Crappie.
Pomoxis Annularis.
Wide distribution has givento the crappie some very
interesting names. John Demon, goggle-eye. bachelor, bridge perch, chinquapin and many others are heard. He is known from Vermont and New York westward through the Great Lakes region, from the Mississippi Valley to the Dakotas and south to Texas.
The calico Bass looks so much like the crappie that get the two confused. The calico bass is more vividly colored. Because so many crappies are caught. It is often spoken of as the “fish for the millions.”
As a game fish the crappie is highly esteemed in the South. The fishes are
caught as far north as Washington.
Minnows are the most tempting bait to offer them.
The crappie is not much of a fighter. His mouth is too tender for him to put up much of a scrap. It takes experience to land the gamey fish without tearing his mouth. Many almost-landed crappies enjoyed sudden
freedom because the angler did not know how to handle the fish expertly.
However, this is one of the things that make the angling game such an
interesting one.
There are some who claim that the flavor of the crappie is tainted with
the taste of muddy water. The number of crappies caught and fried in a
sizzling pan in the open would indicate others think well of the fish
There are millions of pounds shipped to the western markets.