Arizona. The Giant Muskie Belt extends from the St. Lawrence River to Minnesota along the border between the U.S. and Canada, yet the range of the biggest pike includes parts of that belt and extends north to the tundra. The Slab Crappie Rectangle (if it exists) is a much more difficult place to identify.

The state record black crappie in Minnesota (5 pounds even) is not that much different from the state records in Mississippi (4 pounds, 4 ounces), Georgia (4 pounds, 4 ounces), or Alabama (4 pounds, 5 ounces). In fact, Minnesota’s record fish is bigger, as is Michigan’s (4 pounds, 12 ounces), which is odd considering that crappies do not range much farther north than largemouth bass. That would seem to make the crappie a “southern fish.” (The South does tend to grow bigger white crappies, which do not typically fare as well in clear water, and northern waters tend to be clearer.) So why are the biggest specimens of black crappies occurring in the North?

“In Georgia, a 5-year-old specimen is ancient, and probably weighs almost 3 pounds,” In-Fisherman Senior Editor Steve Quinn points out. “In Minnesota, a 5-year-old is just reaching 1 pound, yet a crappie reaching 7 years of age is pretty common up here. Northern fish live a bit longer.” If not taken out by anglers, a pretty tough assignment for a crappie these days.

“Fishing pressure has intensified and it certainly complicates the hunt for big fish,” Quinn says. “In fact, the chances of catching a 2-pound crappie in many of the places where we used to find them 20 years ago are slim to none. The catch-and-release ethic—so popular among trout, bass, and muskie fishermen these days—never caught on for crappies and, possibly, never will.”

“Right here, in the general area of the In-Fisherman offices,” Stange adds, “we used to fill stringers with 2-pound crappies in Lake Edward, Leech Lake, Upper Portage Lake, and several others. Chances of catching crappies that size in those lakes now are poor at best.” We all bit our tongues, wanting to ask if those “stringers” might be the reason. But we were all guilty, before the ethics and logic of conservation convinced us to stop taking home more than we absolutely needed to kill.