Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Fish caught from the Kaskaskia River, Shelbyville, Illinois, April 2016. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.
Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Fish caught from the Klamath River, Klamath Falls, Oregon, July 2005. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Fish caught from the Green Lake, Caledonia, Michigan, June 2016. Length: 24 cm (9.6 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Marc Eberlein, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Fish caught from the Green Lake, Caledonia, Michigan, June 2016. Length: 32 cm (13 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.
The Black Crappie has a heavy bass-like body that is deep and strongly compressed laterally with a depth that is 39% to 43% of standard length. They are silvery-gray in color with irregular black mottled splotches over the entire body and rows of dark spots on their anal, caudal and dorsal fins. During breeding season, the males have darker heads and breasts. The juveniles are less colorful than the adults, allowing them to blend into the vegetation for protection against predation. Their head is small with a large, thin-lipped mouth that extends below the eye. Their back is arched. Their anal fin has 5 to 8 spines and 14 or 15 rays; their caudal fin has equal lobes and is slightly forked; their first dorsal fin has 7 or 8 spines; their second dorsal fin has 14 or 16 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 14 or 15 rays. Their anal and dorsal fins are symmetric and similar in shape. They have 29 long slender gill rakers. They are covered with ctenoid scales.The Black Crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, is a member of the Sunfish or Centrarchidae Family, and is known in Mexico as mojarra negra. Globally, there are two species in the genus Pomoxis, both of which are found in the streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds of Mexico’s freshwater systems.
The Black Crappie is found in lakes, ponds, sloughs, backwaters, pools and lowland streams with little or no current, in clear water with abundant cover including submerged timber and aquatic vegetation, as well as over sand and mud substrates. They congregate in groups in open water during the day and move closer to shore at night. They reach a maximum of 49 cm (19 inches) in length and 2.7 kg (5 lbs 15 oz) in weight. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 2.47 kg (5 lbs 7 oz), with the fish caught from Richeison Pond, Missouri in May 2018. They prefer water temperatures between 14oC (57oF) and 26oC (79oF) and can survive in waters with temperatures of up to 31oC (88oF) and low oxygen levels. They are a schooling species that are opportunistic late night and early morning feeders. Young fish feed on plankton, but as they grow, their diet shifeets to aquatic insects and insect larvae. Larger fish feed on smaller fish, insects and crustaceans. In turn they are preyed upon by Largemouth Bass, Microptherus salmoides, Rock Bass, Ambloplites rupestris, and Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens. Reproduction is oviparous an polygynandrous (promiscuous) and occurs continually when spring water temperatures are in excess of 14oC (77oF). They form aggregates in shallow water during this period, and males become highly territorial and very aggressive. They build highly visible nests in very shallow sand or gravel substrates in close proximity to shoreline vegetation. Each female, based on size, will deposit into the nest, between 10,000 and 190,000 eggs that are adhesive and attach to the substrate. Fertilization is external and males remain on the nest for two or three days until the eggs hatch and for an additional three to five days until juveniles and swim and feed on their own. The young may remain schooled up on the nest for a few days before moving to quiet, heavily vegetated waters to avoid predation. Males will then try to attract another female to his nest. They have life spans of up to fifteen years.
The Black Crappie is most like and easily confused with the White Crappie, Pomoxis annularis (thin body, shorter dorsal fin base, dark pigmented color on their sides orientated vertically, 5 or 6 dorsal spines). They differ from all other sunfish by having less than 10 dorsal spines.
The Black Crappie is a native to eastern North America but can now be found in all forty-eight contiguous states, having been widely introduced throughout the United States. They have also been introduced to Mexico for aquaculture, as a food fish and as a recreational fish, with noted concerns about their aggressive behavioral patterns, as they are highly adaptable, considered to be a habitat generalist, can consume a wide variety of foods, have high reproductive rates, and can quickly overpopulate the native ecosystems. They are now established in the Colorado River and the Salada Lagoon of Baja California and in the major lakes in the States of Guerrero, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas. Being highly invasive, sooner than later they will be found in all freshwater systems of Mexico.
From a conservation perspective the Black Crappie is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are known to be a highly invasive pest causing overcrowded conditions and destroying native populations and aquatic organisms. They are a popular recreational angler foe that can be caught year-round and generally do not have bag limits. They are considered to be an excellent human food fish and are sold commercially. They are utilized by the aquarium trade at a modest level and are common in public aquariums.