# crappies vs speck



## fishbone77 (Apr 8, 2009)

So I was out fishing today with a buddy and I asked him the question why do people call crappies, specks or the other way around? I was born in indiana and we always called them crappies then I move to michigan and people call them specks. Anybody know why they call them specks? just wondering


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## King Quack (Jul 16, 2003)

speckeled bass...The coloring they have on them....Who knows, that's just what I've heard.


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## StumpJumper (Nov 13, 2001)

Because they are speckled... just a guess.


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## wally-eye (Oct 27, 2004)

I grew up in Michigan in the 50s and everyone back then always called them specks.......that's what I call them 99% of the time......don't know the actual reason why that name stuck......


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## dbldee88 (Sep 30, 2003)

When I was a kid a my grandpa called brook trout specs. Use to fish the streams up in the keweenaw peninsula for them. Moved to the west side of the state and a friend said he wanted to take me speck fishing at reeds lake. I thought he was nuts until I found out he was talking about crappie fishing.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jacktownhooker (Apr 7, 2007)

i just like the name crappies
i never use the name ....speck ... ever in my vocabulary
but crap is a daily occurrance ! .... and if i had a good time ...usually in conjunction
with lots of cheep beer and 89 cent burrito"s ... i get crappies !
so whenever i get a bunch of crappies !... i had a good time !....and feel better too
so i like that name better !


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## bloo_gilz (Jan 7, 2001)

or papermouths,
or calico...


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## mich-again (Dec 22, 2009)

I told you you'd get some good answers, fishbone (if not an actual debate). Haven't heard of papermouths or calicoSpeckled bass sounds familiar. I, of course, call them specks. I agree with jacktown in that crap is a daily occurrence... but crappie is how I feel the day AFTER too much beer. Unless you're from the south (you know, like Indiana!) where I think it's pronounced craw-pee. 

Hey... after you left today I actually caught one of those things... a speck!


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## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

Different people, different names. Lots of people call them crappies, or specks, or papermouths. Alot has to do with where people are at in the US. But what about the other fish? Bluegills, sunnies, pannies, or down south it is a bream. A steelhead in michigan can be called a bow or a rooster in wisconsin. It is pretty much just a coho in michigan, but usually a silver on the west coast. Chinook, King, black salmon, tyee, and blackmouth are all names for the same fish. Laker trout are lakers, but else where are mackinaw trout, out east they call them togue, and up north they may be called siscowet. Brook trout can be brookies or speckled trout. The list goes on and on.........


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

wartfroggy said:


> Different people, different names. Lots of people call them crappies, or specks, or papermouths. Alot has to do with where people are at in the US. But what about the other fish? Bluegills, sunnies, pannies, or down south it is a bream. A steelhead in michigan can be called a bow or a rooster in wisconsin. It is pretty much just a coho in michigan, but usually a silver on the west coast. Chinook, King, black salmon, tyee, and blackmouth are all names for the same fish. Laker trout are lakers, but else where are mackinaw trout, out east they call them togue, and up north they may be called siscowet. Brook trout can be brookies or speckled trout. The list goes on and on.........


yep, i love to go fishing with family in central florida. they dont fish for crappie, bluegill and sunfish, but specks, bream and shellcracker instead. if you guys have never fished for these species down south, i strongly recommend it. they get massive compared to what we have here.


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## fathom this (Feb 10, 2008)

wally-eye said:


> I grew up in Michigan in the 50s and everyone back then always called them specks.......that's what I call them 99% of the time......don't know the actual reason why that name stuck......


 
Exactly!! That is what we older fisherman have known them as. It wasn't until the fishermen from the south got on TV that they started calling them crappies here in Mich..


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## Ralph Smith (Apr 1, 2003)

Yep, gew up knowing them as specks......Here's some more names for them from crappie.com website. Heard this name for the first time on a fishing show the other day "Sac-au-lait"

03-11-2008, 04:28 PM 
Fishin_Magician 
Crappie.com 1K Star General Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Shreveport, LA
Posts: 1,877 



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LOL I think it would be kinda funny if we had our state forum named Louisiana Sac-au-lait... and let the other state forums put their alias' on theirs. Would give each forum a little bit a character. And make fun of all the names we give to the fish in various regions. It's kinda obvious all the state forums are about crappie since it is crappie.com. So it would not really mislead anyone. And Sac-au-lait would be the best pick for us I think because it's uniquly ours do to our french cajun heritage.

But about the word Crappie...

Well at least it is not meant to be pronounced... "Crap-pee"... Which I hear a lot of northern states doing. "Lets go catch some craps eh?" lol

Here is a wikipedia excerpt that explains it comes from French Canadian...

The common name crappie (also spelled croppie or crappé) should be pronounced (kræpi/Cra-pi), derives from the Canadian French crapet, which refers to many different fishes of the family Centrarchidae.

Lets start a list of all the alias a crappie is know by: 

1. papermouths
2. sac-au-lait
3. slabs
4. white perch (sometimes I have to use this one so people know what fish I am talking about)
5. specks
6. calico bass
8. rock bass
9. Oswego bass
10. strawberry bass
11. saddle blankets
12. flyers
13. bachelor perch
14. banklick
15. lamplight
16. speckled perch
17. tinmouth 
18. Bucketmouths
19.Crop's
20.Berries
21.Callies
22.Crap's

Got a bunch of these off other websites... Florida seems to have their own set of names for them... 

But... Would not a crappie by any other name, taste as sweet? 

Come on guys I know yall got some other names for um, add to the list. (lol thanks those that added a few. I like Berries/Callies)

~Fishin' Magician~

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Last edited by Fishin_Magician : 03-20-2008 at 10:47 AM.


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## stillfish (Dec 5, 2005)

How about the david letterman top ten list for crappie names..


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