Do you believe different states have different genetics of crappie that allow them to get this big?

Like the Florida bass versus the normal bass that live in Texas.

I do, I’ve fished lakes in Louisiana in the early Spring and the Crappie were huge and Louisiana lakes get a lot of fishing pressure.

I can't speak ref Louisiana, but I have noticed the I consistently catch bigger crappie in East Texas lakes vs those that I have caught elsewhere.

I feel that genetics don't have nearly the same impact that water fertility does. Fish can have the best genetics you can have but don't have the necessary fertile waters to prosper in so their potential is never reached.

JMO

I always wondered why a lake that produces monster crappie does not due the same for bass. OH Ivie is known for producing super size bass but I don't hear about any 3-4 pound crappie being caught in that lake. Why one without the other.

I believe it’s a combination of age, genetics and nutrition.

Fertile water. And that lake in inaccessible several months in the winter so they get to grow unmolested. Plus there’s an over 12” minimum and 15 fish limit. I don’t think doing that in Texas would result in the same size fish but I think it might help!

Good groceries over time, from generation to generation. MSU is proving the same with deer...

Shallow muddy water, spooky roaming fish get big and are a pain in the butt...

Here are my guesses:

1) MS has the right fertility with the mud in the water to grow big fish. Have you ever seen a green pasture and thought that's great looking grass to grow big cows. But then grass out in the texas panhandle looks like [censored], but has the right nutrients and minerals to grow great cows. It's been called the fertile cresent for big crappie for years.

2) The big 4 NW lakes in MS (Army Corps Lakes) have winter draw downs for flood control and this allows new vegetation to grow before water comes up.

3) The climate is right, milder winters then the midwest and not as hot in the summer. as TX and FL. Bass like the heat but crappies not as much. Its like the biggest overall walleyes are up north. . . they don't like the warm waters down south.

4) The big 12 inch length limit works when the fish grow fast. Most every guide and a lot of sportsman put the 3 lbers back, good for business

While I’m far from an expert, this sounds reasonable to me. I do know that the deer in MS are not known for their huge racks, except in the Delta, the same soil fertility might be responsible for the big crappie, along with the other components.

I have seen a handful of three plus pounders caught out of Bussey Brake near Bastrop LA. They say it is because the lake was closed to public fishing for 6 years, Just this year it has produced two 15 bass and a handful of 3 pound crappies.