This past Saturday I was catching bait to go catfishing on Belton. I pulled into a creek and was catching shad in my castnet. When sorting through my catch I found several crappie only about 2" long. Are these fish a result of a fall spawn or are they from the previous spring and just have a very slow growth rate?

interesting question

Good question; might want to contact TPWD and inquire. Did you get a pic?

Didn't get a pic, but after I released them I really wish I would have.

the state fish biologists wont have a strong answer on this subject
done tried to get that answer from them a few times
the website I think indicates multiple spawns though
I do know the biologist indicated strongly to me that ALL crappie spawn
according to him they will not absorb the eggs if the conditions are not right as I have seen posted before here
I think most likely what you are seeing in a fish that short this time of year
1 ............nutrition
2 ............late spawn
3 ............ possibly genetics
3 possibilities that come to mind
in combination or as a single factor these could contribute to this scenario

Figures; tax dollars at work, right?

Midgets!!

dwarf crappie!

Belton traditionally has always had a good forage base for all its fish, so nutrition is not a very likely reason.

Late spawn but not a multiple spawn sounds reasonable, especially as to how messed up our seasons have been lately with screwy weather and such.

Genetics is always a possibility and mixed with a late spawn, sounds like a workable formula

Aw heck, who knows!!!

Rudy

Could be baby bluegill. They look a lot like crappie.

Spring spawn for sure.

Ketchn, I've caught crappie in late May and June with small eggs sacks that are very dark yellow or light brown. What is that??

bluegill spawn in spring and fall if conditions are right and they are hard to distinguish from baby crappie.

last year I caught and released several 2 inch or less crappie in a bait trap in september or later.always
get several agegroups of sun fish indicating multiple spawns . also caught very small white bass late in the fall , indicating a second late spawn. I enjoy me bait traps much more than biology class.

These were crappie, not bluegill. Iv seen my fair share of both.

I noticed a bunch of 2-3 inch channel cats in a pond a couple weeks ago. I was wondering the same thing. I'm pretty sure that Channel cats, that were hatched last year, would be bigger than that. There were also very small sunfish.
Do all fish have multiple spawns?