Here in Indiana, people are absolutely apeshit about crappie fishing. And I guess they taste good and fishermen like accumulating a large haul of them and eating them. But I personally think that as a sport fish, they are worthless. They don’t put up any kind of fight on the line. I will frequently think that I’ve snagged a lure on some underwater weeds or something, reel in, and there on the hook will be a crappie. It’s actually annoying, when fishing for bass. These are members of the sunfish family, along with the largemouth and smallmouth bass and the bluegill/pumpkinseed. Yet all of the other fish in that genre put up a great fight.
Why is it that the crappie is alone in being such a weak fighter? Why, from an evolutionary standpoint, is this fish so weak and passive compared to its relatives?
I’m a little surprised to hear you say that, because in my experience, crappies are only a little less feisty than bluegill, especially when they’re small. Larger crappies (one pound or so) maybe fight a little less than a bass, I suppose. I wonder if it’s a regional difference; I’m used to catching them out here on the West Coast. No one out here fishes for them intentionally; there are no limits at all in most bodies of water.
From an evolutionary standpoint, fish haven’t had enough time to evolve a fighting response to hook-and-line fishing. Any fighting characteristics that they have are a result of instinctive responses to other stimuli. Why crappie (in your experience) and trout (in mine) fight less than other fish is a bit of a mystery.
Part of your experience may be due to the gearyou have caught them with. If I am fishing bass I am typically using a 8lb test and medium or stiff action rod. If I am out for crappie, I use 2lb test and an ultralight rod. While they will never come anywhere near to the fight a pike or largemouth will put up, on the lightweight setup you do get some action as you can’t simply haul them straight to the boat.
Reminds me of flounder, which everyone on the coast would love to load up on. Flounder exist by laying flat on the bottom, and they look like the bottom, and they have eyes on the same side of the head. What fighting do they need to do to survive? When you hook one, good luck knowing you have one until you get 5 feet from the surface.
Flounder is good eats though. But, some fish don’t survive by fighting. They survive because they live long enough to reproduce, and sometimes **they live long enough because they are good at hiding and avoiding fights. **
I fish ultralight all the time - Pfluger 4’6" rod and 2lb line - and still feel that Crappie are very weak. But then again, I always seem to catch the small ones.
That is probably the best you are going to get from them unfortunately. In Minnesota they are popular, especially in the winter, but not because they are great sport. They are popular because they taste so delicious and are plentiful in most lakes. Similar problem with Walleye here. Great for eating, not very exciting to catch.
Perhaps in places where they are plentiful, this indicates that the environment is such that natural selection doesn’t weed out the bad fighters. Just an WAG, of course.
We love Crappie fishing around here.
Upper Red Lake, 100miles from me was the best crappie fishery in the nation about 8 years ago. We could fill out (15 per person then) in about 45 min but only after the sun hit the top of the tree line in the evening. My grand children were able to catch just as many as anyone else and all were well over 1 pound!
When there are 4 lines through the ice inside an 8’ X 8’ shanty it is wonderful that they don’t fight to hard. a pike will have all lines tangled in less than 30 seconds.:smack:
I’m from Indiana and I fished a lot in my youth. Crappie definitely put up a fight. Sure, I was smaller, but they aren’t huge fish either. They’re just not that butch.
I still recall the time my Grandpa took me fishing. We both caught a crappie for dinner. His was one pound, and mine was one pound… and one extra ounce. I won a $20 from a local shop which had a standing “biggest fish” contest every couple of weeks. And they both tasted delicious fried up with salted tomatoes.
