Asked by someone else and had me curious. I know what google says, but it seems hard to believe. I’m also wondering if crappie are similar to bass, as in, do they grow faster in warm climates like South Texas?

A Texas 14” white crappie is about how old?

A Texas 14” black crappie is about how old?

There are some good youtube videos with fish biologist that can sort of answer your question. This is a great one to learn from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqdqovA6nzY. At around the 12:40 minute mark he says a 2 lb, 15" crappie in a healthy population in Oklahoma would be 3 to 4 years old.

But, in this video he also talks about finding a 12 year old crappie that was only 7 inches. So the length will vary dramatically based on the lake.

crappies age can be determined by counting the rings around the occulous bone under the eye,, kind of like a tree. maybe pop a few eyeballs out next time u get some crappie, break out the magnifying glass and see what u find.

They certainly grow faster in the south. A 12 inch crappie is considered a slab in the northern states. I have friends who can't believe I catch 15 inch crappie every year and consider a 12 incher a eater.

My understanding is that sunfish species are very slow growing up north and heavily regulated, down south, not so much because they spawn prolifically and grow fast. I’m no biologist, but my experience with stock ponds has told me that hybrid crappie grow from 2-3” to about 9-10” in 2 years and 14-16” in a course of about 4 years.