This Area is owned and maintained by: City of Memphis. The land surrounding the lake and all non-fishing related activities are managed by the City of Memphis.
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Scientific Name
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Family
Centrarchidae (sunfishes) in the order Centrarchiformes (sunfishes and relatives)
Description
The black crappie is silvery with a color pattern that is mainly irregularly arranged speckles and blotches (not vertical bars). The dorsal fin has 7 or 8 spines. Crappies, as a group, are popular panfish that are deep bodied and strongly compressed laterally (slab sided). The upper jaw is long, reaching well past the middle of eye. The two sections of the dorsal fin (spiny forepart and soft-rayed rear part) are broadly connected, without a notch between. The anal fin is nearly as long and large as the dorsal fin, and it has 6 spines. The upper surface of the head and forward part of the back are strongly concave.
Similar species: White crappie have faint vertical bars instead of irregularly arranged speckles and blotches as the color pattern. They also have 6 dorsal fin spines instead of 7 or 8.
Size
Total length: 9-10 inches (seldom exceeds 14 inches); weight: to about 4 pounds.
Where To Find
Widespread but sporadic. Most prevalent in large Ozark reservoirs, upper Mississippi River navigation pools, and natural lakes and borrow pits of the Bootheel lowlands. Least abundant in extreme south-central Missouri.
Habitat and Conservation
Like the white crappie, the black crappie occupies open water with submerged timber or aquatic vegetation in standing water bodies and slow-flowing backwaters of large rivers. However, the black crappie is less tolerant of turbid water and siltation.
Food
Feeds primarily on small fish such as minnows and young shad, plus aquatic insects and small crustaceans.
Status
Common game species; less important than white crappie in most waters because it is generally not as abundant.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
In Missouri, black crappie spawn from about mid-April to early June, when water temperatures exceed 56 F. They spawn in coves protected from wave action and require silt-free substrates.Female black crappie may spawn with several males and can produce eggs several times during the spawning period. The black crappie grows more slowly in length than the white crappie, but it is generally heavier at any given length. It usually lives 4 years; occasionally it will live 8 years or more.
Human Connections
Crappie are feisty, tasty, and a favorite of anglers.
Ecosystem Connections
As a predator, this fish controls populations of prey species. As with all fish, eggs and young individuals are commonly eaten by many other species.
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Caption
Black crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, male in spawning coloration
Credit
Lance Merry
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Credit
MDC Staff
Right to Use
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Credit
David Stonner
Right to Use
Photo by David Stonner, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Credit
Jim Rathert
Right to Use
Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Similar Species
Similar Species
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Where to See Species
Ronald and Maude Hartell Conservation Area is located in central Clinton County.
This Area is owned and maintained by: City of Lancaster. The land surrounding the lake and all non-fishing related activities are managed by the City of Lancaster.
- This area owned and maintained by Sedalia Water Department, Sedalia, MO. For more information please contact Sedalia Water Department - 660-826-1234.
About Fishes in Missouri
Missouri has more than 200 kinds of fish, more than are found in most neighboring states. Fishes live in water, breathe with gills, and have fins instead of legs. Most are covered with scales. Most fish in Missouri “look” like fish and could never be confused with anything else. True, lampreys and eels have snakelike bodies — but they also have fins and smooth, slimy skin, which snakes do not.