Crappie and sunfish
Black crappie
Pomoxis nigromaculatus.
Length to weight chart, typical size by age, and how to photograph a black crappie so fishline measures it well.
- Typical top length
- 16 in
- about 2.5 lb
- A 12 inch fish
- 1.0 lb
- 1 lb 1 oz
- Age at 12 inches
- about 4 years
- rough, varies by water
- Growth levels off
- about age 9
- gains slow to a crawl after
Black crappie length to weight chart
Estimated weight for a black crappie in average shape at each length, from the formula W = L^3.1 / 2,120 (W in pounds, L in inches). It is the same relationship fishline uses when it measures a black crappie from a photo.
| Length | Weight | Rough age |
|---|---|---|
| 6 in | 0.12 lb | 1 to 2 years |
| 7 in | 0.20 lb | 1 to 2 years |
| 8 in | 0.30 lb | about 2 years |
| 9 in | 0.43 lb | 2 to 3 years |
| 10 in | 0.59 lb | 2 to 3 years |
| 11 in | 0.80 lb | 3 to 4 years |
| 12 in | 1.0 lb | about 4 years |
| 13 in | 1.3 lb | 4 to 5 years |
| 14 in | 1.7 lb | about 6 years |
| 15 in | 2.1 lb | about 8 years |
| 16 in | 2.5 lb | 9+ years |
| 17 in | 3.1 lb | 9+ years |
Total length, nose to the tip of the pinched tail. Weights are for a black crappie in average shape. A fat fish, like a female before the spawn, weighs more and a thin one less, which a girth measurement picks up. Rows past 16 inches are bigger than typical for the species.
Size by age
fishline's growth model puts a typical black crappie at around 16 inches when fully grown, with most of its growth done by about age 9. Younger fish add length fast; older fish mostly add weight.
Age from length is rough. Fish in warm water with plenty to eat grow faster than this, and fish in cold or crowded water grow slower. For a quick estimate from any length, use the fish age calculator.
| Age | Length | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 4.7 in | 0.06 lb |
| 2 years | 8.1 in | 0.30 lb |
| 3 years | 10.4 in | 0.67 lb |
| 4 years | 12.1 in | 1.1 lb |
| 5 years | 13.2 in | 1.4 lb |
| 6 years | 14 in | 1.7 lb |
| 7 years | 14.6 in | 1.9 lb |
| 8 years | 15 in | 2.1 lb |
| 9 years | 15.3 in | 2.2 lb |
From a von Bertalanffy growth curve. Fish in warm, food-rich water grow faster than this and fish in cold or crowded water grow slower, so treat every row as a rough middle.
Weigh your black crappie
Enter the length, and the girth if you taped it, for an estimate on your fish.
Photo tips for black crappie
fishline reads length from the photo using whatever is in frame for scale, so a clean, side-on shot gives the tightest number.
- 1Small fish need something small for scale. Get your fingers, a lure or a ruler in the shot, right next to the fish.
- 2Get close and fill the frame, but hold the phone square to the fish. Shooting at an angle from close up stretches whatever is nearest the lens.
- 3Lay the fish flat on your open palm or on a bump board, side-on, so the whole outline shows.
- 4Crappie have paper-thin mouths. Hold them by the body for the photo, not by the lip.
More crappie and sunfish
Or skip the tape. Snap a photo and fishline measures it.
Species, length and weight from one photo. 5 free measurements every month.