Lake Hartwell Record Black Crappie

Rebecca Crittendon, of Hartwell, Ga., holds her 2-lb., 14-oz. black crappie that set the lake-record mark at Lake Hartwell.

Black crappie are not as prevalent as white crappie at Hartwell. The lake-record white crappie from Hartwell was a giant that weighed 4-lbs., 4-ozs., caught by Charles McCullough in 1968.

Black crappie typically will be speckled with no discernible pattern, while white crappie have vertical bars. However, when the water is stained, fish turn mostly white with no markings. The definitive way to tell a black crappie from a white is to look at the dorsal fin, which runs across the top of the fish and has webbed spines with a soft fan connecting them. White crappie have five to six spines, while black crappie have seven to eight spines.

For more info on Georgia’s lake and river record fish in Georgia, contact GON at [email protected] or call 800.438.4663.