Crappie facts for kids
Crappies are a type of freshwater fish found in North America. They belong to the Pomoxis genus and are part of the sunfish family. Both types of crappie, the Black crappie and the White crappie, are very popular for fishing. The White crappie is even the state fish of Louisiana.
Contents
What's in a Name?
The scientific name for crappies, Pomoxis, comes from two Greek words. "Poma" means "cover" or "operculum" (the gill cover of a fish), and "oxys" means "sharp."
The common name "crappie" comes from the Canadian French word crapet. This word is used for many different fish in the sunfish family. You might also hear crappies called by other names like papermouths, strawberry bass, speckled bass, speckled perch, or calico bass. In southern Louisiana, they are sometimes called sac-a-lait, which means "milk bag."
Types of Crappies
There are two main types of crappies:
- White crappie – P. annularis
- Black crappie – P. nigromaculatus
How Crappies Live
Crappies are both hunters and hunted! As adults, they mostly eat smaller fish. This includes the young of bigger fish that might try to eat them, like the northern pike, muskellunge, and walleye. But crappies also eat other things like tiny water animals called zooplankton, insects, and crustaceans.
During the day, crappies usually hang out in quieter spots. They like to hide around underwater plants or sunken things like logs and big rocks. They do most of their hunting at dawn (sunrise) and dusk (sunset). That's when they move into open water or closer to the shore to find food.
White vs. Black Crappies
It can be tricky to tell the two types of crappies apart, but there are some differences:
- Dorsal Spines: White crappies have 5 or 6 spines on their top fin, while Black crappies have 7 or 8. This is the easiest way to tell them apart!
- Appearance: Black crappies look darker because they have many dark spots all over their sides. White crappies usually have black stripes that go up and down their bodies and are often lighter in color.
- Size and Numbers: White crappies are often found in larger numbers and tend to grow a bit bigger than Black crappies.
Crappies are very common in North American waters. They are known as "panfish" because they are the perfect size to cook in a frying pan!
Spawning (Laying Eggs)
Crappies lay their eggs when the water gets warm enough:
- Black Crappies: They start laying eggs when the water temperature is about 60 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A female Black crappie can lay between 20,000 and 140,000 eggs!
- White Crappies: They start laying eggs when the water is a bit warmer, between 65 and 70 degrees F. A female White crappie can lay anywhere from 1,000 to 200,000 eggs!
After the eggs are laid, the male crappie guards the nest. The eggs usually hatch in about five days.
Fun to Catch
Crappies are highly valued by fishermen because they are fun to catch and are considered some of the best-tasting freshwater fish. Since they eat many different things, you can catch crappies in many ways.
Some popular ways to catch them include:
- Casting light jigs (small lures).
- Trolling (dragging a lure behind a boat) with small fish called minnows or fake lures.
- Using small spinnerbaits (lures with spinning blades).
- Fishing with bobbers (floats that show when a fish bites).
Crappies are also very popular with ice-fishermen because they stay active even in winter. The biggest Black crappie ever caught weighed about 2.25 kilograms (5 pounds), and the biggest White crappie weighed about 2.35 kilograms (5.2 pounds)!
How People Fish for Crappies
.jpg)
Fishing for crappies is popular all over North America. One common method is called "Spider Rigging." This is when a fisherman in a boat uses many long fishing rods that stick out from the boat like spokes on a wheel.
Anglers using this method might use different baits. Some people try to attract fish by putting bait into the water. If you want to attract fish, you can put minnows in a clear, sealed Mason jar and lower it into the water on a string.
Many types of lures also work well for crappies. Jigs, especially with a live minnow, are very effective. Spoons, Spinners, and Crankbaits can all catch crappies at different times.
Commercial Fishing
For a while, people used to catch crappies for sale at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. This commercial fishery, where fish are caught to be sold, stopped in 2003. It was one of the few places where crappies were caught commercially.
Images for kids
-
A black crappie (P. nigromaculatus)
See also
In Spanish: Pomoxis para niños
