I honestly thought it was a bass, but apparently it's a Non-Native fish that I thought was found only in Canada and the Upper Midwest.

Clint Lapierre Photo Credit
Clint Lapierre Photo Credit
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The Crappie

Specifically, it's a Black Crappie.

It was caught by a family friend, Derek Bennett (Photo Above) on Balch Pond a couple weeks ago during the Winni Derby Weekend.

According to NH Fish and Game it is commonly misidentified as a 'Rock Bass' and can now be found in over 100 fresh water bodies in the Granite State due primarily to illegal fish transfers.

But it's not as uncommon as I previously thought.

It was stocked by Fish and Game for about ten years back in the 1990's.

This is the first one I've ever seen and the only place I've heard about this fish was while reading Jean Shepard's 'In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash' (the basis for "A Christmas Story") Yep, Ralphie Parker went fishing for crappies!

According to my brother's ice fishing crew, this beast was 17 and 3/4 inches long which unofficially broke the NH State record by a half inch!

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