I am quite new to crappie fishing but have tournament bass fished for many years.

I have started taking my young children crappie fishing hoping that we can generate more bites for them to get them interested.

I know this is a subjective question based on location and opinion but what categorizes as a quality crappie? Maybe of the equivalent of a 6lbs bass. What is a trophy crappie? Maybe the equivalent of a 10lb bass.

I presume this is mainly determined by length but I presume weight could be used as well.

I'm not sure why I need to know this info, just was curious.

Thanks!

I would say a 2 pound crappie would be equivalent to a 6 pound bass and a 3 pound would rate as a 10 pound bass. Crappie don't have near the lifespan as a bass does so they grow off really well if they have plenty of food. I'm sure everyone will have their own opinion.

I’d say this is spot on

x2

Another subjective question.

What would you define as a good day crappie fishing?

I have been purposely crappie fishing a half dozen times. Each time, myself and one other person with me will catch 20-40 keepers in 3-4 hours. I feel like we could be doing other things to be catching more or bigger ones but I dont know how to gauge if we are having a good day or not.

Do you expect to limit out every time out? If so, what type of timeframe do you expect to accomplish that?

You did good ... that is a good day, unless you would rather be at work, or mowing the lawn!

You’re a natural. If very trip goes like that, you’re golden.

A good day is most any day on the water. I had the good fortune to catch a couple of 3 pounders as a kid. One on a minow out of Cedar Creek fishing with my dads buddy. Didnt think it was anything special, but he must of told me a dozen times " if you ever wanted to mount a crappie, that's the one".
A few years later, I caught another 3 on Ray Bob on a 10" ring worm.fishing for bass. I still recall my thoughts. Damn, it's not a bass but this will sure eat well.
Fast forward 30 years and I would kill for either of those fish. I primarily fish Lewisville. If I could land a 2.5 pounder, I would place it on my wall. If on Ray Bob, Fork, Palestine or LOP, I believe it would take 3 or better to make the wall.
Bodies of water seam to have a range. What it takes to get me excited is to be near the top of that range. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you all for the info.

I always hear stories of how someone catches a 4 man limit in an hour and whatnot and never know what the standard is.

I would bump up a 3 pound crappie to be equivalent to a traditional 13 pound ShareLunker bass. There are not a lot of 3 pound crappie that have been weighed on certified scales. This fish was one ounce shy of 3 pounds. It was very thick and 17.0 inches long. I could almost put my fist in its mouth. I have only caught a few crappie this size in half a century of fishing.

Fish of a lifetime!

If I catch a fish that big I’m heading to Bass Pro with it to let them put it in their fish tank for all to enjoy.

Awesome fish!

All lakes are not equal in size or numbers. Many lakes cycle over years of having lots of fish or bigger fish.
2lb crappie are rare in most lakes , 3 lb are super rare.


My biggest is 2:78 , I would love to break 3,,

Mo

That's got my vote!