Clear Lake, California angler Dave Burruss looks to have set the new California state record (pending certification) for a black crappie on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021 when he caught this 4-pound, 5.44-ounce fish. The old state record stood for 46 years at 4 pounds, 1 ounce and was caught out of New Hogan Lake by Wilma Honey in 1975. Burress’ crappie measured 17 3/4 inches in length. It also had an amazing 16-inch girth.
“Yesterday, it was sunny to partly cloudy and around 58 degrees at 4pm,” Burruss said. “It had been a slow day bass fishing, but I saw a few bigger fish on the Garmin Livescope that I thought were maybe bass. But these fish were suspended at 6 to 10 feet deep in 25 feet of water. They ended up being huge crappie. There were two other crappies with this fish the same size that I couldn’t get to bite. I used a 4-inch Keitech Easy Shiner on a Cool Baits Underspin. This fish is headed to the California Clearlake Biologist for more detail about its age and genetics. Then it will be mounted and put in my store for people to come see up close.”
The new potential record black crappie was weighed on a state-certified scale after being weighed on two different non-certified scales. Burruss is the owner of Clear Lake Outdoors in Lakeport. For now, here’s a few pictures of his giant fish!
