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State Record Crappie Breaks 27-Year-Old Mark

State Record Crappie Breaks 27-Year-Old Mark
(Photo courtesy Colorado Parks & Wildlife)

Colorado has a new state record crappie after a June catch is certified. It's the fourth record set in 2017 in the Centennial State.

By Game & Fish Online Staff 

When a crappie feels like a largemouth bass at the end of your line, you already know you're in for something special.

For Colorado angler Fesstus Stalder it most certainly was.

The Greeley, Colo., resident broke a quarter-century-old state record with the trophy black crappie he caught earlier this summer at Frank State Wildlife Area.

Record-setting crappie anglers Fesstus Stalder (right) with his son and state biologist biologist Ben Swigle (left). (Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks & Wildlife)

The 3-pound, 7.84-ounce, 17.472-inch crappie he caught on June 11 beat the old record by more than a quarter-pound, Colorado Parks & Wildlife said last week. The fish was caught at the Frank Easement West Pond, located off state highway 392 near Windsor.


The catch broke the old record of 3.22 pounds, caught in La Plata County in 1990.

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Northeast region aquatic biologist Ben Swigle weighed and measured the fish at the Fort Collins office.

"I am thrilled to see state record fish come out of the waters we work for the region," Swigle said in a news release. "Providing quality fisheries is something I work on every day, so it is especially gratifying when anglers like Fesstus and his son can enjoy an opportunity like this so close to home."

Stalder's crappie was the fourth state record caught in Colorado this year. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks & Wildlife)

The catch was Colorado's fourth state fishing record caught in 2017, according to CP&W:

  • Tiger Trout: 8 pounds, 3.68 ounces, Upper Dome Lake, Anthony Janssen.
  • Flathead Catfish: 30 pounds, 9.6 ounces, Pueblo Reservoir, Michael Flock.
  • Striped Bass: 29 pounds, 5 ounces, Arkansas River, Harvey Shade.

Stalder's catch is at least the second huge crappie record reported this year in the U.S.

In March, Illinois angler Ryan Povolish caught a massive hybrid crappie weighing 4 pounds, 8.8 ounces. That fish, caught in Kincaid Lake, beat a 40-year-old record.

The record beat the previous record by more than 6 ounces. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks & Wildlife)

Check out other state records in Colorado, or get out there and find one of your own.

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