Would this be a Black or White Crappie? I did not catch the fish so all I have for ID is this one picture.

My vote, Black caught in cleaner water.

Appears to be a Black Crappie, however you caught it during the spawn it could possibly be a White Crappie. Would have liked to have seen a better picture.


Side Note: Nice fish.

The coloration looks more like a black crappie, but a black crappie has 7 or 8 dorsal spines while the white crappie has less than 6 dorsal spines. You can’t clearly see the dorsal spines, but from the picture it looks like it would be less than 6. Therefore, it would be a white crappie.

Plus #1. Also a White Crappie has vertical bars and the Black Crappie have only irregular blotches. I also would like to see a better picture to count the dorsal spines. My guess would be White Crappie in spawn mode .

Bet it was quite tasty...

White crappie that is in spawn mode with its Tuxedo on.

I blew up the picture and I still can`t be certain If it has a dark stripe or a "Go T" it could be a Magnolia

Thank you all for your help.

White!

That's a white crappie for sure

Without a doubt a white crappie. Vertical bars, more elongated body, bigger mouth. Not splotchy enough or saucer shaped enough to be a hybrid crappie. Hybrid crappie in the wild are a fairly rare occurrence anyway, I think I’ve only caught 2-3 out of thousands landed and seen a few more caught.

Looks like a white to me

This is a common misconception. Blacknose or racing stripe crappie are generally just a black crappie with a stripe down their nose. Occasionally you will catch a hybrid crappie that carries that gene, but it’s not a genetic specifically for hybrid crappie. I’ve caught hybrid crappie in the wild that had no stripe. The ones stocked in ponds are bred specifically with that racing stripe. In short, not all crappie with a racing stripe are hybrids, but some hybrids can have the racing stripe.