Identification: The only way to tell a black crappie from a white crappie without any mistake is to count the spines on the dorsal fin. If there are five or six spines it’s a white crappie, if it has seven or eight it’s a black crappie. An additional way that you can tell the two crappie species apart is to look to see if it has bars or spots on it’s side, black crappie will have spots and white crappie will have bars. This method is not perfect however because the fishes colors can bleach in certain water conditions and will take on a different look than most crappie.
Size: Up to nineteen inches, anything larger than twelve inches is a very good fish
Range: Most all of California’s lower elevation water bodies have crappie, although they are quite uncommon to catch. There have been many spots I have fished for years without spotting any signs of crappie when one will suddenly pop up while fishing for other species.
Sacramento Area Fishing Spots 